Category: Education

Our education programs include technical assistance to property owners, heritage education around the Civil War Sequicentennial and the Bi-Centennial of the War of 1812, and our ongoing Race and Place in Baltimore Neighborhoods project.

Civil War 150: West Baltimore’s Civil War History by Bike — Rescheduled

Many people know that President Street Station has its roots in the Civil War, but few know that Civil War history can be found throughout the city, including many sites in West Baltimore. In fact, West Baltimore neighborhoods served a central role in the conflict– housing Union troops on their south to fight, caring for injured soldiers, and witnessing the many ways in which the conflict on the battlefield came home to the city 150 years ago. As the home to the B&O Railroad, West Baltimore supported the movement of troops by train (a key advantage for the Union) and protected the city from invasion by Confederate troops through a ring of camps, hospitals and fortifications in Carroll Park, on Baltimore Street, in Lafayette Square and more.

West Baltimore’s Civil War History by Bike

Update: Due to today’s rainy and snowy weather, we have rescheduled our tour to Saturday, November 5, 10:00 am. Please contact Eli Pousson at pousson@baltimoreheritage.org or 301-204-3337 with any questions or concerns.

October 29, 2011, 10:00 am to 11:30 am
$10 for members & non-members, RSVP today!

This 90-minute bicycle tour starts and ends at the Mt. Clare Museum House rolling past rowhouses, parks, stables, and shops, scores of historic places grand and modest, where people lived and worked during the Civil War and its aftermath. We’ll learn about Confederate spies at Waverly Terrace in Franklin Square, take a look at the historic artifacts we recently dug up from the site of Lafayette Barracks, and trace the lives of immigrant workers who built the trains, bridges, and more that the Union military depended on at the Irish Shrine at Lemmon Street and the B&O Railroad Roundhouse. Please join us as we pedal through the history of the Civil War in West Baltimore and commemorate this nation-shaping event of 150 years ago.

Thanks to the support of Free Fall Baltimore at the end of the tour participants are welcome to take a free tour of the Mt. Clare Museum House. Mount Clare is a 1760 colonial Georgian home built by Charles Carroll and Maryland’s oldest house museum.

Connect with the Friends of West Baltimore Squares to learn more about heritage and community greening programs in West Baltimore neighborhoods!

Reminder! Civil War 150: Slavery & Historic Sites Lecture tomorrow

What do the historic sites of Cliveden in Philadelphia, Drayton Hall in Charleston, and Decatur House in Washington, DC all have in common? They are fantastic historic places with ties to slavery and are at the forefront in thinking about how to interpret slavery in a historic context. As we continue our commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, please join us and Ms. Nell Ziehl from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for a discussion on how sites across the country preserve and interpret the history of slavery. This field has evolved quickly over the last several years, with richer information and more accurate accounts displayed and featured. The National Trust owns several sites with strong ties to slavery (including the three listed above) and has been a leader in this movement, and Ms. Ziehl will share some of the challenges and successes in this ongoing endeavor. The location of the talk, Ebenezer AME Church, itself has ties to slavery and the Civil War. Constructed in 1865, it is the oldest standing church built by African Americans in Baltimore, and the congregation, dating to 1836, was active in the helping escaping slaves for many years.

Slavery and Historic Sites with the National Trust for Historic Preservation

Thursday, October 6, 2011
7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Ebenezer AME Church, 20 West Montgomery St., 21230
Free (thanks to Free Fall Baltimore!)
No RSVP required! Just show up. We have plenty of space.

Civil War 150: Slavery and Historic Places in Baltimore

In recognition of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, Baltimore Heritage is sponsoring a two-part program to explore sites in Baltimore with important ties to slavery and to learn about what historic sites around the country are doing to tell the story of slavery in America. The first part of the program is a walking tour of FrederickDouglass’s Fell’s Point, led by historian Louis Fields. The second part will be a talk by Ms. Nell Ziehl of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, on interpretation of slavery at historic sites nationally. Both are free, and I hope you can join us.

Frederick Douglass’s Fell’s Point Walking Tour

Saturday, October 1, 2011, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Free, RSVP
RSVP is required.  Expect confirmation with additional details.

Slavery and Historic Sites

Ms. Nell Ziehl, National Trust for Historic Preservation

Thursday, October 6, 2011, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Ebenezer Church, 20 West Montgomery Street, Baltimore 21230
Free, RSVP not required

Frederick Douglass is quoted as saying that knowledge is the pathway from slavery to freedom, and he certainly grabbed a good dose of it as a youngster in Fell’s Point. It was here that he learned to read and write, and from here that he escaped to freedom. In a two hour walking tour, local historian Louis Fields will lead us through Fell’s Point as experienced and shaped by Frederick Douglass in the years leading up to the Civil War and immediately after it. Mr. Fields was a driving force behind the creation of the plaques and monuments to Frederick Douglass that are now located throughout the area.

In the second part of our Civil War commemoration series, Ms. Nell Ziehl will lead a discussion on how sites owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation across the country preserve and interpret slavery. The interpretation and presentation of history involving slavery has evolved quickly over the last several years, with richer information and more accurate accounts in the forefront. The National Trust owns several sites with strong ties to slavery and the Civil War and has been a leader in this movement, and Ms. Ziehl will share some of the challenges and successes in this ongoing endeavor. Please join us for either or both of these free events.

