Baltimore Heritage

Booth, Baltimore & Lincoln’s Assassination: A Walking Tour of Green Mount Cemetery
2025-05-31 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-05-24 09:30 - 10:30 (America/New_York) | Green Mount Cemetery, 1501 Greenmount Ave, Baltimore, MD, 21202, United States
In partnership with Green Mount Cemetery and Baltimore Center Stage, join us at Green Mount Cemetery to discover the tangled history of John Wilkes Booth, Baltimore, and the plots to kidnap and assassinate Abraham Lincoln. We’ll trace Booth’s childhood on Exeter Street and how he followed his Shakespearean-trained father’s footsteps into the theater world. We’ll get to know Booth–the womanizer, the white supremacist, and the presidential assassin. We’ll also revisit major events of the Civil War, including the Pratt Street Riots and the surrender at Appomattox, and how they influenced the conspirators’ actions leading up to the day Booth murdered Lincoln.
As we walk, you’ll hear about the events of the fateful day and the fates of the Booth’s co-conspirators. And of course, we’ll see the unmarked burial site of Booth and the graves of two of his co-conspirators. We hope you’ll walk to the grounds of Green Mount Cemetery with us to discover this poignant history in a whole new light.
This tour is being offered in partnership with Baltimore Center Stage’s production of John Wilkes Booth: One Night Only. With your Green Mount Cemetery tour ticket, you’ll receive a coupon code for $10 off a ticket to the show.
Accessibility: Although there are some paved pathways, we will be walking over mostly uneven grassy terrain and cobblestones.

Step Back in Time at Jerusalem Mill
2025-05-21 17:00 - 18:00 | Jerusalem Mill, 2813 Jerusalem Road, Kingsville, 21087, United States
Discover the rich history of Jerusalem Mill Village, once a thriving commercial mill that connected rural Maryland to the world. At its peak, Lee’s Mill produced 20 barrels of flour daily, including the renowned “White Silk Flour,” filtered through silk for unmatched purity. This flour became a staple for Baltimore’s Jewish community, who ensured its kosher standards by observing the milling process. From here, barrels of flour traveled down the Little Gunpowder Falls to Baltimore’s port, reaching markets across the globe.
As you explore the village, you’ll hear fascinating tales of resilience and rebellion—from an 1864 Confederate raid led by Major Harry Gilmor to the incredible treks of Samuel O. McCourtney, who walked 18 miles to Baltimore and back well into his 80s. This is a walking and standing tour, with some buildings lacking modern heating or cooling, so dress accordingly. A portion of your registration fee supports the preservation and restoration of this historic site. Reserve your spot today!
A portion of the proceeds will be going to the conservation work at the Mill.

Sites of the Baltimore Slave Trade: A Talk by Richard Messick
2025-05-18 14:00 - 15:00 | Engineers Club / Garrett Jacobs Mansion, 11 West Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore, MD, 21201, United States
Join us on May 18 to hear Richard Messick discuss the growth of the domestic slave trade in Baltimore, the various methods and locations of sale, and some of the more notorious traders in the business of selling people. After its incorporation in the late 18th century, the population of Baltimore grew very quickly along with the expansion of the new country. The market for the sale of people that grew up in the Mid-Atlantic region was also extensive. Although many of the associated buildings no longer exist, Richard Messick’s research and mapping project show the deeply interwoven relationship between the trade of human beings and our streets of Baltimore.

Federal Hill
2025-05-18 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-04-20 09:30 - 10:30 | Federal Hill Park (Southwest Corner), 301 Warren Avenue, Baltimore, MD, 21230, United States
Baltimoreans celebrated atop Federal Hill when we ratified the U.S. Constitution. We used it to defend the city from the British in the War of 1812 and to make sure we stayed in the Union in the Civil War. We have even tunneled under it to quarry minerals. Join us on a tour of Federal Hill and the neighborhood around it to learn about this waterfront community’s rich history, including stops at one of the last wooden houses in the city, the oldest house in Federal Hill, and the wonderful alley houses along Churchill Street.

