![[photo, World Trade Center (a pentagonal building), 401 East Pratt St., Baltimore, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/36loc/bcity/images/1198-1-2605.jpg)
Baltimore is one of only two Eastern U.S. ports where the main shipping channel reaches a depth of 50 feet (15.2 meters). Five public and twelve private terminals handle the Port's traffic. Closer to the Midwest than any other East Coast port, the Port in Baltimore City is within an overnight drive of one-third of the nation's population.
The center of international commerce for the region is the World Trade Center Baltimore. It houses the Maryland Port Administration and U.S. headquarters for major shipping lines.
World Trade Center (a pentagonal building), 401 East Pratt St., Baltimore, Maryland, February 2008. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, Tugboat, Baltimore Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/36loc/bcity/images/i006183b.jpg)
From 2002 to 2011, the Port of Baltimore saw a dramatic increase of 417.7% in exported cargo, growing from 5.7 million tons to 23.9 million tons.
Chief Exports: coal, corn, soybeans, lignite, coal coke, petroleum, and fuel oils.
Chief Imports: automobiles and small trucks, farm and construction machinery, iron ore, petroleum products, gypsum, sugar, cement, bauxite, salt, crude mineral substances, fertilizer and fertilizer materials, and ferroalloys. Baltimore also continues to grow as a major distributor of imported wood pulp and paper.
1906 Steam Tugboat BALTIMORE, moored in Baltimore Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland, September 2001. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, Tugboats, Fell's Point, Baltimore, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/36loc/bcity/images/i004379b.jpg)
The Port of Baltimore plays a vital role in Maryland's economy, generating $3.2 billion in annual revenue and local purchases, as well as supporting 50,700 jobs. It serves over 50 ocean carriers making nearly 1,800 annual visits. With its opening in 1990, the Seagirt Marine Terminal provides a 275-acre center for automated cargo-handling.
Total cargo moving through the Port grew by 15% in 2011, the largest increase of any major U.S. port, amounting to 37.8 million tons, up from 33 million tons in 2010. Moreover, the value of cargo traveling through the Port in 2011 grew by 24%, increasing to $51.4 billion, up from $41.5 billion in 2010. In 2010, automobile cargo jumped up 44%, and bulk cargo increased by 61%.
Tugboats, Fell's Point, Baltimore, Maryland, January 2000. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
The Port first drew attention for its ships in 1670 and was designated a port of entry by the General Assembly in 1706. Fells Point, the deepest part of the harbor, was home to numerous shipbuilders, and later would gain renown for its Baltimore clippers, as well as the Continental Navy. Its natural depth made Fells Point a center for trade and shipping, and, in 1773, it was incorporated into Baltimore City.
As Baltimore grew into a city during the Revolutionary War, the Port of Baltimore became a center for the trade with the West Indies that supported the war effort. Marylanders recognized the need to protect the Port. An earthwork fort, known as Fort Whetstone, was erected in 1776 on Whetstone Point, the narrow peninsula between branches of the Patapsco River. Wardens of the Port were authorized in 1783 to oversee construction of wharves, clear waterways, and collect duties from vessels entering and clearing the Port (Chapter 24, Acts of 1783).
Trade with China commenced in 1785 as John O'Donnell brought in goods to that part of the City called Canton, just east of Fells Point, and, during the nineteenth century, Baltimore clipper ships sped around the world and developed a particularly lucrative trade with South America.
To protect the Port, Fort McHenry replaced the Whetstone earthworks in 1794. Near the old fort, masonry stood in place of earthen walls, and more cannons were added, creating an upper and lower battery. The need for this more defensive structure was proven at the Battle of North Point during the War of 1812.
Although Baltimore was a port long before it was a city, the State delayed its role in port development until 1827. Then, the Governor began annually to appoint State wharfingers who took charge of State-owned or leased docks, particularly those adjacent to the State Tobacco Warehouse.
With the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad connecting to Port warehouses at Locust Point in 1845, Baltimore became the commercial gateway to an expanding nation. As supply and demand grew for imported goods to Baltimore, ship production and design increased.
Over time, the Port changed dramatically, most noticeably in its depth and width. In 1830 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surveyed Baltimore Harbor, establishing the central lane depth at 17 feet. Though dredging had been conducted earlier, the River and Harbor Act of 1852 first authorized dredging to obtain specific dimensions. The Act created a channel, some 22 feet deep and 150 feet wide, from Fort McHenry to Swan Point. To decrease sediment accumulations and reduce the need for dredging, in 1869 Brewerton Channel was created. Also 22 feet in depth, this new channel was 200 feet in width. Over the years, new channels have been added, deepened, and widened. Today, the main channel reaches 42 feet down and 800 feet across. Brewerton Channel was widened further in 2001. Currently, it is 35 feet deep and 600 feet wide.
Though constantly growing since its inception, considerable time elapsed before the Port had a State agency to oversee operations. The Maryland Port Authority assumed that role in 1956 (Chapter 2, Acts of Special Session of 1956). The Authority's prime concern was to keep the Port competitive by improving and modernizing its facilities and by promoting it worldwide. In 1971, the Authority was replaced by the Maryland Port Administration.
The Port of Baltimore continues to improve today. It adds jobs and revenue to Maryland's economic base, and has even begun ecological duties. In recent years, the Maryland Port Administration added a number of green projects to its workload, dredging and cleaning over 22 acres surrounding the Port, creating an environmental education center, and taking part in ecological programs, such as the Green Schools Program, and the Masonville Restoration Project.
In conjunction with the 300th anniversary of the Port's creation, the Governor named the State's public marine terminals the "Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore" on June 1, 2006.
© Copyright Maryland State Archives