Baltimore's Railroad Boom
The railroad was Baltimore's secret of success as a major U.S. port for immigration. In the first half of the 19th century, railroads, new roads and canals made Baltimore a thriving trade center. With its population rising from 13,000 to 212,000 between 1790 and 1860, Baltimore needed workers. And workers came - many from England, Ireland and Germany - and built strong communities in the city.

Before the construction of railroads, many immigrants arriving in Baltimore traveled to Pittsburgh and then took boats down the Ohio River to Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

After the Civil War, immigration to Baltimore rose dramatically, aided by agreements between shipping and railroad companies to sell immigrants a one-ticket package - sea passage across the Atlantic and a train ride west in America.

Private Screenings
Unlike at Ellis Island, immigrant processing at Baltimore was conducted by private companies. Immigrants with steerage tickets were inspected at Locust Point, but their examinations were considered much more cursory than those conducted at Ellis Island. To make transition between sail and rail easier, B&O Railroad constructed buildings that served as the end of both steamship and rail lines - so passengers could get off the boat, pass through the inspections and then board their train west.

Baltimore's heyday as a port of immigration was roughly 1870 to 1914, when WWI stemmed the flow. By 1913, an average of 40,000 immigrants came through Baltimore each year.

Sources: Forgotten Doors: The Other Ports of Entry to the United States, ed. M. Mark Stolarik (Philadelphia: Balch Institute Press, 1988); Immigrating to the Port of Baltimore, http://www.clis2.umd.edu/~mddlmddl/791/communities/html/pob.html; "Immigration Era, Part I: Port of Pleasant Landings," Baltimore historical Society, http://www.historicbaltimore.org/program/immigration.htm; William Connery, Point of Entry: Baltimore, the Other Ellis Island, http://www.baltimoremd.com/charm/pointofentry.html.