Laurel Cemetery Voluntour: Trash Clean-up and History Tour
2025-05-17 10:00 - 12:00 | Laurel Cemetery, 2401 Belair Road, Maryland, 21213, United States
Join us to learn about one of Baltimore’s most important, and forgotten cemeteries, and help clean it up as you learn! Laurel Cemetery was incorporated in 1852 as Baltimore’s first nondenominational cemetery for African Americans. It quickly became a popular place of burial for people across Black Baltimore’s socioeconomic spectrum, including 230 Black Civil War veterans and notables such as Civil Rights activist Reverend Harvey Johnson. In 1958 and after a series of lawsuits failed to prevail in the courts, Laurel Cemetery was leveled. Today it is the site of the Belair-Edison Crossing Shopping Center, and home to several businesses. However, many current patrons and nearby residents are unaware of the site’s former purpose and significance. Join members of the Laurel Cemetery Memorial Project to see the site firsthand…and have a hand in improving it. This free event will include an hour-long trash clean-up followed by a history tour of the site. All supplies will be provided. Please meet at the grassy area at 2401 Belair Road.

The Nooks and Crannies of Druid Hill Park by Bike
2025-05-11 09:30 - 12:00 | Clipper Mill Entrance to Druid Hill Park, 3500 Parkdale Avenue, Baltimore, MD, 21211, United States
Oil up your old bike, and spend a serene May morning exploring the nooks and crannies of beautiful Druid Hill Park with amateur historian Ralph Brown. If you can ride a bike you will be right at home on this tour: the route will be on mostly flat, dedicated, safe bike trails.
As we pedal through the park, we’ll find out why a “Know Nothing” party mayor in the late 1850’s left the park as a magnificent gift to Baltimore. We’ll discover a hidden Zen garden and meet its creator. We’ll learn about Baltimore’s history of segregation through testimonials present in the park today. And we’ll learn how Druid Lake has provided drinking water for nearly 150 years and behold the sublime piles of dirt that preview its recreational future. Druid Hill Park has changed in its appearance since it was established in 1860 and our tour will explore both the park’s history and the hopes and plans for improved access going forward.

Fell's Point
2025-05-11 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-04-13 09:30 - 10:30 | Broadway Market, 637 S Broadway, Baltimore, MD, 21231, United States
Join us to see how Fell’s Point developed in the 1730s to become one of Baltimore’s premier waterfront communities. Great wealth through trade was created here for the likes of Johns Hopkins, George Peabody, and William Walters. These shores were the first place over a million immigrants started their American dream, yet also where enslaved people either arrived in bondage or were shipped south in chains. As we walk, we’ll point out historic homes and industrial heritage, like the country’s first Black-owned shipyard, and share some of the rich stories that this 300-year-old waterfront neighborhood has to offer.

The Catacombs Under Westminster: Two Hundred Years of Tombs and Edgar Allan Poe’s Gravesite
2025-05-10 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-03-22 11:00 - 12:00 | Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, 519 W Fayette Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, United States
Join us to explore the eerie catacombs underneath Baltimore’s First Presbyterian Church, now called Westminster Hall, and the graves that surround it, including the final resting place of Edgar Allan Poe. The burial ground predates the church, which was built on arches above the gravesites, so that the graveyard and its tombstones lie both underneath and around the building. We bet you will also recognize more than a few Baltimore street names as we walk among the patriots and civic leaders buried at Westminster including Calhoun, Hollins, Gilmore, and Bentalou. All told, the compact cemetery next to the University of Maryland School of Law is the final resting place for over 1,000 individuals. We can’t wait to see you “Where Baltimore’s History Rests in Peace!”

Patterson Park
2025-05-04 09:30 - 10:30, 2025-04-06 09:30 - 10:30 | 28 S Patterson Park Ave, Baltimore, MD 21231, 28 S Patterson Park Ave, Baltimore, 21231, United States
Join us to walk through Patterson Park and through time starting back when it was officially created in 1827. During the War of 1812, the park saw action defending Baltimore. And during the Civil War, troops here made sure Maryland didn’t secede from the Union. The park has been used for strolling, fishing, hockey, swimming, festivals and even as a beef market. Over its 198-year history, it has grown from 6 acres to 137 acres, partially thanks to the famous Olmsted Firm. Discover the history of Patterson Park, which is in many ways the story of Baltimore itself, and see how it really is “the best backyard in Baltimore.”

