Canton Timeline
1782
Baltimore City annexes area west of Harris Creek
1785
August
Capt. John O'Donnell brings first shipload of China goods to Baltimore & settles here
October 16th
O'Donnell marries Sarah Chew-Elliot of Fells Point
1786
O'Donnell buys 11 acres east of Harris Creek and calls it Canton
1790
O'Donnell household in Baltomore County (Canton) shows up in first U.S. census of 1790
May 1st
First of seven children born to John & Sarah O'Donnell
1792
Columbus O'Donnell born, eldest son of John & Sarah O'Donnell
1796
O'Donnell has acquired 1,941 acres
1797
September 7th
U.S.F. Constellation launched at David Stoddard's shipyard on Harris Creek, first ship of U.S. Navy
1801
Smallpox treatment center and quarantine center built at Lazaretto Point
1803
Betsy Patterson meets Prince Jerome Bonaparte (Napoleon's brother) at O'Donnell estate in Canton
Christmas Eve
Patterson & Bonaparte married by Archbishop Carroll at, some believe, O'Donnell estate
1805
October 4th
O'Donnell dies at age 56, buried in Westminster churchyard, Egyptian style tomb near Poe's first grave
1808
O'Donnell's Canton plantation advertised for rent
1814
September 12-14th
Batter of 3 cannon at Lazaretto Point help with defense of city as British ships bombard Ft. McHenry
1817
February 3rd
Maryland General Assembly passes bill moving Baltimore city line to East Avenue (middle of street)
1820
Racetrack built on north side of Boston and Clinton sts., closes few years later
1823
Potter's Course, another racetrack built south of Boston and Clinton, later known as Kendall track
1828
December
Columbus O'Donnell, William Patterson, Peter Cooper, et al. form the Canton Company
1828-1829
Peter Cooper forms Canton Iron Works at Boston & Hudson sts. with rolling mills & kilns
1831
34-foot high Lazaretto Lighthouse built near southern end of Clinton St. with detached keeper's house
1835
Canton Company stock becomes hot commodity on Wall Street thanks to speculator Daniel Drew
1836
Most streets in Canton laid out but not many constructed
1840
May 4th
National convention of the Whig Young Men held at Kendall track to hear Henry Clay & Daniel Webster endorse William Henry Harrison for U.S. president; 20,000 men marched from Baltimore & Charles sts.
1844
Another Whig convention held at Kendall track, Henry Clay nominee for U.S. president
1846
Horace Abbott buys Canton Iron Works and expands plant
1847
Fall
Canton Methodist Church, first church in Canton, dedicated on Clinton St. between Boston & Toone
1848
Booz Bros. Shipyard established at Harris Creek & Kenwood Avenue (site of Shipyard Apts)
1850
Baltimore Copper Smelting Co. formed in 1600 block S. Clinton St., making 6 million pounds by 1860
1851
Kendall track sold for $242.50/acre, total 112 acres
1853
Horse-drawn omnibus becomes first public transit in Canton between Franlin & Eutaw & Kendall track
1854
St. Bridget's (Brigid's) Catholic Church opens at Canton (Elwood) Ave. and Hudson St.
1859
Canton Market opens at O'Donnell and Potomac Sts. (site of current park)
LATE 1850S
Wendell Bollman opens Patapsco Bridge & Iron Works on Clinton St. below Boston St.
1860
George Pabst opens small brewery at SE corner of O'Donnell & Baylis sts.
1861
Fort Marshall built by Union Army to keep Baltimore city from joining Confederates (site of Sacred Heart Catholic Church & school) (additional forts are built in & around city including Federal Hill fort)
1861-1863
Abbott Iron Works produces thick iron plates for Civil War ironclad U.S.S. Monitor
1861-1865
Wives of officers at Fort Marshall housed at Altevogt's Tavern, NW corner Conkling & O'Donnell sts.
