Baltimore's World Trade Center, on the left in this photo, is the world's tallest five-sided building. The 27th floor, called the Top of the World, offers incredible views of Baltimore harbor.
Address: World Trade Center, 401 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202; 410-837-8439. Web: http://www.baltimore.org.
1897: First practical submarine in America: “Argonaut” constructed by Simon Lake.
1897: First country day school in the U.S., now Gilman Country School.
1899: First visiting nurses for TB patients in the U.S.: two Johns Hopkins medical students.
1901: First woman professor at medical school in the U.S.: Dr. Florence Rena Sabin, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
1916: First city municipal symphony orchestra in the country.
1921: First rehabilitation school for war veterans established at Fort McHenry.
1928: First traffic-actuated traffic signal in the world: invented by Charles Adler Jr. and placed at Belvedere Avenue and Falls Road.
1931: First outdoor polo game at night: Homewood Field, July 2.
1979: First scheduled water taxi transportation system in the country.
Address: Baltimore Convention and Visitors Association, 100 Light Street, 12th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202;
410-659-7071; 877-Baltimore. Web: http://www.baltimore.org.
1840: First steam boating in the U.S.: Baltimore Steam Packet Company (Old Bay Line).
1842: First Jewish Congregation founded on Reform principles in this country: Hai Sinai Congregation.
1844: First telegraph line in the U.S.: Samuel Morse between Washington and Baltimore.
1844: First publicly supported high schools for girls: Eastern High School and Western High School.
1845: First Order of Christian Brothers in the U.S.: Calvert Hall College.
1851: First commercial ice cream factory in America: Jacob Russell.
1854: First Jewish Community center in the U.S.
1859: First YMCA erected in America: Pierce and Schroeder Streets.
1867: First pediatrician and gynecologist in the U.S.: Dr. Wm. T. Howard, University of Maryland.
1875: First monument to Edgar Allan Poe in the U.S.
1883: Invention of the typesetting machine: Ottmor Mergenthaler.
1883: First vocational school in the country: Polytechnic.
1885: First commercial electric car line in the Western Hemisphere.
1892: First bottle cap in the U.S.: William Painter.
1893: First elevated electric railway in the U.S.
1895: First U.S. Catholic College for women: College of Notre Dame of Maryland.
Address: Baltimore Convention and Visitors Association, 100 Light Street, 12th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202;
410-659-7071; 877-Baltimore. Web: http://www.baltimore.org.
1811: First to import and package tea in America: Marin Gillet and Company.
1814: First printing of the Star Spangled Banner in the United States by Samuel Sands.
1815: First existing makers of silverware in this country: Samuel Kirk.
1815: First formal monument to George Washington in the U.S.: Mt. Vernon Place completed July 4, 1829.
1816: First U.S. manufacturer of gas: Rembrandt Peale.
1817: First gaslight company in country chartered.
1819: First agricultural publication in the U.S.: The American Farmer, John Skinner, editor.
1819: First Odd Fellows Lodge in America at Fell's Point by Thomas Wildery, father of Odd Fellowship in the U.S.
1821: First U.S. Catholic Cathedral: the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption.
1827: First public carrier railway in the U.S.: Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
1828: First American umbrella factory in the U.S.
1829: First U.S. Negro religious order in America: Oblate Sisters of Providence, 5 St. Mary's Court.
1829: First ribbon from American silk in this country: National Silk Society.
1830: First railroad depot in the U.S.: Pratt and Poppleton Streets.
1831: First National Nominating Conventions for President in the U.S.
1838: First iron steamboat built in this country.
1839: First dental college in the world: Baltimore College of Dental Surgery.
Address: Baltimore Convention and Visitors Association, 100 Light Street, 12th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202;
410-659-7071; 877-Baltimore. Web: http://www.baltimore.org.
1772: First umbrella used in the United States manufactured in India.
1774: First Post Office system in the U.S. inaugurated by William Goddard.
1778: First Independent Corps in the Revolutionary army organized by Count Pulaski.
1784: First U.S. balloon ascension in this country by Edward Warren in vicinity of the area now occupied by the Washington Monument.
