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Third Courthouse at Baltimore
It was fortunate that the records were so placed because on February 13, 1835, "The
court-house, at that time one of the finest buildings in the country, was destroyed, but all the
valuable records were saved." 65 Fortunately, the fire occurred during a business morning and
many records were carried out by the grand jurors and other volunteers.66 The General
Assembly was then in session so it was possible to have passed within a month "An Act to
authorize the repairing of the Court House of Baltimore County, ......" 67 To finance this project
the commissioners were authorized to issue $80,000 of twenty-year, five-per-cent stock which
was to provide not only for the courthouse but "Also for erecting and completing upon the
vacant lot in the said City, west of the said Court House, adjoining the same, fire proof offices,
for the safe keeping of the records of Baltimore County Court, and the Orphans' Court of
Baltimore County, and for the purchase of the necessary materials and supplies for that
object; ......." This proved to be too large an order for the sum authorized, but only one addi-
tional grant was required to finish the job, $1,500, which was made available by an Act of
Assembly of 1839 when the buildings were almost completed.68
Both the rebuilding of the courthouse and the erection of the record office were entrusted
to the distinguished Baltimore architect, Robert Cary Long, Jr. Long had first submitted a
daring Egyptian temple design for the record office, but the building which finally went up
"was unique and surprisingly modern in its stark simplicity. The vaulted brick interior, which
was acclaimed as absolutely fireproof, was sheathed on the outside in Baltimore County
marble. Originally there were two short flights of steps leading up to the great iron doors,
but about 1880 the street level was lowered five or six feet and the open terrace was added,
spoiling the proportions of the building as seen from the street. The solid mass of the building
still recalled that of an Egyptian structure, or possibly to some observers that of a Mayan
temple." 69
This building stood on the southeast corner of Lexington and St. Paul Streets until it was
razed in 1894.
Separation of City and County-1851
Those inhabitants of Baltimore County who protested the transfer of the county seat
irom Joppa to Baltimore in 1768 pointed out that the latter town was at the very southeastern
tip of the county and would be extremely inconvenient as a center of county business. The
northern part of the county never reconciled itself to the change and only five years later was
able to establish itself as a separate county, Harford. Much of the northwestern part of the
county achieved autonomous status in 1839 with the creation of Carroll County. But the
conflict of interest between the bustling center of commerce and industry and the static
agricultural hinterland went on as before. Nothing would now satisfy either party but an
absolute divorce of city and county. The partisans were there from the moment Baltimore
became the county seat, but the conflict did not enlist the interest of a significant part of the
electorate until the 1830's. The act authorizing the rebuilding of the fire-damaged courthouse
in 1835 provided as follows:
And be it enacted, That if, at any time hereafter, a separation should take place
between Baltimore City and County, and a county town and Court House erected in
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65 J. Thomas Scharf, History of Baltimore City and County,
Philadelphia, 1881, p. 261.
66 The fire was checked on the second floor but one of the
chimneys was left standing. On June 27 following, this chim-
ney was blown down with great force, breaking through the
temporary roof over the first floor. In addition to the property
damage caused by the falling bricks, there was one casualty ;
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Thomas Marshall, son of the Chief Justice, who had taken
shelter from the violent storm, was fatally injured. (Ibid.,
p. 728.)
67 Ch. 151, Acts of 1834. Passed March 9, 1835.
68 Ch. 61, Acts of 1839.
69 Richard H. Howland and Eleanor P. Spencer, The Archi-
tecture of Baltimore, Baltimore, 1953, p. 92 and plate 72.
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