Historic Green Mount Cemetery
2025-05-03 09:30 - 11:30, 2025-04-19 09:30 - 11:30, 2025-04-05 09:30 - 11:30 | Green Mount Cemetery, 1501 Greenmount Ave, Baltimore, MD, 21202, United States
Inherited from the great Baltimore historian Wayne Schaumburg, join Baltimore Heritage to tour Baltimore’s historic Green Mount Cemetery.
Opened in 1839, Green Mount is an early example of an urban-rural cemetery, that is, a cemetery with a park-like setting located close to the countryside. Green Mount is the final resting place of some of Maryland’s most famous, and infamous, figures including Johns Hopkins, Enoch Pratt, William and Henry Walters, Mary Elizabeth Garrett, Betsy Patterson, A.S. Abell, John H. B. Latrobe, John Wilkes Booth, and Elijah Bond, who patented the Ouija Board!
Accessibility: Although there are some paved pathways, we will be walking over mostly uneven grassy terrain and cobblestones.

Mount Vernon Place
2025-04-27 09:30 - 10:30 | Washington Monument (South Entrance), 699 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, United States
Mount Vernon began as a country estate for Revolutionary War hero John Eager Howard and grew to be the place to live for Baltimore’s rich and famous in the mid-nineteenth century. The Garrett family, owners of the B&O Railroad, the Walters, founders of the Walters Art Museum, and the Thomases, owners of Mercantile Bank, are among the families that built handsome mansions along the four parks that surround the Washington Monument. Join us on a tour to hear the stories behind the landmarks of Baltimore’s grandest historic neighborhood.

A Walking Tour of East Baltimore’s Historic American Indian “Reservation”
2025-04-17 17:30 - 18:30 | South Broadway Baptist Church, 211 South Broadway, Baltimore, 21231, United States
The place now known as Baltimore, like the rest of what is now known as the United States, has always been home to Native peoples. Baltimore is part of the ancestral homelands of the Piscataway and the Susquehannock, and a diverse host of American Indian folks from other nations have passed through or lived here at different times — and still do! In the mid-twentieth century, thousands of Lumbee Indians and members of other tribal nations migrated to Baltimore City, seeking jobs and a better quality of life. They settled in Upper Fells Point and Washington Hill and created a vibrant, intertribal American Indian community, which they affectionately referred to as “the reservation,” in its heyday. In the decades since the community has gradually moved away from the area. Recent generations never experienced “the reservation” as such. Today, most Baltimoreans are surprised to learn that it ever existed. Join historian and artist Ashley Minner Jones to learn about places and spaces important to American Indian history and heritage in the city, with a focus on East Baltimore’s Historic American Indian “Reservation” in the 20th century.

South Baltimore Learning Center: A Behind-the-Scenes Tour
2025-04-16 17:30 - 18:30 | 28 E Ostend St, Baltimore, MD 21230, 28 E Ostend St, Baltimore, MD, 21230, United States
Embark on an architectural tour of the South Baltimore Learning Center, housed in a historic former police station in Federal Hill. The building seamlessly blends the charm of its original structure with internal updates, including classrooms designed to support adult educational practices. Visitors will explore how the adaptive reuse of this iconic building preserves its historical character while providing a dynamic learning environment for one of Baltimore’s most vulnerable populations. The tour highlights the innovative ways the space combines old-school architecture with new-school design, creating a unique setting for education and community engagement.
We will be joined by Executive Director Melissa Smith and Board Director at Large Barry Blumberg who will give us the tour of the building both in its historic uses and current functions.

