Every time Boomerang Box or Jr. visits a port city, we ask a few questions. Let's ask these questions about Baltimore to see whether it is a successful port:

First, we know a port must have access to good transportation on land or sea or both to succeed. Does Baltimore? The answer to this first question is 'yes.' Baltimore is located at the head of the Chesapeake Bay, along the banks of the Patapsco River. Its safe harbor has made it a thriving seaport since 1706. Baltimore's land location - in the middle of the U.S. East Coast - has made transportation by land very easy as well. Baltimore is well served with highways and rail lines.

Second, we know that a port must have access to goods to trade. Does Baltimore? The answer to this question is also 'yes.' Baltimore's port originally helped farmers carry their crops up and down the East Coast. Today, Baltimore's port handles many different types of goods that come from all and go to all over the East Coast of the U.S. In addition, because Baltimore is located fairly far inland, it is the closest East Coast port to the U.S. Midwest. Many products coming from or bound for the Midwest travel through Baltimre.

Because we know so much about the history of ports by now, we might ask a third question about Baltimore. Was it settled by European traders in the 1500s or 1600s as they explored the world in search of goods to trade?

Well, if you have studied U.S. history in school, you know the answer to this question. English soldier John Smith first explored the area around Baltimore in 1608. English settlers arrived about 50 years later and created a small town that was named 'Baltimore' for the founders of England's Maryland Colony. Baltimore, along with the rest of Maryland and the twelve other colonies, won its independence and became part of the United States after the Revolutionary War in the 1770s.

Like every port we've studied, the Port of Baltimore has changed over the years. Today, Baltimore no longer has clipper ships at its piers. Instead, modern container ships carry over 30 million tons of cargo in and out of the port. Cruise ships carry passengers to and from their vacations. And intermodal connections - to highways and rail lines - speed goods to and from the bay.

Study Question
A battle at Baltimore's Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 inspired a famous song. What was the song and who wrote it?

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