Joppa ( ) is a former colonial town and current planning region of
Harford County,
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 ...
, United States. Joppa was founded as a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
settlement on the Gunpowder River in 1707 and designated as the third
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Baltimore County in 1712. The original boundaries of Baltimore County were defined in 1659 and contained all of modern day
Baltimore County
Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent city ...
, Baltimore City, Harford and
Cecil counties and parts of
Howard
Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...
,
Carroll,
Anne Arundel and
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
counties. The settlement was named for the
Biblical
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...
town of Jaffa in the ancient
Holy Land
The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...
of modern-day Israel. Joppa's harbor began to silt in due to clearcutting and farming upriver and coupled with multiple outbreaks of diseases such as
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
and
malaria
Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
, the county seat was moved to the growing, deep water port 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 ...
in 1768. Joppa's population would decline rapidly thereafter and businesses left for more prosperous environments in the new Baltimore Town.
History
The town of Joppa near the Western Shore of the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...
was designated as a "Port of Entry" by the colonial legislature, the
Maryland General Assembly
The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives, and the lower ...
. It traded internationally in agricultural products, primarily
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
; the chief commodity crop and currency throughout much of its colonial era.
At its peak, the port was home to about 50 or more homes, the courthouse, two prisons, a church, several inns, shops, and warehouses.
In 1768, the Maryland General Assembly moved the county seat of Baltimore County from Joppa to Baltimore Town, which was developing as a major port. A new courthouse was built in the center of town that year.
With court and related trade business diverted to Baltimore, much of the population followed. By 1815, all that remained of Joppa were the church and a few ruins of once stately homes, shops and warehouses. Th
Rumsey Mansion home to Maryland's first and longest serving Chief Judge of the Maryland Supreme Court, Benjamin Rumsey, is the only remaining structure from that period.
The McComas Institute was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Olney was listed in 1987, and Whitaker's Mill Historic District in 1990.
Film location:
Joppa is the site of large film sound-stages constructed for use in interior scenes of the US television series House of Cards. Sets include the full-scale reconstruction of the West Wing of the White House and Congressional offices.
Education:
Harford County Public Schools operates the public schools.
Trinity Lutheran Christian School, a PreK-12 Christian school, is located in Joppa.
Joppa as it is known today is a planning region within Harford County and a federal zip code designation that includes modern day Joppatowne. It is a distinct community with an identity all its own that dates to the end of the colonial era of its namesake town.
See also
*
Joppatowne, Maryland
*
Joppa Iron Works
References
External links
Harford County Community Plan for Joppa
{{authority control
Populated places in colonial Maryland
Unincorporated communities in Harford County, Maryland
Unincorporated communities in Maryland
Former county seats in Maryland