Rotating History Project

DOWN THROUGH THE NEEDLE'S EYE: CALL FOR PROPOSALS

2012-01-15T12:13:00.000-08:00

The Rotating History Project, in cooperation with the EMP Collective, is taking proposals for its forthcoming exhibition, Down Through the Needle’s Eye. The 6-week show is scheduled to open on July 13th 2012, at the EMP Collective Space, located at 306 West Redwood Street, Baltimore MD.

This multimedia exhibition will serve as a case study of Baltimore’s Garment District, now commonly known as the Loft District—an area loosely falling between Fayette Street, Greene Street, Pratt Street and Hanover Street. Following the Civil War, needle industries—largely centered in the Garment District—became the largest generators of capital in Baltimore. It was here that umbrellas were first manufactured in the US and the largest and second largest men’s clothing factories in the world once operated. The city’s labor movement and many of its early union struggles happened here as well.

The rise and decline of the Garment District as a flourishing industrial center for Baltimore’s manufactured products, as well as the people who worked and struggled to maintain their livelihoods through the decades, speak to events and societal practices that are not alien to our own time and highlight the finite nature of our society’s industries in general.

The EMP Collective Space, located in the Faust Building, in the heart of the Garment District, was once a wholesale boot and shoe business, and through time leased space to clothing firms, dry goods wholesalers, and merchants of men’s furnishings.

The goal of the exhibition is to invite artists to create site/theme specific works that draw on any relevant themes or ideas that may resonate and inspire art. All mediums are welcomed, including 2D and 3D, film, music, installation, performances, lectures and all other forms of writing/dialogue, such as oral histories.

The show is part of a larger group of happenings called the Rotating History Project. Through a variety of artistic mediums, the Rotating History Project aims to draw attention to the threads running through our history, culture and environment, which remain relevant to our ever-evolving society today.

Artists may choose to include attachments of jpeg or PDF images of proposed work OR jpegs/PDFs of up to 5 previous work. Images should be under 2 megabits in size. For proposed projects based in the written medium, please submit a writing sample of up to five pages in a Word Doc or in the body of an email. Art related to performance or video may be submitted via mail on a DVD.

All proposals and jpeg/PDFs should be emailed to rotatinghistoryartproject@gmail.com by Thursday March 1, 2012.

All DVDs must be postmarked by Monday February 27th and mailed to Attn: Teddy Johnson/Heather Rounds, 717 Homestead St, Baltimore, MD 21218.

The Baltimore Garment District: some years and some facts, but far from all...

2012-01-15T12:10:00.000-08:00

The Garment District between1860 to 1920: It’s heyday era. Workers produced three to eight times the value of Baltimore’s next most important industry: canning.

1861: The Civil War. Banks tightened credit, trade between the north and south halted, manufacturing dipped and jobs were lost. Merchants began regaining their strength around 1863.

Baltimore was the undisputed center of the umbrella and straw hat industries, following the Civil War.

1870s: Growth, expansion and the innovation of new trades—shoes, shirts, woman’s garments and umbrellas. Factories opened and the population increased.

Gans Brothers umbrellas and parasols were popular throughout the United States, Canada and West Indies. The company slogan: “Born in Baltimore—Raised Everywhere”

750 workers a day made 3000 umbrellas and parasols a day.

Umbrellas were commonly referred to as bumbershoots.

As early as 1894, Baltimore’s Young Men’s Progressive Club, consisting largely of Jewish intellectuals, socialists, Zionists, and anarchists, pushed to unionize. The push spiked after the Russian Revolution of 1905.

1904: 10,000 men’s clothing workers were employed in the district. That year, the Great Baltimore Fire was accidently ignited in storage areas of the John E. Hurst Co. The fire swept east through the business district and the north harbor area, destroying 1,500 buildings for a loss of $200 million. The ruined buildings included many of the downtown clothing manufacturers.

Sweatshops— 357 shops were found in violation of city labor laws and 45 were arrested.

By 1906: Most men in the United States could say that they, at one point in their life, had worn shirts or underwear made in Baltimore.

Factories, where sewed products were assembled, could be found in lofts, alleys, garages or any where there was space.

Overalls: Baltimore dry goods houses distributed them by the ton.

Erlanger Brothers Clothing manufactured their best-known product, BVD underwear, which did not stand for, as many thought: Baltimore Ventilated Drawers

1909: Baltimore’s local number 4 of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union called an unsuccessful 26 week-long strike. Total membership in the union went from 2000 to 67,000.

