East Baltimore's Historic American Indian "Reservation"

The place now known as Baltimore, like the rest of what is now known as the United States of America, has always been home to Native peoples.

Baltimore is part of the ancestral homelands of the Piscataway and the Susquehannock, and a diverse host of American Indian folks from other nations have passed through or lived here at different times — and still do!

In the mid-twentieth century, thousands of Lumbee Indians and members of other tribal nations migrated to Baltimore City, seeking jobs and a better quality of life. They settled on the east side of town, in an area that bridges the neighborhoods of Upper Fells Point and Washington Hill. Here, they created a vibrant, intertribal American Indian community, which they affectionately referred to as “the reservation,” in its heyday.

In the decades since, due to a complex set of factors ranging from upward mobility, to Urban Renewal, to gentrification, the community has gradually moved away from the area, and the area is continually transformed. Recent generations never experienced “the reservation” as such. Today, most Baltimoreans are surprised to learn that it ever existed.

Learn about places and spaces important to American Indian history and heritage in the city, with a focus on East Baltimore’s Historic American Indian “Reservation” in the 20th century.

Find out more here: www.baltimorereservation.com

Permission from Ashley Minner Jones, © Ashley Minner Art, LLC, 2021. All rights reserved.

South Broadway Baptist Church

This church is the oldest in the Upper Fells Point Historic District, completed in 1848. Originally dedicated as a “mariner’s church,” it has been home to several community institutions over the past 170+ years. South Broadway Baptist Church is the…

Hokahey Indian Trading Post

In 1975, Earl Brooks (Lumbee) purchased a storefront building at 207 S. Broadway and opened Hokahey Indian Trading Post with his friend, Solomon Maynor (Coharie). The store primarily sold silver and turquoise Indian jewelry purchased in New Mexico.…

Baltimore American Indian Center

The original portion of this building was constructed in Greek revival style, in 1843, for a sea captain and his family. The captain and his wife placed it into trust for their daughter, who willed it to the Baltimore Humane Impartial Society to be…

Baltimore American Indian Center Inter-Tribal Trading Post

The Baltimore American Indian Center purchased the building at 118 S. Broadway in 1983, with assistance from the Religious Society of Friends. The front part of the first floor was a museum and gift shop, and the back room was used for dance class.…

Storefront Church Pre-South Broadway Baptist

The oldest congregation in Baltimore City founded by Lumbee Indians (presently known as South Broadway Baptist Church) rented this storefront for approximately one year, just prior to moving to 1117 W. Cross Street.

Hunt’s Service Station

Claudie and Mabel Hunt (Lumbee) purchased the Sinclair service station at 100 S. Broadway, ca. 1967. It had a three-bay garage and six gas pumps. After about a year, the station was converted to BP. The Hunts sold the station when they moved back to…

Vera Shank Daycare / Native American Senior Citizens

The commercial property at this location actually spans 1623 – 1633 E. Lombard where there were once 6 individual houses. The current structure was built in the late 1960s and served as a blood bank, ca. 1979 – 1988. The Baltimore American Indian…

Inter-Tribal Restaurant

The Baltimore American Indian Center opened the Inter-Tribal Restaurant at 17 S. Broadway, during the tenure of Director Barry Richardson (Haliwa Saponi), ca. 1989. Board members of the Indian Center wanted to try another restaurant venture as part…

Moonlight Restaurant

The Moonlight Restaurant was Greek-owned. It was one of the first restaurants in which many Lumbee Indians arriving from the Jim Crow South could sit down and eat. Much of the planning for what would become South Broadway Baptist Church and the…

East Baltimore Church of God

East Baltimore Church of God began in 1955, under the leadership of a Lumbee woman, Rev. Lounita Hammonds. It was originally known as the “Upper Room” Church because services were held above Gordon Cleaners, located at the corner of Baltimore and…

Hartman’s BBQ Shop

1727 E. Baltimore Street housed a series of ethnic food establishments from the turn of the century through the early 1960s, reflecting greater migration patterns in the neighborhood. In 1917, it was the Shub Bros. Bakery; in 1947, it was the Warsaw…

Sid’s Ranch House Tavern

Sid’s Ranch House Tavern occupied a building that had been converted into a movie theater during the first part of the twentieth century. It had been the Teddy Bear Parlor ca. 1908 – 1919, and the Mickey until 1920 or ‘21. Sidney Silverman, a…

Revel's Grocery Store

Jesse B. Revels Jr. (Lumbee) and his wife, Lucy May Revels, bought the property at 1819 E. Baltimore Street in 1962 and opened a grocery store. They and their children ran the store until 1968, when they moved to Baltimore County. They sold the…

Gordon Cleaners

East Baltimore Church of God, the second oldest congregation established by Lumbee Indians in the City of Baltimore, was in 1955 known as the “Upper Room” Church because services were held above Gordon Cleaners at the corner of Baltimore and Wolfe…

Volcano Bar & Restaurant

The Volcano Bar is easily the most infamous Indian bar of Baltimore’s “reservation” era, but it was in existence long before the clientele was mostly Indian. It first appears in a Sun ad as the “Volcano Restaurant” in 1944. In the 1960s through 1972,…

Fairmount Avenue Missionary Baptist Church

In 1956, the oldest congregation in Baltimore City founded by Lumbee Indians (presently known as South Broadway Baptist Church) rented the storefront at 1918 E. Fairmount Avenue and adopted the name “Fairmount Avenue Missionary Baptist Church” under…

Vince’s Bar

Vince’s Bar was owned by Vincent Staico. His wife, Matilda, “Ms. Til,” often ran the bar. Former patrons describe it as a quiet neighborhood bar, where there was seldom, if ever, fighting. Vince’s had pool tables and American Indian community members…
Learn about other places and spaces important to American Indian history and continued presence in Baltimore City.

https://www.baltimorereservation.com/other-sites-of-interest

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