1784: First Methodist Church in America established Lovely Lane Meeting House, which is located at St. Paul and 22nd Streets, and is now called Lovely Lane Methodist Church.
1784: First Methodist Bishop in this country: Rev. Francis Asury.
1789: First church conference of United Brethren in the U.S. at Otterbein Church, Conway and Sharp Streets.
1789: First Roman Catholic Bishop in the U.S.: Father J. Carroll.
1791: First Roman Catholic seminary in the U.S.: St. Mary's.
1792: First U.S. Monument to Columbus. Presently located on Harford Road between Walther Boulevard and Argonne Drive in Herring Run Park.
1797: First station using flag semaphore in this country: Captain David Porter, Sr.
1800: First investment banking house in America founded by Alexander Brown.
1804: First stationer in the U.S.: Lucas Brothers.
1808: First U.S. Army horse artillery in the U.S. formed at Fort McHenry.
Address: Baltimore Convention and Visitors Association, 100 Light Street, 12th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202;
410-659-7071; 877-Baltimore. Web: http://www.baltimore.org.
Jeremiah McCauley accepted salvation after reading Scripture given to him in Sing Sing prison by the International Bible Society. After release, McCauley and his wife Maria began McCauley Water Street Mission in New York City in October, 1872, the first rescue mission in America. It is still active today as the New York City Rescue Mission.
Built in 1866, the Cornish-Windsor Bridge, a double-span 449.5-foot covered bridge connecting Cornish, New Hampshire, and Windsor, Vermont, is the longest wooden covered bridge in the U.S. and the longest two-span covered bridge in the world. Location: West of N.H. Route 12A, five miles south of Plainfield Village on Cornish Toll Bridge Road. Web: http://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/bridges/p39.html.
On August 29, 1866, Sylvester Marsh demonstrated the world's first mountain-climbing cog railway with his steam engine Peppersass, which pushed a flat car over the first 1/4 mile of track up Mt. Washington.
On July 3, 1869, Old Peppersass reached the top of Mt. Washington for the first time.
Mt. Washington Cog Railway, Base Road, Mount Washington, New Hampshire 03589; 603-278-5404; 800-922-8825; Fax: 603-278-5830. Web: http://www.thecog.com.
In 1872, a group of Scandinavians from Berlin, New Hampshire, formed the Nansen Ski Club, the oldest ski club in the U.S. Berlin is known as the Cradle of Nordic Skiing in America.
On June 20, 1873, in the Grand Opening Regatta for the opening of the Oceanic Hotel, 50 yachts sailed a race from the Isles of Shoals to Boon Island and back, a race won by General Butler and his yacht America. Thus began the America's Cup races.
The first transAtlantic telecommunications cable between Europe and America stretched 3,100 nautical miles from Balinskelligs Bay, Ireland, to Straw's Point, Rye Beach, New Hampshire, completed June 27, 1874.
In 1837, the Enfield Shakers built the Great Stone Dwelling. Made entirely of New Hampshire granite, the communal dwelling is 62 feet high with 860 built-in drawers and is the largest Shaker dwelling ever constructed.
In 1845, the shop of Nashua machinist John H. Gage, housed in Nashua Manufacturing Company, was considered the first shop devoted to the manufacture of machinists' tools.
On October 12, 1853, Amos Tuck called a meeting in Exeter, New Hampshire, of four political parties opposed to the Democratic Party and proposed the name Republican. It was the first meeting of the Republican Party.
Opened in 1861, the Mt. Washington Auto Road is America's oldest manmade tourist attraction.
Mount Washington Auto Road, P O Box 278,
Gorham, New Hampshire 03581; 603-466-3988.
Web: http://www.mountwashingtonautoroad.com.
In 1863, President Lincoln established the first national Thanksgiving Day, inspired by letters from Sarah Josepha Hale of Newport, New Hampshire.
In 1827, Lewis Downing and J. Stephens Abbot built the first Concord Coach in Concord, New Hampshire, celebrated world-wide for its leather belt suspension.
In 1828, women mill workers at the Cocheco Mills in Dover, New Hampshire, went on strike to protest new mill regulations, in what became known as the Factory Girls Strike. It was the first women's strike in the U.S.
