li kill LIBRARY OF CONGRESS F 183 .Bl P21 Copy 1 Brief Guide TO Points of Historical Interest IN Baltimore City COMPILED FOR THE ^ASSOCIATION OF HISTORY TEACHERS OF MARYLAND BY ANNIE HELOISE ABEL AND ELEANOR L. LORD COPYRIGHTED 1908 MARCH H, 1908 (l\ i\-^- GUIDE TO HISTORICAL BALTIMORE, The points of historical interest in Baltimore, at the present day, are, for the most part, grouped within three distinct areas : 1. The tract of land on the west side of Jones' Kails, upon which the original Baltimore Town was laid out in 1730 under the act of the Maryland Assembly of August 8, 1729 (see map), together with certain outlying districts to the north and west. 2. The tract of land on the east side of Jones Falls, formerly known as Jonestown, the earliest, in point of actual occupancy, of the three settlements later comprised in Baltimore Town, although not legally laid out until 1732. This area, includes Belair Market, from which, since early colonial times, have radiated the great highways (York, Belair, and Harford Roads) leading to Pennsylvania and to the northern counties of Maryland. 3. The neighborhood which includes Paca street, adjacent streets, and the Lexington Street Market. Two main thoroughfares, the Alexandria Road (now Columbia Road) and the Frederick Road, terminated here, as is well attested by the number of inns and taverns located in the vicinitv. BALTIMORE CITY IN 1752. Fro7n Gambriir s '^Leading- Events of Maryland History' By courtesy of the fnbltshers, Gm?i cr' Co., Boston A SUGGESTED ROUTE FOR VISITORS. Starting- southward from the Union Station on Charles street, one may approach the chief points of historical interest in the following order : Hotel Belvedere. — This hotel takes its name from the estate of the How^ard family. John Howard was one of the earliest patentees of Maryland and is reported to have taken up land in IGGS on "Timber Neck," between the middle and north branches of the Patapsco river. The later Howard estate centered in Howard Park, now^ represented by Alt. Vernon Place, and came to include Lunn's Lot, of which the present Cathedral grounds formed a part. The Belvedere mansion was erected soon after the American Revolution by Colonel John Eager How^ard, and stood at what was then the north end of Calvert street. Mt. Vernon Place. — Baltimore owes her distinction as the "Monumental City" chiefly to the famous statue of George; Wash- ington, which stands in the centre of Mt. Vernon Place. This statue represents, the "Father of His Country" resigning his commission as commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary forces. The corner-stone of the monument was laid July 4, 1815, the Society of the Cincinnati being most conspicuous at the ceremony of dedication. General Washington is in good company; for in this same Mt. Vernon Place are statues to certain eminent citizens of Baltimore. Facing North Charles street is the equestrian statue of Col. John Eager Howard, noted for his participation in the later campaigns of the Revolutionary War and especially for his bravery in the battles of Eutaw and Cowpens. The Mt. Vernon Place M. E. Church, to the left of the statue, occupies the site of the house of Charles, son of Colonel Howard and son-in-law of Francis Scott Key (author of the "Star Spangled Banner"), who died there, while on a visit to his daughter, January, 1843. A monument to Francis Scott Key is soon "to be erected in a circle at Eutaw Place and Lanvale street." Facing the Washington Monument is the bronze statue of RoGER Brooke Taney, who, while Secretary of the Treasury, removed the government deposits from the United States Bank, at the command of President L'^ckson, in 18;3;); and who, while Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, rendered the famous Dred Scott decision, 18-57. The marble building on the southeast corner of Charles street, is the Peabody Institute, containing a valuable library, an art gallery, and a school of music. The statue of the founder, George D. Peabody, of Massachusetts, who "made the first part of his great fortune in Baltimore," may be seen directly in front of the building. 