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ironworks took hold along the Patapsco in Avalon, Orange Grove,
Ilchester, Gray’s, Oella, Granite and Daniels.
The Patapsco’s saga intersects the Port’s business at numerous
points. The river valley was an incubator for Maryland’s textile and
paper industries. The Ellicotts were the first to attempt to dredge
Baltimore’s harbor with their “mud machine” — a horse-drawn
drag with iron scoops. Valley merchants and bankers were among
the first to give voice and funding for what seemed like a radical
concept at the time — a railroad.
Still others gravitated toward maritime-related enterprises,
like the McKim family, which owned the Hockley Flour Mills north
of Elk Ridge, who later put their money into the construction of
the
Ann McKim
, considered the ultimate Baltimore clipper. It was
also the largest, 143 feet in length. The 1832 launch of the 500-
ton vessel was a high-water mark for Baltimore shipbuilders. The
McKims also founded Maryland Chemical Works in 1825 at the
foot of Patterson’s wharf in the Inner Harbor, answering a need for
a domestic chemical supplier for Baltimore’s plants and factories.
Right: The magnificent
Ann McKim
, considered the
ultimate Baltimore clipper.
Far right: Ilchester, along the
Patapsco River, was one of
many mill towns that produced
iron, grain and textiles.