End of WWI: 60% of the needle workers in Baltimore were organized. 15% of the laboring class as a whole was organized.

In 1916 the Amalgamated clothing workers of America became active in Baltimore

and attempted, unsuccessfully, to organize against Geif and Brothers. They did, however, reach an agreement with Henry Sonneborn Company.

“Battle of the Scissors”: Union clashing on the cutter floors of the Sonnenborn factory in August 1916, included men snapping at each other with cutting shears. Many were hospitalized, some were arrested.

“The cutter,” who guided the cutting machine along the lines of a pattern, was a job traditionally limited to men.

By 1917 most large clothing manufactures, except J. Sheenmen, where organized.

The oldest tie manufacturer in America, Schreter Neckwear, moved to Baltimore in 1919.

The Regatta Manufacturing Company and the Consolidated Gas and Electric Light and Power Company of Baltimore developed a blue daylight lamp enabling pressers to work effectively during the hours of diminishing daylight. The light made it easier to detect scorches on fabric that occurred during pressing.

Pressers had what was commonly considered the most exacting of all the jobs. An Electric iron weighed as much as six to twelve pounds. An iron was lifted from 35-75 times for each dress. A busy day meant up to 100 dresses per presser.

Some of the employees that lined the Baltimore and Howard Street picket lines in

1930 reportedly carried pistols and blackjacks. That year the International Ladies Garment Workers Union argued that the city had lower wages and poorer working conditions than competing, more organized cities. A general strike lasted 7 days.

Men commonly purchased straw hats annually—May 15 being a traditional day of purchase—until their decline in popularity. John F Kennedy was largely blamed for the decline.

Trends and what made for trends in men’s clothes in the 1930s: Times of war—military suit cuts; The Depression—quieter shades, two-pants suits and less linen summer suits; Times of high moral among sports fans—suits allowing for more room to move, with more material around the shoulders.

The Golf Bow Tie was inspired by President Harding’s golfing bow tie. The Smoothie Tie buttoned to the shirt and was named after the song “You’re an old Smoothie,” sung by Ella Fitzgerald. Shir-o-Shakker, a washable tie, was popular among steel workers at Sparrows Point, who wore it on the job.

Designers concluded that women began wearing head kerchiefs due to increased exposure to photographs of women living in poverty.

Prices following WWII for a men’s suit: 50 dollars, rising to 75 dollars, rising to 100 dollars—thought of by some to be the beginning of the end.

In the 1950s, companies Misty Harbor and Gleneagles were responsible for 80% of America’s rain wear.

For a coat to receive the London Fog label, it had to pass 32 inspections.

1966: 641,000 employees worked in women’s apparel.

In 1974, Robert Redford, playing Gatsby in the classic movie The Great Gatsby, wore a trend setting pastel suit made in Baltimore.

In 1976: 560,000 employees worked in women’s apparel.

1976: a Korean importer paid its labor 27 cents an hour. In Baltimore the average was 3 dollars an hour.

Some Baltimore based garment related manufacturing companies, most of which are no longer in business:

UMBRELLA MANUFACTURERS

Gans Brothers: Umbrellas and Parasols

Polan Katz + Co

Beechler (First Manufacturer of Umbrellas in US)

TIES

Resisto Ties: Created Ties called “Smoothies” and “Culture of Man”

L. Meyers Tie Company (Fells Point)

TV. Ties (Located in Fells Point, current company developed by Baltimore sports celebrity Rick Dempsey)

CLOTHING

Henry Sonneborn Co. (once the largest men’s clothing factory in the world)

L. Grief (once second Largest Men’s clothing factory in the Country)

Erlanger Brothers Clothing: Underwear

Katzenberg Brothers’: Athletic Wear (TV Hill, Relocated to Georgia in 1998)

JoS. A. Bank Clothiers: Suits, Casual Cloths (now outsources its merchandise production and focuses on retail)

J. Schoeneman: Coats, Vest, Trousers, Topcoats and Overcoats for Men, Youth and Boys

HATS

M.S Levy and Sons: Panama Hats (originally at Sharp and Lombard then Paca and Lombard)

Townsend and Grace: Paca Lombard Street Neighborhood

Brigham-Hopkins Co.: Located at Redwood and Paca Streets

RAINCOATS

London Fog: (Meadow Mills)

Harbor Master

Misty Harbor

Gleneagles

SHOES

Faust Brothers (Original Owners of building in which EMP collective is located.)

