Baltimore, Maryland, stands as the most populous city in the state, boasting 585,708 residents according to the 2020 census and ranking as the 30th-most populous city in the United States. Its metropolitan area further underscores its significance, with an estimated population of 2,838,327, making it the 20th-largest in the country. This vibrant urban center is strategically positioned in north-central Maryland on the Patapsco River, where it gracefully flows into the majestic Chesapeake Bay. Covering a total area of 92.1 square miles—80.9 square miles of land and 11.1 square miles of water—Baltimore maintains its political independence, though it is nearly enveloped by Baltimore County and bordered to the south by Anne Arundel County.
The land upon which Baltimore, Maryland, now thrives holds a history stretching back millennia. Paleo-Indians utilized this fertile region as a prime hunting ground since at least the 10th millennium B.C. During the later Woodland period, the indigenous Potomac Creek complex, an archaeological culture, inhabited the area from modern-day Baltimore southward to the Rappahannock River in Virginia. By the early 1600s, the Susquehannock tribe established hunting grounds here. Iroquoian-speaking peoples controlled the upper tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay but largely avoided contact with the Powhatan Confederacy to the south. The Algonquian-speaking Piscataway tribe, under pressure from the Susquehannock, resided primarily along the north bank of the Potomac River, well south of the Baltimore area.
European Colonization and the City’s Genesis
European colonization of Maryland formally commenced with the arrival of the merchant ship The Ark, carrying 140 colonists, at St. Clement’s Island in the Potomac River on March 25, 1634. These early European settlers gradually moved northward into what would become Baltimore County. The initial county seat, now referred to as Old Baltimore, was located on the Bush River within the present-day Aberdeen Proving Ground. This period saw sporadic conflicts with the Susquehannock, whose population drastically declined due to new infectious diseases introduced by the Europeans, such as smallpox.
In 1651, Baltimore was officially designated an independent city by the Constitution of Maryland. It received its name in honor of Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, a prominent Anglo-Irish member of the Irish House of Lords and the founding proprietor of the Province of Maryland. The Calvert family derived their baronial title from Baltimore Manor, an English Plantation estate granted to them in Ireland. When Baltimore County was formally established in 1659, encompassing a much larger territory than its current boundaries, the area around the future city was a mix of meadows and marshes at the foot of irregular wooded bluffs, dissected by a creek later known as Jones Falls. The Falls meandered sharply westward, then eastward, before turning south into the broad cove that would become the Patapsco River North West Branch. To the west, Patapsco Falls emptied into another cove, later named the Middle Branch. Between these two waterways lay a low-lying peninsula known as Whetstone Neck.
The earliest European settlements began to emerge in June 1661, when land on the west side of Jones Falls was surveyed for David Jones, who subsequently settled there. Over the following decades, numerous tracts were patented, leading to the creation of various small settlements with colorful names like Haphazard, Hale’s Folly, Luns Lot, Ridgeley’s Delight, Fell’s Prospect, Gallow Bar, David’s Fancy, and The Choice. By 1696, Charles and Daniel Carroll resurveyed and patented 1,000 acres on the west side of Jones Falls, which included a portion of an earlier patent known as Cole’s Harbor.
The Birth and Growth of a Port City
The Colonial General Assembly of Maryland established the Port of Baltimore at Locust Point in 1706 to bolster the lucrative tobacco trade with Europe. Fells Point, with its naturally deep harbor, quickly evolved into the colony’s premier shipbuilding center, eventually gaining international renown for constructing swift clipper ships. By 1726, evidence of early industry included a gristmill on the east bank of Jones Falls, surrounded by three dwellings, a store, and several tobacco houses.
Local tobacco growers, led by Daniel and Charles Carroll, advocated for a custom house to facilitate the shipment of their produce. After an initial site owner refused to sell, a new location for the town was approved by Governor Benedict Leonard Calvert on August 8, 1729. Surveyors began meticulously laying out the town on January 12, 1730. This original townsite, encompassing 60 acres and purchased from the Carrolls for approximately £600, was roughly shaped like an arrowhead, its tip near the modern intersection of Hopkins Place and Redwood Street. Soon after the first lots were claimed, a causeway across Harrison’s Marsh and a bridge over Jones Falls were constructed, effectively linking the nascent town with Jones Town, the older settlement situated east of the Falls.
