BNHA Mount Clare Station and Roundhouse

Affiliations

National Historic Landmark

National Register of Historic Places

Interpretive Framework

Seeking Prosperity on the Chesapeake: Baltimore History from Colonial Times through the 1800s

Shaping a Monumental City: The City’s Growth in the 20th Century

Resource Type

Points of Interest

901 W Pratt St

Baltimore, Maryland 21223

This National Historic Landmark comprises of three 19th-century buildings: the Mount Clare Station, the roundhouse, and the annex. Mount Clare Station (built in 1830), was the first passenger and freight station in the country. Excursion trips in horse cars over the 13 miles of track to Ellicott’s Mills were a popular pastime until the nation’s first regularly scheduled passenger service was established here in May, 1830. Samuel F.B. Morse’s first telegraph message was transmitted through Mount Clare to Baltimore on May 24, 1844.

The roundhouse (1884) and annex (1891) were both designed by E. Francis Baldwin. The roundhouse, with its unusual 22-sided circular construction, still contains the original tracks and wooden turntable. Here Peter Cooper constructed his famous steam locomotive, the Tom Thumb.

The complex is now the B&O Railroad Museum that boasts one of the world’s oldest and most comprehensive collections of railroad history. Visitors can see, touch, hear and explore the magic of the rails.

In addition to its status as a National Historic Landmark, the Mount Clare Station and Roundhouse were designated as a city landmark in 1975.