Hess Shoes: Closed in 1999 after 127 years, 409 West Baltimore Street. Later focused on retail)

WHOLESALE AND SUPPLIERS

Morton Schenk & Co.: 1927- original building at 412 W. Baltimore Street collapsed in 1998. Supplied buttons, zippers, thread, fabrics and other sewing supplies to clothing manufacturers, tailors and household seamstresses.

(Compiled from findings published in The Sun, 1938 & 1955; Baltimore Magazine, 1975; Warfield’s, 1989; The Evening Sun, 1955; City Paper, 1998)

Purchase the Same River Twice Catalog from Atomic Books!

2012-01-03T17:33:00.000-08:00

Atomic Books: Same River Twice :

Edited by Joe Young. Layout by Heather Rounds, Art Curation by Teddy Johnosn and Heather Rounds.

www.atomicbooks.com

Species of Civil War Ordance: New Work by RHP Contributor Joseph Young.

2011-12-12T18:09:00.000-08:00

"Each of these objects was flung from a cannon to destroy people or structures. The cities given in the text were battles sites in the war. Transfer on plasterboard." - Joseph Young

Images: Same River Twice continued.

2011-12-01T18:01:00.000-08:00

Detail of Artwork by Chad Tyler

Artwork pictured by Laura and Andy Stella

Artwork pictured by Laura and Andy Stella
Artwork pictured by Eb Froelhich

Artwork pictured by Amanda Wren Wagstaff

Artwork pictured by Teddy Johnson

Artwork by Beth Crisman

Artwork by Magnolia Laurie

Artwork pictured by Adam Void and Cheyenne Seeley
Artwork pictured by Dominic Terlizzi
Artwork pictured by Dave Snead

Artwork pictured by Paul Taylor

Images: Same River Twice continued.

2011-11-29T18:38:00.000-08:00

Artwork pictured by Teddy Johnson, Paul Taylor, Renee Tantillo

Artwork pictured by Joe Young, Dominic Terlizzi, Dave Snead, Amanda Wren Wagstaff and Eb Froehlich

New Images: Same River Twice.

2011-11-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

Artwork by Eb Froehlich and Magnolia Laurie
Artwork by Dave Snead, Amanda Wren Wagstaff

Artwork by Chad Tyler

2011-06-20T17:05:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all that attended the Same River Twice closing! It was a lot of fun.

2011-06-07T17:44:00.000-07:00

Joint Closing Art Receptions: SAME RIVER TWICE and VISION

Saturday June 18th

6pm-9 pm, Free

SAME RIVER TWICE

GSPOT Audio Visual Playground

2980 Falls Road, Baltimore.

Conceived and curated by the Rotating History Project (Teddy Johnson and Heather Rounds), along with local writer and artist, Joseph Young, SAME RIVER TWICE is an art exhibition exploring personal, historical, environmental, and cultural reactions and interactions with the Jones Falls watershed, the mills that sit along its banks and the people and culture that emerged as a consequence of the area’s industry and development. The opening of this exhibit was part of Baltimore Green Work's 8th annual Baltimore Green Week. SAME RIVER TWICE includes original, theme-specific work by 17 artists and a book which additionally features 7 writers. A book of the event’s featured artwork and original, theme specific writings will be available for a donation.

VISUAL ART BY: Lauren Boilini, Elizabeth Crisman, Eb Froehlich, Katie Heater, Teddy Johnson, Magnolia Laurie, Cheyenne Seeley, Dave Snead, Andy Stella, Laura Stella, Renee Tantillo, Paul Taylor, Dominic Terlizzi, Chad Tyler, Adam Void, Amanda Wren Wagstaff, Joseph Young

WRITING BY: Linda Franklin, Heather Rounds, Adam Trice, Jennifer Wallace, John Dermot Woods, Kate Wyer, Joseph Young

ABOUT THE ROTATING HISTORY PROJECT

Through various artistic mediums, the Rotating History Project aims to draw attention to the threads running through our history, culture and environment, without compromising the integrity of our subject matter. For us, history does not begin and end on a page. It moves all around us; alive wherever we may turn our head next. It's a tool for informing our present and future. Although our mediums are the arts, we see our target audience as the larger community, far beyond the scope of art patrons and practitioners. The Rotating History Project was founded by Baltimore based artists Heather Rounds and Teddy Johnson, who work in collaboration with a variety of individuals, specific to the themes of each event. Their first project was The Child Ballads Show in September 2010.

