Baltimore, Maryland, USA
1916

Baltimore, a city, port of entry, and metropolis of Maryland, the sixth city in population of the United States, is on an estuary of the Patapsco River (locally known as "The Basin"), 14 miles from Chesapeake Bay and about 180 miles by ship-channel from the Atlantic. Lat. 39° 17' N. ; Ion. 76'' 37' W. It is on the Baltimore and Ohio, the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, the Baltimore and Annapolis and other railroads, 40 miles NE. of Washington and 96 miles SW. of Philadelphia. Its harbor is spacious and secure and has been deepened artificially to a minimum of 24 feet. The facilities for transfer of freight from the railways to the shipping are excellent, and the city has become one of the leading places of export in the United States, especially for the agricultural products of the West and South. It is built on a succession of eminences and has picturesque surroundings. The principal thoroughfares are Baltimore and Lexington Streets, running E. and W., and Charles Street, running N. and S. Many of the public buildings are note worthy for size, beauty, and fine situation : among these may be mentioned the Peabody Institute, with a library of about 150,000 volumes; the Roman Catholic cathedral (with a dome 125 feet high), Enoch Pratt Free Library (containing 200,000 volumes), city-hall (with a dome 260 feet high), court-house, federal building, and masonic temple. Among the educational institutions are the Johns Hopkins University, opened in 1876, one of the leading institutions of learning of the United States, with about 700 students ; University of Maryland, Bryn Mawr School, Woman's College, Maryland Institute, Baltimore City College, Loyola College, Morgan College, Calvert Hall College, St. Joseph's Academy, St. Mary's Seminary, Notre Dame Institute, etc. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, like the Johns Hopkins University founded upon an endowment of Mr. Johns Hopkins, is in the excellence of its system and perfection of equipment considered to rank with the foremost European institutions of its .kind. The nominal centre of the city is occupied by the beautiful Mount Vernon Place, with its stately Washington Monument, a column of white marble 130 feet in height, resting upon a base 35 feet in height, and supporting a colossal statue of Washington. This, with other monuments, has given to Baltimore the name of "Monument City." The city is abundantly provided with charitable institutions and is pre-eminent for the number and beauty of its places of worship. The Roman Catholic archbishop of Baltimore is cardinal and primate of the United States. Druid Hill Park, on the outer limits of the city, is noted for its natural beauty, and covers about 790 acres. Baltimore vies with Philadelphia as a city of homes, each dwelling-house, as a general thing, being occupied by a single family. The leading industries of Baltimore are the packing of fruits and oysters and the manufacture of clothing, boots, shoes, cotton goods, flour, fertilizers, bricks, machinery, and metallic wares. The canning industry is very extensive, and gives employment to many thousand hands, the annual product being 50,000,000 cans. The cotton-duck mills in and about the city, whose product is the greater part of the sail-duck made in the United States, employ about 6000 hands. In its metal industries the city is very important, and the vast Bessemer steel plant at Sparrow's Point, 9 miles from Baltimore, has a daily capacity of 2000 tons. Shin-building is also carried on. The export trade of Baltimore, both foreign and coast- wise, is very great. The grain trade with Europe is of first importance: out naval stores, cotton, foods, ores, etc, are also extensively shipped. Steamship lines connect with Liverpool, Bremen, and other European ports, and with the principal domestic ports. The principal railway lines entering Baltimore pass under the city through immense tunnels. Baltimore was founded in 1729, and incorporated as a city in 1796. The bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British and the battle of North Point, where the citizens of Baltimore repelled the British attack (1814), were notable events of the war of 1812-15. The construction of the first important line of railway in the United States, the Baltimore and Ohio R., was commenced in Baltimore in 1828. It was about this time that the merchant-vessels known as " Baltimore clippers" became famous throughout the world. Baltimore was visited by a ravaging fire in Feb., 1904, by which property valued at upward of $50,000,000 was destroyed.

In 1770 the population was 13,503 ; in 1800, 26,514 ; in 1810, 35,538; in 1820, 62,738; in 1830, 80,625; in 1840, 102,313; in 1850, 169,054; in 1860, 212,418; in 1870, 267,354; in 1880, 332,313; in 1890, 434,439; in 1900, 508,957. The colored population in 1900 numbered 79,739.

Lippincotts New Gazetteer: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World, Containing the Most Recent and Authentic Information Respecting the Countries, Cities, Towns, Resorts, Islands, Rivers, Mountains, Seas, Lakes, Etc., in Every Portion of the Globe, Part 1 Angelo Heilprin Louis Heilprin - January 1, 1916 J.B. Lippincott - Publisher

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