Following Baltimore’s founding, mills were erected behind the wharves, playing a crucial role in the burgeoning economy. The mid-19th century California Gold Rush spurred significant demand for fast vessels, many of which were built in Baltimore. Additionally, many overland pioneers relied on canned goods produced in Baltimore, underscoring the city’s growing industrial capacity. Baltimore experienced rapid growth throughout the 18th century, as its plantations yielded grain and tobacco, which were then traded with the sugar-producing colonies in the Caribbean.
By 1752, the town was still relatively small, with only 27 homes, including a church and two taverns, and a population of about 200. Jonestown and Fells Point had already been established to the east. These three settlements, though initially small, collectively formed a vital commercial hub. In 1755, a significant event in Baltimore’s social history occurred with the arrival of French Acadian exiles from Nova Scotia. Despite being expelled from their homeland by England for refusing to renounce their French allegiance, they were received with great hospitality in Baltimore. Over time, the Acadians constructed modest homes along South Charles Street, a section of Baltimore that would be known as French Town for a century.
Diversification and Revolutionary Ferment
The Port of Baltimore saw slow but steady growth. A pivotal moment occurred in 1756 when a Baltimore-registered vessel cleared for the British West Indies, carrying a diverse cargo of Indian corn, flour (milled along the Patapsco and Jones Falls), beans, hams, bread, iron, staves, heading, peas, and, of course, tobacco. The return journey brought the typical commodities of sugar, rum, and enslaved people. This voyage marked a turning point, signaling the end of Baltimore Town’s sole dependence on tobacco and the dawn of an era of diversified shipping. Just two years later, a cargo of wheat from inland farms was shipped to New York, further cementing this shift. In a few years, Baltimore boasted a pottery and a distillery, reflecting its expanding industrial base. An educator from London arrived, offering lessons to young men in writing, arithmetic, merchants’ accounts, and geometry, while also teaching young ladies the ‘Italian hand.’ He also sold choice West India rum, loaf-sugar, coffee, chocolate, Madeira wine, and cedar desks, indicating a growing sophistication in the town’s commerce and society.
By July 1762, visitor Benjamin Mifflin noted in his diary that Baltimore had approximately 150 houses, mostly constructed of brick, with 30 or 40 more under construction. The town had already established two bridges over the creek. In 1763, Baltimore established its public market system, a testament to its growing urban structure. Nicholas Hasselbach and William Goddard introduced the first printing press and newspapers to Baltimore in 1765, marking the beginning of local print media.
Baltimore, Maryland, played a significant role in the burgeoning American Revolution. Influential city leaders, such as Jonathan Plowman Jr., galvanized many residents to resist British taxes, and merchants collectively signed agreements refusing to engage in trade with Britain. Having been designated the county seat in 1768, a courthouse was constructed near the future site of the Battle Monument. By this time, the town’s population had grown to three or four thousand inhabitants, yet it was still possible to catch crabs with a stick, highlighting its proximity to nature. When two sloops carrying contraband arrived in 1770, they were forced to leave the port, and Baltimoreans passed a resolution to boycott trade with Rhode Island when that New England colony violated the intercolonial nonimportation agreement. William Goddard launched The Maryland Journal and The Baltimore Advertiser in 1773, providing a vital source of local news and patriotic sentiment.
In 1774, Baltimore established the first post office system in the United States, further demonstrating its organizational capacity and importance. That same year, a Committee of Correspondence was appointed, and resolutions were passed recommending a complete cessation of trade with Great Britain and the West Indies—even though the latter trade was then the most profitable for Baltimore citizens. Just four days after Virginia’s House of Burgesses made a similar recommendation, and before the news reached Baltimore, citizens at a general meeting went on record favoring a convention of representatives from all the colonies. A militia company was formed in December, with Mordecai Gist elected captain. Six months later, after news of the battles of Lexington and Concord reached the town, seven companies were actively drilling in Baltimore.