2 At the foot of the hill where Charles street crosses Franklin street is a statue somewhat recently erected in honor of Severn Teackle Wallis, a noted political reformer of Baltimore in the period following the Civil War. First Independent Christ's Church. — On the northwest corner of Charles and Franklin streets stands the "First Independent Christ's Church" (Unitarian), dedicated in 1818. The Rev. Jared Sparks was the first minister of the church. Moale House. — The first white girl born in Baltimore was Ellin North, daughter of Captain Robert North. Ellin North married John Moale, and her daughter resided, after her marriage, in a house which still stands at the corner of St. Paul and Mulberry streets, and is now occupied by her great-grandson. Old Maryland Club House. — In connection with the preparations for defending Baltimore, June, 1863, Federal Hill, Fort Marshall and Fort A/IcHenry were put in readiness to protect the city. According to Scharf, "boasts were openly made that the first shell from Fort Federal Hill would be thrown directly into the Maryland Club, north- east corner of Cathedral and Franklin streets, 'the Latin quarter,' as it was sometimes called, for the exact range of buildings was ascer- tained and it was regarded as the very focus of 'treason' in the city." The Cathedral. — The square bounded by Charles, Franklin, Cathe- dral, and Mulberry streets, is occupied by the Roman Catholic Cathedral (facing Cathedral street), and the residence (facing Charles street) of His Eminence, Cardinal Gibbons. The corner-stone of the Cathedral w^as laid in 1806. As Rochfimbeau was returning northward after the siege of Yorktown (1781), he halted in Baltimore and encamped upon the tract of land extending from Lexington street to Centre street, and from Howard street to the edge of tlie hill. The soldiers under the immediate com- mand of the Duke of Lauzun encamped upon the Cathedral site. Calvert Hall College occupies, approximately, the site of St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, built in 1770, the first Roman Catholic church in Baltimore ; and, after the establishment of the episcopal see in 1789, for many 3'ears the pro-Cathedral. Rectory of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. — The land for this rectory, situated on Saratoga and Cathedral streets, was given to St. Paul's Parish by Colonel John Eager Howard in 1786. The house was soon afterwards erected and is still used as the rectory. St, Paul's Episcopal Church. — Facing Charles street, on the south- east corner of Charles and Saratoga streets, stands St. Paul's Episcopal Church— "Old St. Paul's," as it is familiarly called. The Parish of St. Paul's ("Patapsco Parish") antedates Baltimore Town by about thirty- seven years, and its first church stood near the head of Clapper's (now 3 Colgate's) creek. Four edifices have succeeded one another on the tract ("Church Hill") now bounded by Charles, Saratoga, Courtland, and Lexington streets. The first was finished 1*^44, and stood on lot number 19. It Avas pulled down in 1779, and a new one erected 1784, to face on New Church street, the present Lexington, which was opened at that time. A new edifice was consecrated March 11, 1817, but was destroyed by fire April 29, 1854. Within two years thereafter the present church was built. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the land now occupied by the Y. M. C. A. building was the churchyard of Old St. Peter's, while directly across from it, near the northeast corner of Charles and Saratoga streets, was the burial ground of the German Reformed Church, (the church itself stood on Sharping lane, between North street and Tripolett's alley). On the southeast corner of Charles and Saratoga streets, covering the present church site, was St. Paul's churchyard, discontinued as such in 181?, at which date a new grave- yard was opened on German street, and the bodies of the dead removed thither. It is interesting to remark that the junction of Charles and Saratoga streets conspicuous after the Revolution as the burial ground of three different denominations, was, as we see by the plot of 1730, the northeasterly limit of Baltimore town. Maryland Historical Society Building. — The Maryland Historical Society was incorporated in 1844, and in the spring of 1848 occupied the new Athenaeum building on Saratoga street. The old Athenaeum building stood on the corner of St. Paul and Lexington streets. Residence of Roger Brooke Taney. — Near the northwest corner of Courtland and Lexington streets (102 East Lexington street), stands an old house once the residence of Roger B. Taney. By permission of Mr. L. Magruder Passano. The Courthouse and Battle Monument. — The area at present occupied by the new courthouse, the postoffice, and the city hall, was once a hill of considerable steepness, rising somewhat abruptly above Jones' Falls. Upon its summit, where Battle Monument now stands, was the old courthouse, which is represented in the accompanying cut with the Falls gushing from beneath the hill. It was destroyed on the occasion of the grading of Calvert street and a new courthouse, erected in 1809, which is still standing on the southwest corner of Calvert and Lexington streets. Near the old colonial courthouse stood the pillory and whipping-post, and not far away, probably close to the site of the present postoffice, stood an old powder mill. Battle Monument commemorates the battle of North Point and the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. The corner-stone Avas laid September 12, 1815, the first anniversary of the events commemorated. The Fotterall House.