The Gwynns Falls Neighborhood
2025-04-13 15:00 - 16:00 | 3041 Stafford Street, Baltimore, MD, 21223, 3401 Stafford Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21223, United States
Join us for a four block tour of the Gwynns Falls neighborhood. Before 1977 this neighborhood was known as Carroll Station and until 2020 was home to the Maryland Brush Company. We will start at Mighty Park, a former illegal dump that the community purchased and transformed into a vibrant green space! We will also walk on a portion of the Gwynns Falls Trail, established in 1998, along the proposed Baltimore Short Line Trail, which would connect the Baltimore City Trail Network and the Baltimore County Trail Network. Come be inspired by the work that has been done and encouraged to support continued revitalization efforts.

Steel, Glass, Plants and History: Behind the Scenes at the Howard P. Rawlings Conservatory
2025-04-13 14:30 - 16:00 | Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory, 3100 Swann Drive, Baltimore, MD, 21217, United States
Established in 1888 as the Druid Hill Conservatory and modeled after London’s famous Kew Gardens, today’s Howard P. Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens has grown from its original Palm House and Orchid Room to include three greenhouses, two display pavilions, and outdoor gardens. Join us as we stroll through the second oldest steel framed, glass building in the country to learn about its history and its botanical collection.
The idea for a conservatory in Baltimore began in 1874 when the city’s park commissioners directed architect George A. Frederick to design and make plans for new botanic building. Frederick formed a conservatory committee and sent one of its members to Kew Gardens in London, which became the model for the new design. It took over a decade to take hold, but eventually in 1888 the first structure of iron, glass and wood opened as the Palm House.
More recently, the Conservatory closed for two years in the early 2000s for major renovations. Upon reopening to the public in 2004, the new complex included a refurbished Palm House as well as a Mediterranean House, a Tropical House and a Desert House. With a new name to honor Delegate Howard Peters Rawlings, the 116-year-old Conservatory now has wonderful space for its collections that match its storied history.
Half of the proceeds will be going to the Conservatory.

Druid Ridge Cemetery by Bike
2025-04-12 10:30 - 12:30 | Druid Ridge Cemetery, 7900 Park Heights Avenue, Pikesville, MD, 21208, United States
Join Ralph Brown and Phil Briscoe on a bike tour of Druid Ridge Cemetery to see that, contrary to popular belief, not all famous Baltimoreans are buried at Green Mount Cemetery! Even 100 years ago, some people wanted to escape the bad city air and spend eternity in the bucolic hinterlands of the county. How could they have predicted that they would still end up within the confines of the Beltway? Did you ever wonder where the Cone sisters ended up, or John Goucher, or Virginia Hall, or Art Modell? Maybe you were afraid to visit Druid Ridge Cemetery because of the curse of Black Aggie. There will be a few slight ups and downs on the route but nothing too strenuous. Also—lots of trees and shade!

Historic Clifton Mansion
2025-04-12 10:00 - 11:00 | Clifton Mansion, 2701 Saint Lo Drive, Baltimore, MD, 21218, United States
Join us for a tour inside Clifton Mansion, the unique Italianate country house that has overlooked Baltimore City for over 200 years! At one time the summer home of War of 1812 captain Henry Thompson and then philanthropist Johns Hopkins, the story of Clifton Estate is one about two prominent businessmen, enslaved & free Black people, and more. You’ll see the latest restorations made possible by the Friends of Clifton Mansion and Civic Works. You will also be invited into unrestored spaces that are brimming with stories to tell! And the tour wouldn’t be complete without climbing the tower and taking in one-of-a-kind views of Clifton Park and our surrounding city. We hope to see you there.

Below Baltimore: An Archaeology of Charm City by Adam Fracchia
2025-04-06 14:00 - 15:00 | Engineers Club / Garrett Jacobs Mansion, 11 West Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore, MD, 21201, United States
Join us on April 6 to hear archaeologist Adam Fracchia discuss his work in Baltimore and his new book, Below Baltimore: An Archaeology of Charm City. Join Dr. Fracchia to explore the layers of the city’s material record from the late seventeenth century to the recent past by focusing on major themes around Baltimore’s growth into a mercantile port city, the city’s diverse immigrant populations and the history of their foodways, and the ways industries—including railroads, glass factories, sugar refineries, and breweries—structured the city’s landscape.

