The Jones Falls

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In the 1660s, David Jones, a Quaker farmer, selected a location for his farm in the relatively new area of Baltimore County (founded in 1659), just north of what was known as Coles Harbor, and along the banks of a river that he called Pacific Brook. Today, that location is part of Baltimore City; Coles Harbor has become the Inner Harbor; and Pacific Brook we know as the Jones Falls. The settlement that grew up around Jones’ farm is the neighborhood now called Jonestown.

The Jones Falls runs 17.9 miles, starting as a stream in northwest Baltimore County, near Garrison. It becomes a small river after reaching Lake Roland and ends in the Baltimore Harbor. It was once considered bucolic. One historical account reported that “for many years, it [Pacific Brook] was a source of pride for Baltimore City and the envy of other cities. It was famous then as a fragrant and beautiful stream. At one time, the stream was pure and undefiled, a scene of many baptisms.”

Change came rapidly.

By 1711, Jonathan Hanson built a stone mill near the current day Fallsway, where the Baltimore City Impound Lot is located. By 1726, the area was filled with tobacco houses, a store, and many residences. By middle of 1850’s, twelve mills stood on the banks of the Jones Falls, along with soap makers, tanners, and even more residences. All used the waterway to carry away their waste.

By the late 1800’s, the Jones Falls had become a source of public health concern. City leaders considered different ways of solving this problem. B&O Railroad engineer Ross Winans suggested building a series of reservoirs upstream and flushing them out occasionally to clear the Falls of detritus. Another proposal imagined diverting the river over the Back River into what is now Essex and Middle River. The third solution essentially proposed putting the Jones Falls into big pipes and running it under the city. This is what the city of Baltimore decided to do.

In 1915, Mayor Preston kicked off the campaign just north of Penn Station. Henry Barton Jacobs, the head of city’s public safety commission spoke at the event, announcing theatrically: “I have come to bury the Jones Falls, not to praise it.”

Diverting the Jones Falls into 7,000 feet of underground tunnels solved some—but not all—of its problems. In 1926, the river caught fire and exploded dramatically because it was full of hazardous materials. Glass shattered in downtown buildings. Manhole covers were propelled through the air. Near the of the entrance to the harbor, a 40-foot wall of noxious flames rushed out of the pipe and down the river.

Today, the buried stream is visible downtown near Jonestown, close to the Port Discovery Children’s Museum where a small canal-like structure runs parallel to President Street before emptying into the harbor at Aliceanna Street.