— This house, believed to have stood on the northwest corner of Fayette and Calvert streets, is said to have been the first brick house with freestone corners erected in Baltimore, and the first in which mass was solemnized. During the French and Indian War it became the refuge of some of the French Acadians who had 5 been expelled from Nova Scotia, because they refused to take the oath of allegiance to Great Britain and were suspected, with much show of reason, of plotting against her integrity. They fitted up a lower room in the Fotterall House for a chapel, and there their spiritual needs were ministered unto, at intervals, by the chaplain of Doughoregan Manor. After a time, however, these French Roman Catholics became strong enough to warrant their building a regular church. The result was Old St. Peter's mentioned above. Residence of Reverdy Johnson. — On or near the northwest corner of Fayette and Calvert streets, once stood the residence of Reverdy Johnson, a favorite gathering place for Whig politicians, especially at such times as when, in May, 1840, the Democratic National Convention was meeting in Baltimore, and during the subsequent "Hard Cider" campaign. Reverdy Johnson served as Attorney-General in President Taylor's cabinet and was a member of the famous Peace Congress of 1861, which was made up of delegates from the loyal States only. During 1868-1869 he filled the office of United States Minister to the Court of Saint James, and in that capacity negotiated the unsuccessful Johnson-Clarendon treaty for the settlement of the Alabama affair. Barnum's Hotel.— The Equitable Building stands upon the site of the old Barnum's Hotel, which was erected in 1825, and was the fashionable hotel of its day. Concerning it Charles Dickens makes the following comment in his "American Notes :" "The most comfortable of all the hotels of which I had any experience in the United States, and they were not a few, is Barnum's, in that city : where the English Traveler will find curtains to his bed, for the first and probably the last time in America (this is a disinterested remark, for I never use them) and where he will be likelj^ to have enough water for washing besides, which is not at all a common case." Peale's Museum,, on the northeast corner of Holliday and Lexing- ton streets, was built by Rembrandt Peale, and opened in 1814. It is reported to have contained a "good collection of pictures, and all the usual specimens and preparations of National History." In 1830 the Baltimore City Council passed an ordinance authorizing its purchase by the mayor for municipal purposes, and it was used as a city hall until the present structure, between North and Holliday streets was opened in 1875. "The New Assembly Room and Library," formerly stood on the northeast corner of Holliday and Fayette streets. It was built in 1797 and was a fashionable resort of Baltimore society. The building con- tained a ballroom, a supper-room, cardrooms, and the like. From 1848 to 1873, when it was destroyed by the same fire that destroyed the Holliday Street Theatre, it was occupied by the Baltimore City College. 6 day 19, 'his ing- ;an led ler at •ad in of ce h- :r, w '.n le d lS- a s t ~S1 Baltimore City ^ ■Sh^owmg Original Balfimore Towo 05 laid oat- m 172'^ - Scale 200 Feet or} ctn It-nh Holliday Street Theatre, situated on the east side of HoUiday street, between Fayette and Lexington streets, was opened August 19, 1794. In 1813 a new and more substantial structure was put up. This was burned in 1873. The present building was erected the following year. In this theatre several famous actors, such as Edmund Kean and the elder Booth, have performed, and here "The Star-Spangled Banner" had its first public rendering, although, according to another tradition, it was first sung in an adjoining restaurant. The singer at the theatre is believed to have been a man named Hardinge instead of the Durang brothers, as is commonly reported. First Presbyterian Church.