page_title: History of Lithuanians in Baltimore
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: History of Lithuanians in Baltimore / History
caption_attribution_description: English: St. Alphonsus' Church, Rectory, Convent and Halle on the NRHP since May 23, 1973. At 112-116, 125-127 W. Saratoga St. in southeast Baltimore, Maryland. Associated with St. John Neumann
context_page_description: The history of Lithuanians in Baltimore dates back to the mid-19th century. Thousands of Lithuanians immigrated to Baltimore between the 1880s and 1920s. The Lithuanian American community was mainly centered in what is now the Hollins–Roundhouse Historic District. Baltimore's Lithuanian community has founded several institutions to preserve the Lithuanian heritage of the city, including a Roman Catholic parish, a cultural festival, a dance hall, and a yeshiva.
context_section_description: Lithuanians began to settle in Baltimore in 1876. The wave increased greatly during the 1880s and continued in large numbers until the 1920s. By 1950, the Lithuanian community numbered around 9,000. These Lithuanians settled primarily in a neighborhood north of Hollins Street that became known as Baltimore's Little Lithuania.
  In 1889, Jonas Šliūpas founded the Lithuanian Scientific Society in Baltimore. It promoted Lithuanian language and culture and was active until 1896.
  Three Roman Catholic churches have been designated as Lithuanian parishes: St. Alphonsus' beginning in 1917, St. John the Baptist Church from 1888 to 1917,  and St. Wenceslaus beginning in 1872. St. Alphonsus' is the only remaining Lithuanian parish in Baltimore, as St. Wenceslaus was re-designated as a Bohemian parish and St. John the Baptist Church closed in 1989.
  While most Lithuanians who settled in Baltimore were Roman Catholic, a large minority were Lithuanian Jews. Between the 1880s and the 1920s, Lithuanian Jews (also known as Litvaks) were a major component of Jewish immigration to Baltimore. The Yeshivas Ner Yisroel, a prominent yeshiva in Baltimore, was founded as a Lithuanian (Litvish)-style Talmudic college by Jews from Lithuania and Belarus. Litvaks also helped found the B'nai Israel Synagogue.
caption: St. Alphonsus Church, Rectory, Convent and Halle, March 2012.
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