For event parking directions and additional information: http://rotatinghistory.blogspot.com/

Vision

Falls Road Studios

2981 Falls Road, across the street from The GSpot Gallery.

This exhibit organized by Jeremy Crawford and Adam Estes, which opened during ScapeScape, showcases some of Baltimore's best visual artists who work in diverse styles of portraiture and figurative painting.

Artists include Molly McNulty, Erin Fitzpatrick, Lauren McCallin, Teddy Johnson, Shaun Preston, James Swainbank, Greg McLemore, Justin Wainio, Jordan Kasey, Stefan Wayz, Melody Often and Jason Hoylman

2011-05-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

Same River Twice will be on view at Sunday's event Scapescape at the G-Spot, Ruintown and Falls Road Studios.

The visual art on view this weekend in the Same River Twice portion of Scapescape in the G-Spot gallery includes work by: Lauren Boilini, Elizabeth Crisman, Eberhard Froehlich, Katie Heater, Teddy Johnson, Magnolia Laurie, Cheyenne Seeley, Dave Snead, Renee Tantillo, Paul Taylor, Dominic Terlizzi, Chad Tyler, Adam Void, Amanda Wren Wagstaff, Joseph Young. Same River Twice is curated by the Rotating History Project. SAME RIVER TWICE is multidisciplinary art show exploring personal, historical, environmental, and cultural reactions and interactions with the Jones Falls watershed, the mills that sit along its banks and the people and culture that emerged as a consequence of the area’s industry and development.

A second visual art show at Scapescape is organized by Jeremy Crawford and Adam Estes with work by them as well as Molly McNulty, Erin Fitzpatrick, Lauren McCallin, Teddy Johnson, Shaun Preston, James Swainbank, Greg McLemore, Justin Wainio, Jordan Kasey, Stefan Wayz, Melody Often and Jason Hoylman

Tickets for Scapescape are $20 and sold at Atomic Books, True Vine Record Shop, and missiontix.com.
The festival is not BYOB; beer and wine will be sold with proceeds going to charity.

The full schedule of music is below.

GSPOT STAGE: 12-1 Cool DJ Willie
1-1:45 Benjie Loveless
2-2:45 the Creepers
3-3:45 Santa Dads
4-4:45 Suits
5-5:45 Yeveto
6-6:45 Sri Aurobindo
7-7:45 Ed Schrader's Music Beat
8-8:45 the Degenerettes
9-9:45 Microkingdom
10-10:45 Arbouretum
RUINTOWN STAGE:
1:30-2:15 Lushfarm
2:30-3:15 Rapdragons
3:30-4:15 Weekends
4:30-5:15 the Matrimonials
5:30-6:15 Big in Japan with Katrina Ford
6:30-7:15 Dope Body
7:30-8:15 Mickey Free
8:30-9:15 We Used to Be Family
9:30-10:15 Celebration
10:45 on Dan Deacon

2011-05-12T09:46:00.000-07:00

Check out Philip Laubner's article and photographs about Same River Twice in this weeks What Weekly.

2011-04-28T14:08:00.001-07:00

First images from Same River Twice: Opening Reception

2011-03-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

SAME RIVER TWICE: A Night of Art, Music, and Literature.
GSPOT Audio Visual Playground
Saturday, April 23^rd, 2011

2980 Falls Road, Baltimore.
6pm-8pm, Art Reception and Limited Edition Book Release: FREE.
8pm-11pm, Literary Reading and Music: 5 dollar suggested donation.
A book of the event’s featured artwork and original writings will be available for a donation. Locally sourced eats will also be available, prepared by local artist, activist, and chef Dane Nester, so it’s recommended you come hungry.
http://rotatinghistory.blogspot.com/

Conceived and curated by the Rotating History Project (Teddy Johnson and Heather Rounds), along with local writer and artist, Joseph Young, SAME RIVER TWICE is a one-night, multidisciplinary arts event exploring personal, historical, environmental, and cultural reactions and interactions with the Jones Falls watershed, the mills that sit along its banks and the people and culture that emerged as a consequence of the area’s industry and development. As part of the Baltimore Green Work's 8th annual Baltimore Green Week—a week long series of events promoting sustainability and the environment—SAME RIVER TWICE includes original, theme-specific work by 19 artists and writers, as well as traditional and old-timey musical performances by The Shapenote Sisters (with special guests Anna Roberts-Gevalt and Elizabeth LaPrelle) and the Manly Deeds.

