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Baltimore was established in 1729 to serve the economic needs of 18th century Maryland farmers. The town of Baltimore gradually began to take on a life of its own, playing a crucial role in the War of 1812, when soldiers, stationed at Fort McHenry, successfully held off a British attack on Baltimore. That victory for Baltimore was commemorated in a poem by Francis Scott Key and is now our national anthem.

When the war ended in early 1815, Baltimoreans resumed their vigorous foreign trade efforts and Baltimore grew into the second largest city in the United States. Baltimore's overseas trade was principally with the Caribbean Islands and South America, regions undergoing economic and social changes. At the same time, the American frontier was pushing even farther west, threatening to leave Baltimore behind in its economic wake. The State of Maryland concentrated its efforts on completing the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, designed to link the Potomac and Ohio River valleys, but the city of Baltimore supported an overland link in the form of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Although the two competed for routes and freight, to the eventual ruin of the canal and the financial embarrassment of the state, Baltimore's railroad reached Cumberland in 1842 and, by 1874, stretched to Chicago.

The canning industry was also for Baltimore's future. Canning became key as the riches of the Chesapeake Bay began (for the first time) to be preserved and shipped to other parts of the country. Older industries, such as shipbuilding and transportation, remained industrially strong, and the city continued as an active port for European immigrants and rural residents from the upper South. In 1904, the city's progress suffered a setback when a fire consumed most of its business district, including a number of historic structures. That area was rapidly rebuilt, perhaps even stimulating economic life, and Baltimore prospered through the First World War and into the 1920s. The Depression, however, was too great an obstacle for local initiative to overcome, and physical developments in the city were retarded, first by economic distress and then by controls imposed by World War II.

After the WWII, Baltimore's economy continued to thrive as people spent heavily on consumer goods. As their standard of living increased, city residents were attracted to new housing developments beyond Baltimore's borders, and many people left. The city, which had grown in popularity every year since the mid-century, actually began to shrink as adjacent counties experienced tremendous growth.

The city began to come back strong in the 1970s. The City of Baltimore encouraged a redoubling of efforts from the municipal, business and volunteer partnerships, and tapped into federal programs for urban renewal. The municipality managed to revitalize the downtown area, where dilapidated wharves and warehouses were torn down and replaced by restaurants, attractions such as the Maryland Science Center, and retail in the form of Harborplace, which opened in 1980 to tremendous fanfare.

Baltimore is a dynamic city that continues to evolve while holding on to its maritime heritage. Since 1600, Baltimore waterways have been a passage for ships carrying commercial cargo and new citizens. It lies farther west than any other major Atlantic port, a point that endeared its harbors to shippers. More than 30 million tons of cargo pass through the port of Baltimore every year.

City of Baltimore Maryland

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City of Baltimore Maryland

Greater Baltimore is comprised of the City of Baltimore and the following counties: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard.
Airport Code BWI

City of Baltimore Maryland

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Baltimore Washington Chamber of Commerce

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Enoch Pratt Free Library

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Johns Hopkins University

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Maryland Science Center

National Aquarium in Baltimore

Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture

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