- — The first Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, erected in 1763 (?), stood on the northwest corner of North and Fayette (then Wapping) streets (east side), on a precipice overlooking Jones' Falls, and just back of the old courthouse. Old Merchant's Shot Tower. — Across Jones' Falls, on the south- east corner of Front and Fayette streets, stands an old shot tower, the last of a series. It was built in 1828, and was used up to a few years ago. It rises 234 feet from the pavement and is said to have been erected without scaffolding. The molten lead was poured from the top of the tower through sieves of different degrees of coarseness, and the shot was shaped by whirling through the air. Johns Hopkins was among the heavy stockholders of the company. The tower occupies the site of the first Baptist Meeting-Housit in Baltimore. The Baptists eventually sold the property and erected a circular church on the corner of Sharp and Lombard streets, which was recently torn down. Quaker Meeting-House. — The first Quaker Meeting-House in Baltimore was built in 1780 on the southeast corner of Fayette (then Pitt) street and Aisquith street (Lloyd lane). The McKim Free School. — This was the first free school in Balti- more, antedating the Oliver Hibernian Free School by about three years. It was established for the poor children of the neighborhood irrespective of the religious convictions of their parents. The building on East Baltimore and Aisquith streets was erected in 1821. House in Which Charles Carroll of CarroUton Died. — Charles Car- roll, the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independ- ence, died in 1832 in a house which is still standing on the north side of Lombard street, near Front street. Flag House, northwest corner of Pratt and Albemarle streets. In the second-floor front room of this house, Mrs. Mary Pickers- gill is said to have sewed together the particular U. S. flag that waved over Fort McHenry in 1814, and which inspired Francis Scott Key to write the "Star Spangled Banner." 7 First Methodist Meeting-House. — The first Methodist ]\Ieeting- Honse in Baltimore Avas built in 1773, in Strawberry alley (now South Dallas street), near Canton avenue. In 1774, about half the congre- gation removed to a new meeting-house in Lovel}^ lane ( German street). President Street Station. — On the southeast corner of Canton avenue and President street stands the station of the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad. At the time of the Civil War this was the only station for passenger trains coming from the North, but now it is used exclusivel}^ for freight. It was on the way from President Street Station to the station of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- road, where the soldiers were to take train for Washington, that the attack upon the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment by an excited mob occurred April 19, 1861— the first bloodshed of the Civil War. The point where the attack was made was on Pratt street between Gay and Commerce streets. In 1898 the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, arriving from the North at the Mt. Royal Station of the B. & O. R. R. on its way to the Spanish- American war, was given an enthusiastic ovation and paraded in triumph through the streets. Marsh Market Space. — Crossing Jones' Falls by the Lombard- street bridge, the visitor arrives at the Marsh Market Space (Harri- son street, between Baltimore and A\'ater streets), so-called from the swampy nature of the locality in early times. This market, though considerably transformed after the fire of February, 1904, is one of the sights of the city at full market time. Baltimore has been called "the gastronomic center of the universe," a designation which the existence of some dozen markets renders appro- priate. Many of these date back to the early days of Baltimore. The first market in Baltimore was located at Gay and Baltimore streets. Marsh Market, formerly called Centre Market, was established in 1784. Hanover Street and Fell's Point Markets were projected at about the same time. Lexington Market, running from Eutaw street to Pearl street, was apparently laid ofT by Col. John Eager Howard in 1782, but not used for some twenty years. Belair Market, on the east side of the Falls, isi one of the oldest markets and still serves as a depot for produce brought in from the country via the Belair and Harford Roads. Eastern Limit of Original Baltimore Town — Continuing west along Lombard street, we come to Exchange; Place which, at a point near Gay street, marks the junction of the eastern and southern limits of the town according to the plot of 1730. Lovely Lane Meeting-House. — Proceeding north to German street and then \vest, we pass through the site of Lovely Lane Meeting- House (bed of German street, between Calvert and South streets), see above. "On the 27th of December, 1784, the thirteenth conference of the Methodist Societies of the United States met in the Lovely Lane Meet- ing-House and organized the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States of America; and here Rev. Thomas Coke, LL.D., ordained