This tour of Fells Point Historic Trail is created by The Baltimore National Heritage Area (BNHA), which promotes, preserves, and enhances Baltimore's historic and cultural legacy and natural resources for current and future generations. A walking tour of this and other destinations is available at www.explorebaltimore.org/tours.

Located at S. Wolfe Street & Lancaster Street

Transcript: If you stop and look to your right, you'll see a series of large buildings next to the water. In the early 1800s, this area was the Barron and Craig Shipyard, a bustling port. It was full of schooners and clipper ships. Large warehouses dotted the area. Men worked here repairing and caulking ships. The shipyard was highly prized because its waters were the deepest in the harbor and could accommodate some of the biggest ships.

During the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, Baltimore's ports were essential to American victory. They were some of the few seaports the British did not control. Privateers built their ships here in Fells Point, far from pirates. These entrepreneurial men owned and operated ships that were commissioned to raid enemy commercial vessels, taking both the ships and their cargo.