Baltimore Mid-Century: A Talk by Jack Burkert
2025-03-30 14:00 - 15:00 | Engineers Club / Garrett Jacobs Mansion, 11 West Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore, MD, 21201, United States
On March 30, join historian Jack Burkert to discover how the 1950’s made lasting changes to the way people lived, how they moved in and around the region, and where they found employment. From the early “crisis” in absorbing returning veterans and new families, to the way those new families would seek entertainment and recreation, Baltimore would be a far different place in 1959 than it was in 1950. Automobiles and the highways they rode on took over. The “Red Scare” went local, labor strikes begat unintended consequences while hula hoops, poodle skirts and fast food became modern trends. A decade many recall, but few realize how much of Baltimore’s 21st century had roots in the 1950’s.

LGBTQ Heritage in Charles Village
2025-03-30 10:00 - 11:30 | Normal’s Books & Records, 425 East 31st Street, Baltimore, MD, 21218, United States
Join us on a LGBTQ Heritage walking tour of Charles Village! You may know this neighborhood for its colorful “painted ladies,” but it was also home to many activists and institutions at the heart of the city’s LGBTQ community in the 1970s and 1980s. Our wonderful guides will take us on a walk past local landmarks from the original home of the Gay Community Center of Baltimore, now the GLCCB, to the St. Paul Street church that supported the growth of the Metropolitan Community Church, Baltimore’s oldest LGBTQ religious organization, and the radical feminist writers and publishers that gave a voice to lesbian authors who might not otherwise have been read. We hope you’ll join us to celebrate the incredible community that called Charles Village its home.

The Baltimore Basilica: A Behind-the-Scenes Tour
2025-03-29 12:00 - 13:00 | Baltimore Basilica, 409 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, United States
Join us for a tour of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also called the Baltimore Basilica. Built primarily between 1806 and 1821, the Baltimore Basilica was the first Cathedral built in the United States. Bishop John Carroll, America’s first Bishop and a cousin of Charles Carroll of Declaration of Independence signing fame, was lucky to connect with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who volunteered his architectural services and was to later achieve the moniker “Father of American Architecture.” This internationally significant building that has played a central role in the history of Baltimore and the Catholic Church, and, incidentally, happens to have more than a few accolades of its own: Minor Basilica (designated 1937), National Historic Landmark (designated 1972), Baltimore City historic landmark (designated 1975), and a national shrine (designated 1993).
We hope to see you there!

Laurel Cemetery Voluntour: Trash Clean-up and History Tour
2025-03-22 10:00 - 12:00 | Laurel Cemetery, 2401 Belair Road, Maryland, 21213, United States
Join us to learn about one of Baltimore’s most important, and forgotten cemeteries, and help clean it up as you learn! Laurel Cemetery was incorporated in 1852 as Baltimore’s first nondenominational cemetery for African Americans. It quickly became a popular place of burial for people across Black Baltimore’s socioeconomic spectrum, including 230 Black Civil War veterans and notables such as Civil Rights activist Reverend Harvey Johnson. In 1958 and after a series of lawsuits failed to prevail in the courts, Laurel Cemetery was leveled. Today it is the site of the Belair-Edison Crossing Shopping Center, and home to several businesses. However, many current patrons and nearby residents are unaware of the site’s former purpose and significance. Join members of the Laurel Cemetery Memorial Project to see the site firsthand…and have a hand in improving it. This free event will include an hour-long trash clean-up followed by a history tour of the site. All supplies will be provided. Please meet at the grassy area at 2401 Belair Road.

Thank you to Preservation Maryland and the Maryland Historical Trust for providing funds for this event.

Herring Run Park Trash Clean-Up
2025-03-15 10:00 - 12:00 | 1266 Woodbourne Ave, Baltimore, MD 21239, 1266 Woodbourne Ave, Baltimore, 21239, United States
Join us and our partner, Friends of Herring Run Parks, for a trash clean-up on March 15!
We: Provide all the supplies, including gloves!
You: Dress for the weather, remember comfortable/water resistant shoes and please bring your own reusable water bottle!

Thank you to NPS Chesapeake Gateways for supporting this project.
