A class visit to the Preservation Society and the Robert Long House is an engaging learning experience. Set near the Baltimore Harbor, the restored 18th century Robert Long House is the oldest surviving house in the city. Surviving storms and the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, the house has been carefully restored and methodically excavated by archaeologists. To make the class visit come to life, the Society has developed a learning program in which visitors have hands-on opportunities to examine 18th and 19th century artifacts excavated from the site; obtain an historical geographic focus of the area through map study; gain an understanding of daily life at the turn of the 19th century by examining rooms inside the Robert Long House; and understand the purposes of the exterior gardens. Students will examine information and artifacts, make judgments, and develop hypotheses in their search for meaning and understanding of life in the era that the Robert Long House represents. They will complete written work that may be collected and taken back to school for classroom use during post-visit activities.
Background information and learning activities for pre- and post-visit use follow. There are several web sites for teacher and student reference:
Timeline of Fells Point History: www.fellspoint.us/history.html This website lists significant dates in Fell's Point History 1670-2001. A more detailed timeline may be found at www.livebaltimore.com/history/fellspt.html.
A brief history of Fell's Point may be found at www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/baltimore/b34.htm
Information about the Preservation Society and a picture of the Robert Long House can be found at www.preservationsociety.com
Prior to visiting the Preservation Society and the Robert Long House, students should gain background information about the area and its place in time. This may be accomplished by implementing the brief historical account of Fell's Point contained here, by accessing the websites, or by teacher-created readiness lessons. For example, by accessing the website timeline cited above, students may compare events in Fell's Point history with historic events they have learned about in their prior studies of history. Or teachers may create a reading activity with appropriate questions based on the reading, "A Brief History of Fell's Point." However, the information gained during the visit will fill in many of the blanks in the historical background if time or other limitations do not permit pre-visit classroom activities.
The histories of Baltimore Town and Fell's Point are closely linked. Before Fell's point became a part of Baltimore City, it was a center of shipbuilding and trade. Fell's Point was first described as "Long Island Point" in 1670 by a European seafarer. Sixty years later, a Quaker shipbuilder from England bought a 100-acre tract of land just east of Baltimore. His name was William Fell, and here he set up a small shipbuilding operation. Called "Fell's Prospect," the area remained in family ownership until 1763 when William Fell's son, Edward, laid out the streets of a town he called "Fell's Point." The street names like Shakespeare Street, George Street (after the king), and Queen Street came from his English background. Some of the street names changed, but the pattern of the streets is basically the same as he designed them in the 1700s. Within a few years, the waterfront at Fell's Point was becoming filled with houses for dockworkers. The naturally deep harbor and the plentiful supply of lumber nearby were important to the town's growth and economy.
It was during this time that Robert Long bought three lots from Edward Fell. One of the lots faced the water while the other two were on Ann Street. On the lot facing the water, Robert Long built a four-story brick warehouse. He built his home on the two lots on Ann Street. As a merchant, his fortunes went up and down. But by 1781, he had become very financially successful. Shortly after this, Robert Long sold his house and lots on Ann Street and moved with his family to Philadelphia Road in Baltimore County.
Robert Long's house on Ann Street is the oldest house still standing in Baltimore City. By visiting and carefully studying the house and its contents, much can be learned about life in the era of Robert Long and the Baltimore of 1800.
Source: Excerpts from Historic Fell's Point, Baltimore's Original Harbor
Teachers routinely conduct a debriefing of field experiences soon after the visit. Resource sheets completed by students as they participated in several guided activities will be available for teacher planning and classroom use. Using the summary questions on the resource sheets will assist in opening discussions on life in Baltimore at the turn of the 19th century. It is possible that the docents instructed students not to complete their written responses to summary questions so that they could be used in their classroom discussions next school day. Either way, students will be able to recall and review the activities of the day. Suggested questions for discussion follow. Select ones for the specific learning experiences students were able to complete on their visit to the Preservation Society.
Map Study: What information was available from the map of Fell's Point in 1800 that you examined? What evidence was there that Fell's Point was a planned community? What did you learn about the types of work available at Fell's Point in the 1700s and 1800s? Why was Fell's Point (and Baltimore City) a good place for maritime economic activities?
Archaeology and the Robert Long House: Describe some of the artifacts you examined at the Robert Long House. How is learning history through archaeology different than learning from history books? How can archaeology and written history help each other in learning about the past? How were the artifacts you examined clues to the style of life Robert Long and his family experienced?
The 18th Century Garden: What purposes did gardens serve in the 18th and 19th centuries? Today, we visit doctors and have prescriptions filled at a pharmacy. But in the 1700s and 1800s doctors weren't always available so people had to depend on themselves when they were ill. How did the garden fill the need for medicines or remedies? What are some of the medicinal plants you saw that we still use today?
The Robert Long House: Robert Long was a well-to-do merchant. How did his house and his possessions reflect his wealth? What kind of house do you think he would live in today? What stands out in your mind about his office? The family parlor? The dining room? The bedroom? Do you think daily life was difficult, easy, or complicated for the family? Why?
Summary Question: How did your visit to the Preservation Society help you to understand the history of Baltimore? What new information did you learn from your visit?