Rev. Francis Asbury the first Bishop of the church in America." — Scharf, History of Baltimore City and County. Kaminskey's Tavern stood on German street near Light street, and is pictured on Moale's Sketch of Baltimore, 1752. Fountain Inn. — This inn was situated on the northeast corner of German and Light streets, and was built in 1782. It is claimed that Washington lodged there May 5, 1775, when on his way as delegate to the Second Continental Congress, and again on April 17, 1789, when as President-elect he was on his w^ay to his inauguration at New York; but with respect to the first date, at least. Fountain Inn has ■evidently been confused with Grant's Tavern, which stood in the same neighborhood. Fogg's Tavern and Indian Queen Hotel. — Another famous hos- telry, known in 1761, when it was built, as Fogg's Tavern, was located on the southeast corner of Baltimore and Hanover streets. It was later called the Indian Queen Hotel. Here is said to have been held the first meeting of the Society of the Cincinnati of Maryland. At a later day the Indian Queen was much frequented by the fashionable folk of the town. Liberty Engine House. — The triangular plat at the intersection of ' Liberty street, Fayette street and Park avenue, is the approximate site of the old Liberty Engine House. "Here, in November, 1S60, was raised the 'palmetto flag,' the first display of secession sentiment in Baltimore." Congress Hall. — When the British threatened Philadelphia in the winter of 1776/ Congress fled to Baltimore and occupied the Jacob Kite House, a spacious three-story brick building, a representation of is to be seen on a bronze tablet placed by the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, February 22, 1894, on a building near the southeast corner of Baltimore and Liberty streets, which marks the approximate site of the hall. The tablet reads as follows : ON THIS SITE STOOD "OLD CONGRESS HALL," IN wHicpi the; CONTINENTAL CONGRESS MET December 20th, 1776. and on December 27Tn. 1776, conferred upon GEN. WASHINGTON extraordinary powers eor the conduct OE THE Revolutionary War. : 9 Hurst Building. — Two blocks below this spot, on Liberty and German streets, stood the Hurst building, where the great fire of 1904 started. * It is interesting to note that the burnt area covered ahnost exactly the area of the plot of 1730, with the exception of a small tract north of Baltimore street and west of Charles street, and the Courthouse and City Hall squares. The fire stopped at O'NeiU's store, corner of Charles and Lexington streets, and by a change of the wind was diverted in a southeasterly direction until it was checked on the east by Jones' Falls and on the south by the basin (harbor). Federal Hill Park. — It is quite worth while to make a trip to Federal Hill, which commands a view of the approaches to Baltimore hy water, and of various strategic points. When, shortly after the mob attack upon the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, United States troops occupied Baltimore. Gen. Butler, who was in command, took up his station on Federal Hill, May 13, 1861. The park once contained the ramparts thrown up during the Civil War by Colonel Warren, in charge of the Fifth Regiment, New York Volunteers. Within the park stands a monument in memory of Lieutenant-Colonel George Armistead, defender of Fort McHenry, September 12-13, 1814. There was once another Armistead monument in Baltimore, which stood in a gothic niche behind the ''City Spring,'' the site of which is today covered by the City Hospital, North Calvert street, near Sara- toga street. Riverside Park, bounded by Randall, Covington, Wells and John- son streets, contains Fort Covington, earthworks thrown up at the time of the British advance up the Chesapeake in 1814. Carroll Park, approached by Columbia avenue (the old road lead- ing to Alexandria), contains the old Carroll Mansion, "Mount Clare," in an excellent state of preservation. It was built, presumably, in 1754 for Charles Carroll, "the Barrister," although the date on the outside is 17G0. The Alexandria Road runs into Paca street, already mentioned as a tavern centre for travelers approaching Baltimore from the South and West. General Wayne Inn.