VISUAL ART BY:
Lauren Boilini, Elizabeth Crisman, Eberhard Froehlich, Katie Heater, Teddy Johnson, Magnolia Laurie, Dane Nester, Christine Sajecki, Cheyenne Seeley, Dave Snead, Andy Stella, Laura Stella, Renee Tantillo, Paul Taylor, Dominic Terlizzi, Chad Tyler, Adam Void, Amanda Wren Wagstaff, Joseph Young

WRITING AND LITERARY READING BY:
Linda Franklin, Heather Rounds, Adam Trice, Jennifer Wallace,
John Dermot Woods, Kate Wyer, Joseph Young

ABOUT THE MUSICIANS

The Shapenote Sisters (with special guests Anna Roberts-Gevalt and Elizabeth LaPrelle) are a trio of lovely ladies who enjoy drinking tea together, eating treats from far away places (and Trader Joe's) and singing. We mostly sing shapenote songs (hence our current band name) but we also enjoy some early country, old-time and other sister-style harmonies, so don't be surprised when we sing something else! Dark and haunting is our trademark, but we can make you smile, too.

The Manly Deeds plays a style of old-timey American roots music shaped as much by the landscapes of their Baltimore, Maryland, home as by the musical traditions they aspire to. Their songs reflect lives lived in the shadow of the Appalachian Mountains and pulled by Chesapeake Bay tides; nestled at the top of the south and the bottom of the north. The five members, formerly known as The Middle East, use simple string and found instruments to create timeless songs that sound as comfortable plucked from a mountain porch as a city street corner. The band makes no claim to have lived all the lives they sing about, from road-weary travelers, bitter and battered sailors, to workers and lovers. In stead, they search out the common themes in our ordinary and extraordinary moments and the uncertain providence they all lead to.

Gallery open by appointment.
For alternate viewing times contact rotatinghistoryartproject@gmail.com
For event parking directions: http://rotatinghistory.blogspot.com/

Same River Twice during Baltimore Green Week

2011-01-14T14:40:00.001-08:00

We are excited to announce that our spring show, The Same River Twice, will be included as part Baltimore Green Works' 8th annual week of events Baltimore Green Week on Saturday April 23, 2011. We look forward to working with them and hope that our multi-disciplinary arts event will compliment their mission.

Call for Written Submissions

2010-12-03T07:49:00.000-08:00

Written submissions are sought for a multimedia art show, Same River Twice, based on the history, culture, and environment of the Jones Falls River of Baltimore City and County. Submissions are encouraged in all genres—poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.

Same River Twice is scheduled to open in April 2011 at the G-Spot, an art gallery and performance space located on the banks of the lower Jones Falls in Hampden. The show, which will include visual art, music, performance, multimedia, and writing, will explore personal, historical, environmental, and cultural reactions and interactions with the Jones Falls. The audience for the show is meant to include any and all of the communities that use and live near the Jones Falls, including businesses, art patrons and practitioners, motorists, nature seekers, and residents. The show is part of a larger group of happenings called the Rotating History Project, founded by Teddy Johnson and Heather Rounds.

Writers of all types are encouraged to submit work that uses the Jones Falls, both the river and its environs, as a starting place or inspiration. The written work will be curated and edited by local writer Joseph Young, and those works chosen will be published in the Same River Twice book, which will feature full-color art as well. Authors will also be invited to read their work at the show’s opening reception in April.

Writers should limit their work to 3000 words or less. Because of space limitations in the book, shorter pieces may be given priority over longer works, but quality will be the first concern; thus, longer pieces of special merit are encouraged.

Work must be submitted by January 10, 2011 for consideration. Address work to Joseph Young at rotatinghistoryartproject@gmail.com.

CALL FOR ART

2010-11-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

The Rotating History Project is taking proposals for its Spring show, Same River Twice, to be held on April 23th, 2011, at the GSpot--2980 Falls Road, Baltimore MD.

This multimedia show will serve as a case study of the Jones Falls, the mills that were built along its banks and the people and culture that emerged as a consequence of industry and development. With this as an over arching theme, emphasis will be placed on the relationship between industrial development and the watershed environment, spanning from the 1600s onward to present day. The show will include visual art, music, performance, multimedia, and writing, The audience for the show is meant to include any and all of the communities that surround the Jones Falls, including businesses, art patrons and practitioners, motorists, nature seekers, and residents. The show is part of a larger group of happenings called the Rotating History Project, founded by Teddy Johnson and Heather Rounds. Their first project, The Child Ballads, was held at the GSpot in September of 2010.