However, Baltimore’s most profound contribution during the Revolution was to the sea. In October 1775, the Continental Congress passed an act to establish a navy. That same month, the Continental Marine Committee in Baltimore outfitted two of the very first cruisers of the American Navy. A new flag, sent from Philadelphia, was to be used on one of these vessels, the Hornet. Joshua Barney, the ship’s recruiting officer, unfurled this flag to the stirring sounds of fifes and drums. Barney’s wife later recounted that these ‘heart-stirring sounds of the Martial instruments, then a novel incident in Baltimore,’ and ‘the still more novel sight of the Rebel colors gracefully waving in the breeze attracted crowds of all ranks and eyes to the gay scene of the rendezvous, and before the setting of the same day’s sun, the young recruiting-officer had enlisted a full crew of jolly “rebels” for the Hornet.’ A Maryland navy also provided invaluable service, suppressing plunderers in the Chesapeake Bay and quelling Tory uprisings. Many of these vessels, ranging from small barges carrying a handful of rebels to cruisers of twenty-two guns, were built and equipped in Baltimore. While larger ships bore names like Defense or Friendship, the barges carried more formidable monikers such as Revenge, Terrible, Intrepid, or Feamaught. By 1776, the town had grown to approximately 6,700 inhabitants.
A Nation’s Temporary Capital and Privateering Prowess
During the intense period of the American Revolution, Baltimore, Maryland, briefly served as the nation’s capital. The Second Continental Congress, compelled to evacuate Philadelphia before the city’s capture by British troops, convened their deliberations at the Henry Fite House on West Baltimore Street from December 20, 1776, to February 27, 1777. This allowed Baltimore to hold the prestigious title of national capital before the Congress returned to Independence Hall in Philadelphia on March 5, 1777.
From April 1, 1777, to March 14, 1783, Baltimore-owned vessels, totaling 248, embarked from the Patapsco River with a clear objective: to capture British shipping. They succeeded so remarkably that British merchants for over three decades derisively referred to Baltimore as a ‘nest of pirates.’ Captured prizes were either manned by a skeleton crew and sailed to the nearest American port or, if that proved impossible, burned or sunk. The estimated damage inflicted upon English shipping during this period reached a staggering £1,000,000. Baltimore Town contributed perhaps more than its proportional share of the funds necessary to finance the war and, like other American towns, endured business disruptions. However, Baltimoreans had honed their skills in building fast ships, a knowledge that would prove highly profitable during the subsequent era of privateering and even slave running.
Lexington Market, founded in 1782, stands as one of the oldest continuously operating public markets in the United States today. Historically, it was also a significant center for slave trading. Advertisements in The Baltimore Sun frequently listed enslaved Black people for sale at numerous locations throughout the downtown area, reflecting the harsh economic realities driven by labor-intensive crops like tobacco and sugar cane. In 1780, the approach of British soldiers caused alarm in Baltimore, leading General Greene to report that the city was in ‘so defenseless a state that a twenty-gun ship might lay the town under contribution.’ In July 1783, the war veterans, ‘penniless and in rags,’ returned under the command of Mordecai Gist, now a brigadier general.
Incorporation and Early 19th Century Development
The Baltimore Water Company, the first water company to be chartered in the newly independent nation, was established in 1792. A significant step in the city’s formal development occurred between 1796 and 1797, when Baltimore, Jonestown, and Fells Point were officially incorporated as the City of Baltimore. In 1797, the newly elected mayor approved an ordinance to organize a lottery scheme to raise funds for the city. For many years, lotteries were a common feature in Baltimore, used to finance churches, schools, colleges, and crucial civic improvements, including the iconic Washington Monument. On one notable occasion, a lottery was held purely for its own sake, with the funds earmarked for any suitable enterprise that might arise in the spring.
In 1808, following the passage of the controversial Embargo Act, Baltimore held a massive public ceremony, attended by all citizens, including 1,200 on horseback. During this event, 720 gallons of gin were publicly burned because a shipmaster had paid duty on it in an English port, symbolizing the city’s strong stance against British trade policies. The Federal census of 1810 recorded Baltimore’s population at 45,000, signifying its continued rapid growth and increasing prominence as a major American city.
Conclusion
From its ancient roots as a Native American hunting ground to its pivotal role in the American Revolution and its dynamic transformation into a bustling port city, Baltimore, Maryland, has forged a rich and complex history. Its strategic location, entrepreneurial spirit, and resilience in the face of conflict and change have shaped its identity. Baltimore’s legacy as a center of commerce, innovation, and unwavering spirit continues to define this remarkable American metropolis.