- — This noted tavern was built by Colonel John Eager Howard, and stood on the northwest corner of Baltimore and Paca streets, on the site now occupied by the warehouse of Schloss Brothers (Scharf Building). "One of its most conspicuous features was a colossal sign which hung over the sidewalk, portraying General \\'ayne in heroic proportions and warlike attitude." Grave of Edgar Allan Poe. — In the churchyard of Westminster Presbyterian Church, southeast corner of Fayette and (ireene streets, 10 one block west of Paca street, stands a monument erected by the Balti- more Public School Teachers in memory of Edgar Allan Poe, who is buried there. He died at what was then the Washington University Hospital, erected in 1836, now known as the Church Home and Infirmary, on Broadway and Fairmount avenue. Lexington Market extends from Eutaw to Pearl street, and is the largest market in Baltimore. Like most of the old markets in the city, it is canvas-covered, but will probably soon be replaced by a modern structure. Hand House. — Just north of Lexington street, on Paca street, is the Hand House, no longer used as an inn. The old inn yard, however, is to be seen in the rear. Pennsylvania House. — Another old inn is still standing on the south side of Franklin street, between Paca and Greene streets, with the inn yard in the rear. Lamb Tavern. — On the northwest corner of Paca and Franklin streets stands the old Lamb Tavern^ now modernized as Hotel Tray- more. St. Mary's Seminary of St. Sulpice. — Proceeding up Paca street we come to St. Mary's Seminary, occupying a large triangular plot between Paca and St. Mary's streets. It represents the oldest Roman Catholic theological seminary within the limits of the United States, the original structure having been erected in 1791, through the efforts' of Father Nagot and other Sulpitians who left France during the French Revolution. Lee House. — On Madison avenue, near Biddle street, stands a house occupied for several years by Robert E. Lee. From 1848 to 1852 Lee was in charge of the engineering work on Fort Carroll. Druid Hill Park. — This park is interesting, not only for its large extent and great natural beauty, but also for its historical associations, it having been the family estate of Nicholas Rogers, aide-de-camp to Baron de Kalb of Revolutionary War fame. It contains the Rogers' residence now called the "Mansion House," and various monuments, among which are a statue of William Wallace, and one of Christopher Columbus. The latter was presented to the city in 1892 by the Italians of Baltimore. At the Madison avenue entrance to Druid Hill Park may be seen one of the original field works erected during the Civil War for the purpose of keeping out raiding parties of Confederate cavalry. Wyman Park. — This extension of the park system of Baltimore abuts on the tract recently acquired by the Johns Hopkins University. "Homewood." — The tract referred to above contains "Home- wood," a fine specimen of the colonial mansions of Maryland. It 1 1 Avas built in 1803 for Charles Carroll, Jr., son of Charles Carroll of Carrollton. The elder Carroll lived at Donghoregan Manor, Howard county. OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST. Among the points of interest less accessible in a rapid survey, may be mentioned : Fort McHenry — at the extremity of Whetstone Point, at the mouth of the northeast branch of the Patapsco. The post was bom- barded by the British fleet on the 13th and 14th of September, 1814, but successfully defended by Major Armistead. It was originally a water-battery and was erected in 1775. It was used during the Civil War "as a receptacle for State prisoners." Patterson Park. — (East IJaltimore street and South Patterson Park avenue.) Contains a portion of the original earthworks thrown up in 1814 by citizen volunteers at the time of the bombardment of Fort McHenry. MONUMENTS. The Columbus Monument, on the grounds of the Samuel Ready School, on North avenue, near the Harford Road, has the credit of being the first monument dedicated to the memory of Columbus in the New World. It seems to antedate by two months the monument erected in New York by the Tammany Society. The latter commemo- rated the date of discovery. October 12, 1492, which is the date inscribed upon the Baltimore monument, but the corner-stone of this was laid August 3, 1792, the three hundredth anniversary of the day upon which Columbus sailed from Spain in his first voyage. The obelisk "was laid in a grove in one of the gardens of a villa. 'Belmont,' the country-seat of the Chevalier d' Anmour," the first French consul stationed in Baltimore. Wells and McComas Monument, Gay and Aisquith streets, erected to the memory of the youths who, according to a tradition, fired the shot that killed Major General Ross, the British com- mander at North Point, in 1814. Maryland Line Monument, in front of Mt. Royal Station. Mt. Royal avenue an^d Cathedral street. This shaft was erected by the Sons of the American Revolution in memory of the Marylanders who fought in the Revolutionary War. Mexican Monument, Mt. Royal avenue, near Lanvale street. Confederate Monument, Mt. Royal avenue, between Lafayette avenue and Lanvale street. 12 LIBRARY OF CON DDDmD511'=J3