Highlandtown is a neighborhood of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

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Description and history

The area currently known as Highlandtown was established in 1866 when the area known as "Snake Hill" was established as a village outside the Baltimore city limits. The first settlers of the community were primarily German Americans. In 1870, residents renamed the neighborhood "Highland Town" because of the views it offered over the city. The neighborhood was made part of Baltimore City in 1919. The neighborhood today is bounded by Haven Street to the east, Baltimore Street to the north, Linwood Avenue to the west, and Eastern Avenue to the south. The long stretch of Eastern Avenue that runs through the neighborhood is notable as the Highlandtown's main commercial thoroughfare. The area was designated as a "Main Street District" by a previous mayor Martin O'Malley, seeking to promote commercial revitalization through economic incentives from the National Main Street Program. Highlandtown is one of Baltimore's traditional blue-collar neighborhoods, and for this reason was designated as part of the Patterson Park/Highlandtown Historic District in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. In Baltimorese the neighborhood is pronounced ''"Hollantown"''. Historically one of the city's main commercial and industrial hubs, the neighborhood suffered a period of decline beginning in the 1970s as the manufacturing sector declined and department stores were replaced by shopping malls. Highlandtown was once known as a "Little Appalachia" or a "hillbilly ghetto." Before, during, and after World War II many Appalachian migrants settled in

, including in Highlandtown. Appalachian people who migrated to Highlandtown were largely economic migrants who came looking for work. Modern Highlandtown is in transition. The German, Polish, Czech, Italian, Irish, Greek, and Ukrainian population are being augmented with a growing Latino community. The headquarters of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society can be found on the northern edge of Highlandtown. Former United States Senator Barbara Mikulski grew up in Highlandtown. The easternmost eight blocks are occupied by parallel-running north–south streets that start with consecutive letters of the alphabet, from B to H: Baylis, Conkling, Dean, Eaton, Fagley, Grundy and Haven. This scheme continues in Greektown to the east, and resets at Bayview.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 7,820 people living in the neighborhood. The racial makeup of Highlandtown was 42.3% white, 34% Hispanic, 19.7% African American, and 5% all other (Asians, Native Americans etc.). Most of the

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

population consist of

Mexicans Mexicans () are the citizens and nationals of the Mexico, United Mexican States. The Mexican people have varied origins with the most spoken language being Spanish language, Spanish, but many also speak languages from 68 different Languages o ...

, Puerto Ricans, Salvadorans, Dominicans,

Hondurans Hondurans (; also called catrachos) are the citizens of Honduras. Most Hondurans live in Honduras, although there is also a significant Honduran diaspora, particularly in the United States, Spain, and many smaller communities in other countries ...

, Nicaraguans, Cubans, and Colombians, among others. 59.8% of occupied housing units were owner-occupied. 15.5% of housing units were vacant. 52.0% of the population were employed, 5.0% were unemployed, and 42.7% were not in the labor force. The median household income was $28,813. About 14.8% of families and 22.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

References

External sources

Healthy Neighborhoods: Southeast Baltimore

Highlandtown Community Association

Southeast Community Development Corporation

Greetings from Highlandtown

Highlandtown Arts

National Main Street Program

Demographics from Neighborhood Indicators Alliance
*, including undated photo an
boundary map
at Maryland Historical Trust
Patterson Park/Highlandtown listing at CHAP
includes map {{National Register of Historic Places in Maryland 1866 establishments in Maryland Appalachian culture in Baltimore Greek-American culture in Baltimore Hispanic and Latino American culture in Baltimore Houses in Baltimore Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Irish-American culture in Baltimore Irish-American neighborhoods Neighborhoods in Baltimore Polish-American culture in Baltimore Polish communities in the United States Ukrainian-American culture in Baltimore Victorian architecture in Maryland Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Baltimore Southeast Baltimore

Description and history

Demographics

See also

References

External sources