Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1904-03-02
nlent
THE FLAME-swsPT CITY.
Settled Long Before the War of the
Revolution.

Revolutions.
Baltimore is one q the oldest cities on
the American continent. Since Captain
John Smith sailed up the Chesapeake in
1G0S its site has known the football of
the white man, and as early as 1921
Claiborne established IA trading post on
Kent Island. Coles Harbor, which en-
braced 800 acres of what is now the
heart of the city was chartered to him
in 1868, Baltimore County having been
created III 1869.
The first historical record of the com
nnity asserting itself unitedly bears
the date of July Il, 1T29. when the
leading men of Baltimore County peti-
toned the general assembly of Maryland
for IA custom house and town charter.
Baltimore town was laid off the following
year by n commission of men whose
names are still represented ny some of
the leading families of the present city.
In 1896 the first city directory was is
sued containing $500 names, but the
city and its environs claimed Il popular
ton of 10000. and ranked next 10 New
York and Philadelphia as a commercial
center
In the trouble eliminating in the war
of 1912 Baltimore took an active part
and gained the title of "Mob-town.' due
| to riots following the publication of ar
| ticles criticising the government. On
| Sept. T.. 1914. the eyes Of the whole
country wer, turned on Baltimore by the
famous battle which inspired the Star
| Spangled Banner" by the Baltimorean
| Key.
Already the 5aildine of the first steam
! boat and the Introduction of steam into
| the mills had distinguished the city for
cnterarisc, and little later Baltimore
clippers the fastest sailing ships in the
world at the time. established reputa-
ton for excellence in shiphuilding that
only the Civil War wrested from the
city.
During the four years of the Civil
| War Baltimore was the scene of violent
conflict between the large Northern pop
ulation and the Southern sympathizers
who controlled the city government.
Many persons were imprisoned and II
numl " of newspapers were suppressed
for sentiments disloyal to the South
Baltimore's later history has not been
entirely free from sensational features.
In 1877 occurred the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad strike of unhappy memory. dur
ing which the militia was called ont and
several persons were killed or wounded.
From Il little town sixty acres in ex-
tent Baltimore has grown to 800 times
its original size. with 100 miles of streets,
most of them paved and many beautiful
public and private buildings. parks and
monuments The city is exceptionally
we'll laid out, its streets being broad.
with uniform regularity the main thor
oughfares running north and south and
east and west
The greatest disaster that ever over
took Baltimore previous TO this fire was
the great food that swept over part of
the city on j. ~ ~, 1868 On that day
the Patapsco. around the four branches
of which the city is built. overfowed the
city TO such an extent that the flood rose
to the tops of the lamp posts at Balti-
more and Harrison streets. drowning
many persons and destroying hundreds of
thousands of dollars worth of property
Baltimore is the sixth largest city in
the United States. The 1900 census
placed the population at 50S,9J7. The
population of Chicago in 1870. the year
previous to the big fire. was 306.G05