1862
Fr. Gibbobns assigned to St. Lawrence O'Toole (Our Lady of Good Counsel) Church in Locust Pt.; he rows across the river to serve both churches
1864
Fr. Gibbons builds St. Brigid's 3-story rectory next to church on Canton (Ellwood) Avenue
1865
Welsh copper workers build Presbyterian church on Toone St. under direction of Rev. J. Wynne Jones
Baltimore Gaslight Co. builds tank at Clinton and Cardiff sts. to distribute gas to homes & businesses
1869
J.S. Young Co. opens on Boston St. producing industrial licorice, dyes & tanning extracts
1870-1885
Lazaretto Fertilizer, Patapsco Guano, Maryland Fertilizer, Susquehanna Fertilizer, Davison Chemical, Baugh & Sons & Chemical Co. of Canton, open fertilizer plants on lower Clinton St.
1870S
Many row houses build for workers and families north of O'Donnell St.
1870
Public School No. 1, known as Kenny school, built on 1st St. (Highland Ave.) between Toone & Elliott
1872
Skilled Irish & Polish workers begin immigration to work in Canton factories
Wunder's brewery opens at NE corner of Conkling & O'Donnell sts., becomes National (Mr. Boh)
1873
March 25th
Columbus O'Donnell dies at 81, buried at Greenmount Cemetery
April
John Gardner opens grain elevator & warehouse at south end of Canton Co. property
Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church founded on Ft. Marshall site to serve the growing German Catholic population of Canton and Highlandtown, first church at Highland & Foster aves.
1874
Edward Renneburg & Sons begins making equipment for oyster and other canning businesses
German United Evangelical Church dedicated at East Avenue and Dillon Street
October
Holy Evangelists Episcopal Church dedicated at Potomac and Dillon sts.
1876
Christian Gehl opens small brewery on SE corner Conkling & O'Donnell, becomes Gunther's in 1880
Convent for Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School built on Foster Avenue
1877
Decmber 14th
Baltimore United Oil formed under sponsorship of Standard Oil Co.
1878
Baker-Whitely opens coal company in 2200 block S. Clinton St. to supply ships in Baltimore harbor
March 30th
First telephone in Canton installed at Booz Bros. Shipyard, Boston St. and Kenwood Ave.
LATE 1870S
Rev. J. Wynne Jones opens reading/recreation rooms (Workingmen's Institute) at NW corner of Elliott St. & Ellwood Ave. because men work 12 or more hours/day & have nothing to do but drink. Enoch Pratt is on the board of directors
1880
Booz Bros. moves across the harbor to foot of Federal Hill
1881-1882
Company No. 7, Canton firehouse built at SW corner Balylis & Toone sts., and housed police station
1883
Norton Tin Can Co. of Chicago acquires Abbott Iron Works to make tin cans for canning industry
1883-1884
3-story houses for Welsh copper workers built along 1600 block S. Clinton St.; known as Copper Row
1884
November 30th
New Canton Methodist Church dedicated at Canton (Ellwood) Ave. and Dillon St.
1886
February 15th
Canton Library opens at Canton (Ellwood) Ave. & O'Donnell St., first branch of Enoch Pratt Free Library, architect Charles Carson also designed 3046 O'Donnell St. (key hole house), Mt. Vernon Methodist Church, Goucher Hall next to Lovely Lane Methodist, 1880s wing of Evergreen House
1887
May 15th
Canton & other Baltimore County residents vote against extending city line eastward from East Ave.
1890
January 29th
Messiah English Lutheran Church begins in chapel on O'Donnell St. (site of senior housing)
1891
Canton Congregational Church opens at Highland Ave. and Elliott St.
1892
Baltimore United Oil Co. sold to Standard Oil Co. (John D. Rockefeller)
Canton National Bank founded at East Ave. & Elliott St. (many merges over years, now Carrollton)
1893
July 29th
Baltimore's first bathing beach opens at 2nd Ave. (Cardiff St.) & river, known as Baptizing Shore
1895
Norton Tin Plate & Can Co., Boston St., builds new gabled manufacturing plant (currently DAP building)
1896
Rev. William Batz becomes pastor of German United Evangelical Church, East Ave. & Dillon St., dies in 1926, but people admire him so much church has been unofficially known as Batz's Church since
1899
Present Holey Evangelists Episcopal Church opens at Potomac & Dillon Sts.
1900
March 1st
Messiah English Lutheran Church dedicates new granite church building at Potomac & O'Donnell sts.