Proposals for all visual mediums are now being accepted, including (but not limited to) 2D, 3D, performance pieces and video.

Proposals should be sent via email and include a description of the intended project in 250 words or less. Please include the proposal description in the body of the email, rather than as an attachment. Sending a resume is optional. Preference will be given to proposed artwork that best contributes to the overall vision/theme of the project, as well as the general mission of the Rotating History Project (see the *About Us* section to the right). Artists may choose to include attachments of jpeg images of proposed work or jpegs of up to 5 previous works. Art related to performance or video may be submitted via mail on a DVD.

DEADLINES

All proposals and jpegs should be emailed to rotatinghistoryartproject@gmail.com by January 10.

All DVDs must be postmarked by January 6^th and mailed to Attn: Heather Rounds, 1701 North Gay Street, Baltimore, MD 21213.

An image of the final works will be included in a book, dedicated to artworks and writings related to the theme. This book will be for sale on the night of the event. For this reason, a high-resolution jpeg image of all finished art works must be submitted by March 17th.

For those interested in submitting written works, please see call for submission post below.

RESOURCES

Don't know a lot about the history of the Jones Falls and its environs? No worries! For potential sources of inspiration and information, check out the historical notes included in the post below and visit the provided links.

For a good introduction into Jones Falls mill history and its culture, check out the The Baltimore Book: New Views of Local History, Edited by Elizabeth Lee, Linda Shopes, Linda Zeidman, Chapter 3 Hampden-Woodberry: Baltimore's Mill Villages, Edited by Bill Harvey

Arcadia publishes dozens of easy to find, informative pictorial histories of Baltimore.

You might also visit the Maryland Historical Society: http://www.mdhs.org/

Questions? Send them to heatherrounds@gmail.com
teddyschool@hotmail.com

A BRIEF HISTORY: THE JONES FALLS, ITS MILLS AND ITS PEOPLE

2010-11-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

A BRIEF HISTORY:

1661: David Jones built a house on the bank of a stream that would eventually be named in his honor, establishing himself as the land’s first settler. Through the centuries, the stream would be called many things, including glittering, eccentric, rebellious, violent, and belligerent.

Jones Town, often called Old Town—the first established settlement of Baltimore—was built along the Falls in 1732.

Through the 1750s, as the population of western Maryland increased, and the demand for grain intensified, Baltimore became the hub for a network of graining operations.

In these early years of the Jones Falls, the water was alive with mosquitoes, chirped with woodcock and croaked with frogs. It attracted swimmers and crabbers and was considered deep enough to drown a man.

A horseshoe bend curled west toward a 40-foot bluff at Calvert and Lexington streets—where the original Baltimore court house once stood, and the battle monument has since been erected. Boats would tie up close to the courthouse.

In 1758, the marshy bed of the Falls, known as Steiger’s Meadow, was drained, cleared and converted into cattle pastures by a local butcher. That same year, a wooden bridge was constructed, where the Gay Street Bridge now stands.

In 1776, in an effort to curb erratic flooding, the state assembly ordered the Jones Falls Harrison swamp drained.

A decade later, in 1786, a major flood takes out bridges and stores and drowns several people and horses.

Englehart Yeiser dug a canal east of Steiger’s meadow in 1789, cutting off the water’s natural course along the horseshoe bend.

In 1802, a gristmill (flour mill)—the first mill of Hampden-Woodberry—opens for business, attracting mill hands from as far as Kentucky and West Virginia.

As the mill district along the Jones Falls valley developed, it became known as “The Bottom,” or “The Hollow.”

In 1804, the Falls Road turnpike, a toll road following the route of an ancient Native American warpath, was chartered to connect downtown Baltimore with Hampden-Woodberry.

Covering portions of the stream, was first proposed in 1817.

In 1837 the Jones Falls rose 20 feet past its banks, flooding homes, killing 19 people, 40 horses, and 60 cows, destroying all but one bridge and washing away several milldams.

Stone Hill, the community along the Falls built by David Carroll in the 1840s, actively recruited families from parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia to work in the flourishing mills.

Throughout the 1800s, the factories along the Falls are gradually converted into cotton mills. Between 1861-1865, The Civil War temporarily cut off raw cotton from the Deep South, but by the end of the war the mills began to grow again.