Built in 1829, the 278-foot-long Haverhill-Bath Covered Bridge in Woodsville, New Hampshire is thought to be the oldest covered bridge still standing in the United States. Location: Quarter mile north of U.S. Route 302 in Woodsville Village on N.H. Route 135 over the Ammonoosuc River.
Web: http://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/bridges/p51.html.
As editor of Ladies Magazine (1828-36) and Godey's Lady's Book <1837-77), Sarah Josepha Hale of Newport, New Hampshire, elevated the status of women and the importance of American literature. She was the first women's magazine editor in America.
The Peterborough Town Library, established in 1833, was the first library supported by public taxation.
Peterborough Library, Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, P O Box 401, Peterborough, New Hampshire 03458; 603-924-7234; Fax: 603-924-7235. Web: http://www.peterboroughchamber.com.
First opened in 1803, the Ruggles Mine is the “oldest, most spectacular mica, feldspar, and beryl mine in the nation.”
Ruggles Mine, Route 4, Grafton NH 03240; 603-523-4275. Web: http://www.rugglesmine.com.
The 400 members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives still meet in their original chambers at the New Hampshire State House, built in 1816 in Concord, New Hampshire. It is the largest state legislature in the U.S. and meets in the oldest representative's hall in the U.S.
The Dublin Juvenile Library, established in 1822, was the first free public library.
Built in 1823, the Belknap Mill is the oldest unaltered brick textile mill in the U.S. as well as the only industrial knitting museum in the U.s. It is the Official Meetinghouse of New Hampshire.
Belknap Mill Society, The Mill Plaza, 25 Beacon Street, Laconia, New Hampshire 03246; 603-524-8813. Web: http://www.belknapmill.org.
In 1775, the Old Meeting House, one of the finest examples of original colonial architecture in the United States, was completed in Danville, New Hampshire. It is the oldest unrestored meeting house in the U.S.
Town of Danville, P O Box 11, Danville, New Hampshire; 603-382- 8253; Fax: 603-382-3363. Web: http://www.townofdanville.org.
On January 5, 1776, the Provincial Congress of New Hampshire ratified the first-in-the-nation state constitution in Exeter, New Hampshire.
In 1778, New Hampshire was the first state to hold a constitutional convention.
In 1783, New Hampshire became the first state to require that its constitution be referred to the people for approval.
Purchased from William and Sarah Dennett on June 12, 1800, Fernald's Island in the Piscatagua River became the first government-sanctioned U.S. Navy shipyard in the United States.
In 1690, the British Government contracted local ship builders in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to construct the HMS Falkland, a 637-ton, 54-gun frigate, which was added to the Royal Navy, March 2, 1695. It was the first warship build in America.
In 1719, the first potato was planted in the U.S. at Londonderry Common Field in Derry, New Hampshire.
In 1768, governor John Wentworth built an estate in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire that became the oldest summer resort in America.
Wolfeboro Chamber of Commerce, 32 Central Avenue, P O Box 547, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire 03894; 603-569-2200; 800-516-5324; Fax: 603-569-2275. Web: http://www.wolfeboroonline.com/chamber.
In 1774, New Hampshire became the first state to declare itself independent from England.
On December 14, 1774, a band of patriots took over Fort William & Mary (now known as Fort Constitution) and took guns and gunpowder. It was the first aggressive act of the American Revolution.
Fort Constitution Historic Site, New Castle, New Hampshire 03854 (on Route 1B at the U.S. Coast Guard Station); 603-436-1552. Web:
http://www.nhstateparks.org.
Over 4,000 years old, America's Stonehenge is the oldest megalithic or stone-constructed site in North America. Like Stonehenge in England, America's Stonehenge was built by ancient people well versed in astronomy and stone construction. An accurate astronomical calendar, it was, and still can be, used to determine specific solar and lunar events of the year.
America's Stonehenge, Mystery Hill, Haverhill Road, P O Box 84, North Salem, New Hampshire 03073; 603-893-8300. Email: info@stonehengeusa.com. Web: http://www.stonehengeusa.com.
