Coming to America: Baltimore Museum of Immigration

Did you know that Baltimore served as America’s third largest port of entry during the Great Wave of Immigration of 1830 to 1914. In 1868, the B&O Railroad partnered with the North German Lloyd Company of Bremen, Germany, to build and operate a pier for immigrant ships in Locust Point, where 1.2 million immigrants first set foot on American soil. They included people from all over Europe, including Germans, Irish, Lithuanians, Czechs, Poles and Italians, who established their neighborhoods, as well as churches, synagogues, schools, cultural and philanthropic institutions, which eased the transition from their old country to life in America, and added to the rich diversity of our city. Join Nicholas Fessenden from Baltimore Immigration Museum to learn more about our immigrant past and today’s efforts to document and celebrate our diverse roots.
Dr. Nicholas Fessenden is the historian/treasurer and co-founder of the Baltimore Immigration Museum. He taught history at Friends School from 1972 to 2010 and also taught as an adjunct at Towson University, Maryland Institute of Art, and Community College of Baltimore County.