An 1868 flood kills 50 people and fills 2000 cellars to the ceiling.

With each flood, the higher and the stronger the bridges and walls that were built.

By the 1870s, the Hampden-Woodberry workforce, comprised of children, men and women, most of whom were local, white-American born, had grown to nearly to 2931. The average workday was 12 hours.

In 1877 Hampden-Woodberry railroad workers went on strike— a conflict would become known as the Great Strike of 1877.

Contrary to the desires of most local citizens, Hampden-Woodberry was annexed to Baltimore city in 1888.

The 1890s became known as a “period of industrial consolidations,” when Mount Vernon Woodberry Mills was created, consisting of Park Mill, Druid Mill and the original Mount Vernon Mills and Hooper operations. By this decade, the mills employed nearly 4000 people and the era goes on record as the peak of the industry.

By the mid 1800s, raw sewage filled the Jones Falls, giving Baltimore the highest typhoid rate of any city in the country. Official city warnings against wading or swimming in the stream began to be issued and, up until the mid 1900s, the city administrated typhoid vaccinations to anyone who fell in the water.

In an effort to separate sanitary waste from storm water and city streams, Baltimore began building a sewer system in 1910.

Between 1911 and 1916, the Fallsway was built. The Baltimore City Council and State Legislature agreed to the 1.6 million dollar project, creating a single tunnel twenty-one feet wide and burying the river underground. At least 4 workers died on the job.

“I’ve come to bury the Jones Falls, not praise it, “ said Henry Barton Jacobs—Master of Ceremony at the 1915 dedication of the Fallsway—before setting off the dynamite that diverted the lower Jones Falls into the underground tunnel.

The WWI boom, spanning from 1915 to 1918, brought an influx of jobs and heightened demands for cotton. During this period, a strike of the Mill workers and Machinists at Poole and Hunt Foundry on Clipper Road, successfully led to unionization and better wages.

The 1920s saw the end of war and the sail era. As cotton duct became a thing of the past, mills turned to the production of oil lamp wicks, sash cords for windows, and netting for fishing seines.

In 1923, a proposal to increase the workweek to 54 hours, along with a 7.5% pay increase, led to another mill strike. The strike turned out to be the states biggest that year and ended in defeat of the union. Mill owners began searching for alternative labor sources and some operations, such as Mount Vernon Mills, headed south. The beginning of the end for Baltimore’s mill industry had begun.

That same year, Baltimore Evening Sun published an article entitled “Woodberry Area Hardly Touched by City Advance.” The subtitle read: “District, including Hampden, Much as it was 50 Years Ago. Cotton Mills Afford Chief Means of Work. Nearly All People There Americans for Generations.”

The management of Mount Vernon-Woodberry Mill severed its connection with the Hampden-Woodberry community in 1925, by selling off the workers’ housing.

Ground broke for the Noxzema Chemical Company in 1926.

On June 8th of that year, what was probably a thrown lit cigarette sparked off petroleum fumes in the 1914 conduit. Explosions blew the covers from the manholes lining the Falls Way, from Baltimore Street to North Madison Street. Windows were shattered and one man suffered cuts from flying glass. 40 feet high flames spanned the open portion of the river from Baltimore to Pratt Street, destroying a burlesque theater and filling downtown streets with smoke.

1939-1945: WW II. A spike in the need for cotton duct led to another, albeit brief, cotton mill boom.

The Great Depression of the 1930s saw Mill workers either unemployed of suffering from shorter workweeks. Along the river, children could be found scavenging for firewood.

By the 1950s, downtown Baltimore had grown dense with employees, who were unhappy with the 45 min commute to work from their homes in Baltimore County.

Jones Falls Expressway broke ground in 1956 and the highway opened in 1962.

By the 1960s most mills had closed, with the last one, Mount Vernon Mills, finally shutting down in 1972.

Meadow Mill, which eventually became London Fog, moved operations to South East Asia in 1989.

By the 1980s artists and craftsman took to the otherwise abandoned mill workspaces, converting them into their own places.

In 2006, Clipper Mill opened, as a mix-use development comprised of office and retail space, condominiums, rental apartments, and restaurant space.

In 2010, Fells Point based Terranova Ventures puts in plans to turn the Mount Vernon Mills artist run and inhabited studios, entertainment venues and residential spaces into condominium and mixed use space. The project is still pending.