1901
March
American Can Co. formed, takes over Norton Tin Plate & Can Co. at Boston & Hudson sts.
1902
June 16th
Fire Engine Co. No. 2 opens in new building at Linwood Ave. & O'Donnell St.
November 9th
St. Casimir Catholic Church opens on Lakewood Ave. at O'Donnell St. for growing Polish population
1904
American Can Co. builds large warehouse along Boston St. next to 1895 gabled building
1906
Canton Railroad begun by Canton Co. connecting businesses to all major railroads in city
1908
Present Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholoc Church building constructed at oster Ave. & Conkling St.
1911
Potomac Poultry Food Co. opens on Keith Ave. to convert oyster shells to poultry food
1912
Renneburg & Sons moves to Boston St. and Lakewood Ave. (site of Shipyard Apts.)
1913-1914
William Oktavec begins painting window screens popular all over Canton for decades
1914
Tin Decorating Co. started by American Tobacco Co., world's largest producer -- 4 million tins/day/1937
1916
Lazaretto Lighthouse first in Maryland to be electrified
1918
March 29th
Maryland General Assembly approves moving city line from East Avenue to present location
1923
American Can Co. builds flatiron building at intersection of Boston, Hudson and Montford
1926
September 29th
Original Lazaretto Lighthouse demolished and new 39-foot high lighthouse opened
1927
New Renaissance-revival style St. Casimir's Catholic Church opens on Kenwood Ave. at O'Donnell St. with replica of altar from Basilica of St. Anthony's in Padua, Italy; Palmer, Willis, Lambdin architects
1928
Canton Days published by Canton Company to commemorate its centenary
1929
Penroad Corp., part of Pennsylvania RR, buys Canton Co.; Sen. Harry S Truman criticizes the sale
1941-1945
Renneburg & Sons, Boston St. (site of Shipyard Apts.) makes foxhole covers during WWII
1943
Canton Market closes
1946
Rukert Terminals Corp. buys Lazaretto Point from Western Maryland RR for warehouse & piers
1947
National Gypsum Co. opens wallboard production plant at 2300 S. Newkirk St.
1950
July 27th
Canton Recreation Center opens in former polics station at Baylis and Toone sts.
1951
May 28th
Canton playfield opens, Boston St. between Ellwood & East aves. (site of Du Burns Soccer Arena)
1954
August
Second Lazaretto Lighthouse decommissioned
1957
Esso/Standard Oil Copmpany stops making gasoline at Boston Street refinery
Present United Evangelical Church building constructed at East Ave. and Dillon St.; Civil War artifacts found during construction
November 29th
Baltimore Harbor Tunnel opens, 1.4 miles ling, $138 million to build
1959
Hamm's Brewery buys Gunther's Brewery, Conkling St., between O'Donnell & Boston sts.
1960
July 19th
Canton Company becomes wholly-owned subsidiary of International Mining Co.
1962
September 11th
Lehigh Portland Cement Co. buys property on S. Clinton St., builds silos & opens distribution center
1964
Schaefer's Brewery buys Hamm's (former Gunther's) Brewery, Conkling St. from O'Donnell to Boston
1966
January
City Council passes condemnation bill for construction of I-83 expressway along Boston St.
1967
Revere Copper & Brass Co. closes its sheet & tube manufacturing plant on S. Clinton St. (Hale site)
Present St. Brigid's Catholic Church building constructed at Ellwood Ave. and Hudson St.
1968
Baltimore city demolishes 215 houses between Boston & Elliott sts. & Linwood and Lakewood aves.
Gloria Aull & Barbara Mikulski start Southeast Council Against the Road (SCAR) to protest construction of East-west Expressway through Canton, Fells Pt., Federal Hill & other communities
1970S
City spends over $15 million to rebuild Lakewood Avenue storm drain
1971
November
Barbara Mikulski elected to City Council
1975
American Smelting & Refining Co. closes copper plant on S. Clinton St. (industrial park site), covered 45 acres, emplyed up to 12,000 workers, owned by Guggenheim's: i.e. Guggenheim Museum, etc.
National Brewery closes Canton plant, production continues in Linthicum next to beltway & I-895
1978
Gunther, Hamm's Schaefer Brewery closes
Historic Canton by Norman G. Rukert published by Bodine & Associates, Baltimore
September
Canton Market roof moved to playfield near Toone and Robinson sts.
