Preservation Maryland

HISTORY & SIGNIFICANCE

The Jones Falls in Baltimore City, a river connecting to the larger Patapsco, was a key natural resource necessary for the development of grain mills. The Mt. Washington neighborhood was home to the first of Baltimore’s grain mills. Beginning in 1810, several other mills farther south produced grain that was transported via ships in Baltimore Harbor. Later, these mills played another significant part in the industrialization of the City. Mills in the Hampden-Woodbury neighborhood produced the majority of the world’s cotton duck supply, used for ship sails, by the late 19th century. These neighborhoods were also filled with mill workers who had recently immigrated to the United States from countries like Poland, Ukraine, and Russia, adding to the already significant German and Irish working populations.

As markets changed, these industries were no longer in demand, and the mills declined. After decades of non-use, nearly all have been adaptively reused and contribute to Baltimore’s new economic role as a center for start-up companies, the arts, regional cuisine, and more. With the reuse of the mill properties, neighborhoods like Hampden, Woodberry, and Remington are being revitalized with a new wave of young professionals from around the world.

THREAT & GOALS

The renewed vibrancy of the mills as cultural and economic centers is joining them to their surrounding neighborhoods in new ways. As the renovation of all the historic Jones Falls mills is nearly complete, creating wayfinding signage that depicts and describes the mills is a project of immediate importance. The signage, and programming connected to the signage, can foster heritage tourism, strengthen social connection between the mills and neighborhoods, and stimulate new investment in historic commercial business.