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Maryland and Virginia to be electrified. Banking on the promise
of the Port’s increased trade, the region’s first glass factory set up
shop, followed by a paper box factory. In 1867, the first oil refinery
began operations.
And with the Port in play to provide ready access to world
markets, there was no stopping the march of industry, which
diversified the statewide economy by taking fuller advantage of
Maryland’s natural resources.
The Port’s first canning operations were established in the 1840s.
The rotation of oysters in the winter, and fruits and vegetables
in summer and fall, provided steady work for both canners and
harvesters. Federal Hill, Canton and Fell’s Point became home
to innumerable canneries. Baltimore remained a global leader in
canned food exports until the middle of the 20th century.
otton duck, a rugged fabric used for ships' sails, illustrates the
interdependence between the Port and Maryland’s economy.
The state’s textile industry dates from the 1808 opening of the Union
Manufacturing Company’s $1 million mill on Patapsco Falls, soon
followed by the Washington Cotton Manufacturing Company and
Powhatan Cotton Mills. Grist mills along the Jones Falls were convert-
ed into mechanized spinning and weaving plants in the early 1800s.
By 1880, Baltimore produced 80 percent of the world’s cotton duck,
and until World War II, when Bethlehem Steel increased production,
no Maryland industry employed more workers than did textiles.
The Port’s competitive position took strength from two
post-Civil War developments.
The first was the federally authorized, $400,000 dredging of the
main Craighill access channel to a depth of 24 feet and a width
Above, left: Two skipjacks
harvested oysters under sail
in 1940. The vessel would
transfer its catch to a buyboat.
Above, right: Sailing vessels
from skipjacks to schooners
used heavy cotton duck to
make sailcloth. Mills along
the Jones Falls produced 80
percent of the world’s cotton
duck by 1880.
Cotton Duck