1980
January 29th
Canton Historic District added to National Register of Historic Places
John O'Donnell statue in O'Donnell Square dedicated, Tilden Streett, sculptor
1983
Anchorage Townhouses, 40 three-story houses, completed; first new waterfront houses built in Baltimore for over 100 years; initial asking prices $152,500-$172,500
1984
J.S. Young property sold for Baltimore Marina Center development proposal, it flops, more plans follow
1985
Lazaretto Lighthouse re-built in memory of Norman G. Rukert
March
Hatton Senior Center opens at Fait and Linwood aves.
November 23rd
Fort McHenry Tunnel opens, 1.5 miles long, 5 1/2 years to build, cost $750 million
1986
February 15th
Canton Library celebrates 100th anniversary with gala re-enactment of original 1886 opening program and publication of Canton Centennial Cookbook; 1,000 copies sell out quickly
1987
Spring
Tindeco Wharf Apartments, Boston Street, completed & occupied; 240 rental units
Spring
Shipyard Apartments (former Renneburg Co.), 2639 Boston St., completed; 56 rentals
April
North Shore at the Anchorage, 2225 Boston St., proposed 120 condo units and 12 pier houses, 1 bedroom $142,000 up to 3 bedrooms $302,000; pier houses $1/2-$1 million, site of former Volunteers of America halfway house for newly released prisoners (before that Gibbs Canning Co.) (never built)
State of Maryland buys Canton Railroad for $875,000
Construction begins on 124 Canton Square townhouses (site demolished for East-west Expressway)
Anchorage Tower, 2515 Boston St., completed; 95 luxury condos at $110,000-$399,000
October
Canton Nursing Center opens, Boston St. between Ellwood & Decker aves. (several owners since)
October
Community activists form Waterfront Coalition to have local input into Canton/Fells Pt. planning process; asks for progressive development
November
Waterfront Coalition releases its Canton Guide Plan because city has no master plan for development
December 12th
City Council passes bill creating PUD (Planned Unit Development) for J.S. Young/Baltimore International Yachting Center property and bills to permit high density B-1-3 zoning with 90-foot height permitted on 2215-2313 Boston St. lot (across from Sip & Bite) and 2315-2325 Boston St. (next to Anchorage townhouses). Properties have since been combined & are being developed
1988
Spring
Waterfront Coalition asks city to develop a master plan for waterfront development in Canton/Fells Pt.
Spring
American Can Company closes lithography ovens, the last operations at the 87-year-old plant
August 31st
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, a federal agency, notifies Baltimore City that re-development of the historic American Can buildings "should select a development proposal responsive to citizen input," regarding adaptive re-use of the buildings after the Waterfront Coalition & other community residents reject demolition of site
1989
Atlantic & Southweatern Broom Company, Baylis & Boston sts., closes
October
New York developer Michael Swerdlow abandons plans for re-development of American Can (200,000 square feet commercial, 300 condo units) and asks city to allow demolition of the buildings. Advisory Council on Historic Preservation tells city that if a demolition permit is issued, the city will lose $8.5 million UDAG earmarked for the site.
Fall
City passes Urban Renewal Plan for Canton/Fells Pt., ignoring community requests for minor changes affecting height and density of development proposals
1989-1990
Canton Cove, 2901 Boston St., 88 condo units opens, prices $124,000-$450,000 (former factory)
1990
Canton Waterfront Park and Korean War Memorial dedicated in 3000-3500 blocks Boston Street replacing a railroad yard & cargo pier closed many years ago (car float is only remaining structure)
1993
The Broom Factory re-opens with very affordable commercial loft spaces
1998
March
DAP (caulk, spackling, adhesive and window glaze maker) opens world headquarters (in 1895 Norton Tin Can Co. building) and is first tenant at The Can Company, re-developed American Can site
November 12th
Bibelot Bookstore and Donna's Coffee Bar open at The Can Company
1999
Renovation of existing houses north of O'Donnell Street for new homeowners dramatically increases
2001
Bibelot Bookstore and Donna's Coffee Bar close at The Can Company





