Baltimore History

Although located within Baltimore County, the city of Baltimore is an independent city, having split off from the county in 1851. Named for the founding proprietor of the Maryland Colony, Lord Baltimore in the Irish House of Lords, Baltimore City is a major manufacturing center and a world seaport, located closer to the major Midwestern markets than any other major port on the East Coast.

Founded as a commercial port on the upper Chesapeake Bay in 1729, Baltimore came to prominence during the Revolutionary War, when the nation's capital was temporarily moved there from Philadelphia. During the War of 1812, the British declared Baltimore "a nest of pirates," and moved on the city after burning Washington D.C, attacking by land and sea. The American forces held off the attacks on Fort McHenry, enduring the naval bombardment until the British forces eventually withdrew. It was here, at the Battle of Baltimore, that Francis Scott Key saw the American flag still flying over the fort and was inspired to write "The Star-Spangled Banner."

A slave-holding state, Maryland was prevented from seceding from the Union to prevent Washington D.C. from being completely surrounded by Confederate states. When Southern sympathizers rioted in Baltimore in 1861, Union troops moved in and occupied the city until the end of the war. Although Baltimore was largely untouched by the fighting of the Civil War, the city did suffer some ill effects in the aftermath, with the loss of Southern markets and the flood of displaced Southerners, seeking to rebuild their fortunes. The struggling city also had to contend with a disastrous fire in 1904, which destroyed over 1,500 buildings in Baltimore's business district. Mayor Robert McLane rallied the people of Baltimore in the face of tragedy, proclaiming "We shall make the fire of 1904 a landmark not of decline but of progress." The city recovered rapidly and, over the course of the two World Wars, became a major shipbuilding and naval repair center.

Baltimore underwent another renaissance of sorts beginning in the1960s, with the decline of industry in the Northeast. The tenements, wharves, and deserted warehouses were torn down and replaced with parks, office plazas, and public buildings. The Baltimore Convention Center was opened in 1979 and Harborplace, a festival marketplace complete with shops, museums, and restaurants, was opened in the Inner Harbor. Today, Baltimore is a popular tourist destination, known for its museums, shopping, and amazing seafood.