BCPL History and Genealogy - Dundalk page.
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Dundalk...Did You Know?
Facts about Dundalk's History

John Smith landed on the Patapsco Neck while conducting an expedition up the Chesapeake Bay in 1608. Until that time the land was occupied by war-like Susquehanna Indians.

In 1664 Thomas Todd from Virginia purchased 1,150 acres. This was the first deed in Baltimore County. This original house, "Todd's Inheritance," was burned by the British in the War of 1812. The house was rebuilt and still stands as a historical landmark.

Dundalk was named after a town in Ireland. Henry McShane (McShaneway is named after him) came from Ireland and in 1895 established the McShane Bell Foundry. The foundry manufactured cast iron pipes and furnace fittings. When asked by the Baltimore and Sparrows Point Railroad for a name for the depot, Mr. McShane wrote Dundalk, after his birthplace in Ireland.

In 1916, Bethlehem Steel Company purchased 1,000 acres of farmland to develop housing for its shipyard workers. The Dundalk Company was formed to plan a town in the new residential style (a copy of the Roland Park area) excluding businesses except at specific spots and leaving land for developing schools, playing fields, and parks.

In 1917, Dundalk proper was founded. It had 62 houses, 2 stores, a post office and a telephone exchange.

In the 1920's the area now known as Logan Village was Logan Airfield. The airfield was named after Lieutenant Patrick H. Logan, a World War I hero. He was killed on July 5, 1920 while performing stunts for the crowd at the airfield. The tail supports of his plane bent and jammed the controls during his famous tailspin from 2,000 feet altitude.

Several aviation "firsts" took place at Logan Airfield:

• On a hot day in the summer of 1929, one plane refueled another during a 35-mile-an-hour wind at 3,000 feet over Dundalk.
• Pitcairn Aviation, Inc., one of the nation's pioneer airlines, inaugurated the first regular air mail service to and from Baltimore on May 6, 1929.
• The present Eastern Airlines was one of the first to establish a regular passenger service with continuous operation.

This page is provided by the Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, Maryland USA.
The text version of this page was last revised on 26 August 2008.
The graphics version of this page was last revised on 26 August 2008.
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