These events are made possible by Free Fall Baltimore and its sponsors: Susquehanna Bank and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds, The Abell Foundation, William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, American Trading and Production Corporation (Atapco) and Baltimore Community Foundation. Thanks also to Free Fall media sponsors: The AFRO-American Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun, The City Paper, The Urbanite, The Jewish Times, , Maryland Public Television, WBAL-TV, WJZ-TV, WBFF/Fox45-TV, CW/Baltimore-TV, WMAR-TV, WUTB-TV, WYPR Radio, WEAA Radio, WWMX Radio , Radio One: Magic 95.9; Spirit 1400; WOLB; 92Q, and CityPeek.

Young Preservationist Happy Hour in Fell’s Point on September 29

Baltimore’s Young Preservationist Happy Hour is headed down to southeast Baltimore (finally!) on Thursday, September 29. Fell’s Point has been a vibrant historic neighborhood for nearly 300 years and we’re sure that it has had its share of great bars since the early 1700s. Located in a building dating from 1858, One-Eyed Mike’s on Bond Street still has an 1860s hand-carved back bar and the original tin ceiling. Their Thursday happy hour includes specials on draft beer, call cocktails and wine by the glass through 7:00 pm. We’ll be enjoying the start of fall out on the back patio, which Baltimore City Paper declared the place for Baltimore’s Best Outdoor Dining.

Young Preservationist Happy Hour in Fell’s Point

One-Eyed Mike’s, 708 South Bond Street
Thursday, September 29, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
RSVP today!

This month’s Happy Hour is co-hosted by the Preservation Society– the historic preservation nonprofit for Fell’s Point and Federal Hill. Among other things, the Preservation Society is at the heart of why Fell’s Point is a great neighborhood and not an interstate highway, so be sure to check the box to learn more about their work and upcoming programs. If this is your first Baltimore Heritage event, we’ll give you a free membership with discounts on tours and a subscription to our quarterly newsletter. Please RSVP for a chance to win pair of Behind the Scenes Tour tickets.

Civil War Archeology in Lafayette Square

The markings of Baltimore’s Civil War heritage are all around us, from downtown landmarks like President Street Station, to military buttons, ceramic ware, and bits of metal of every variety that lie literally under our feet. To help commemorate the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War this year, please join Baltimore Heritage and the Friends of West Baltimore Squares on July 9 as we dig into the history of Civil War-era Baltimore with an archeological investigation in Lafayette Square. We’re not sure what we’ll find under the topsoil, but we do know that the Square was the site of Lafayette Barracks during the civil war, a military camp and hospital that housed 1000 people strong. With support from the Archaeological Society of Maryland, the Maryland Historical Trust, and the local community, we are conducting an archaeological investigation of Lafayette Barracks, the military camp and hospital located in the park during the Civil War. Please stop by to talk to the archeologists, learn about urban archeology, and West Baltimore’s Civil War history. Throughout the afternoon, we will be offering walking tours, exhibits on the architectural history of the Square, and even grilled hotdogs!

Civil War Archeology in Lafayette Square

Saturday, July 9, 2011
Lafayette Square Park (West Lafayette Avenue & North Arlington Street)
11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Tours, talks, and exhibits throughout the day and hotdogs at noon. On-street parking available. to look up directions, use 1100 W. Lafayette Avenue, Baltimore 21217.
RSVP Today!

From 1861 through 1865, as the United States were split by civil war, Lafayette Square in West Baltimore became a bustling military encampment and a rich scene of Baltimore’s Civil War life. Originally known as Camp Hoffman–named for Henry W. Hoffman, collector for the Port of Baltimore–the camp housed at least five Maryland Union regiments as well as troops from New York and other northern states. The Camp, including a hospital, sutler’s store, kitchen and parade grounds, served as a rendezvous point for Maryland and Delaware Union troops with as many as to 1,000 soldiers preparing for active duty at a time. In the blocks around the camp, one could find military bands marching down to Jarvis Hospital on Baltimore Street, drunken brawls at local bars between soldiers and civilians, deserters escaping through Druid Hill Park shot down by cavalrymen, and escaped slaves from the Eastern Shore taking refuge with Union troops before seeking freedom to the north. John Scharf, Baltimore’s foremost historian during the late 19th century, described Lafayette Square in 1865 as “filled with ugly wooden sheds, swarming with rough troops, while not one of the elegant mansions now surrounding it had been reared.”

Our archaeological investigation, led by archeologists Brandon Bies, MAA and Dr. David Gadsby, seeks to learn more about people who lived and worked at Lafayette Barracks during the Civil War by searching for any artifacts or surviving physical evidence that they left behind. With a dozen trained volunteers, our team will use metal detectors to search out metal artifacts, such as buttons or bullets, and open up a small area of excavation to search for the remains of Camp Hoffman. Stop by on July 9 to learn more about West Baltimore’s Civil War history and the process of historical archeology. We’ll be leading short walking tours every hour, sharing exhibits on the history and community of Lafayette Square, and hosting the Baltimore Civil War Museum with exhibits on archeology at President Street Station. Please RSVP if you’re planning to join us! Questions? Contact Eli Pousson at pousson@baltimoreheritage.org or 301-204-3337.