Fells Point in Baltimore, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Caulkers' Houses
Photographed By Bill Pfingsten, October 28, 2017
1. Caulkers' Houses Marker
Inscription.
Caulkers' Houses. . In the early 1780s Ann Bond Fell Giles laid out for development the area called Fell's Point, just south of the existing Fell's Prospect community. Development was in part to provide housing needed to meet the demands of the growing maritime econony. Families that occupied these South Wolfe Street residences before the Civil War included free African-Americans employed as caulkers in adjacent shipyards. Research indicates the houses were occupied prior to 1801.
The plan of 612-14 South Wolfe Street is one-room deep with an attic floor having a dormer. Originally two identical houses were attached to the north of 612, forming a row of four living units in one building (a quadplex). The construction method was light timber frame with bricks filling the spaces between the framing (known as nogging).
Exterior bricks covered with a plaster rendering were coated with limewash. Wood siding was added at a later date.
These remaining houses as examples of timber-frame brick nogging construction are rarities in the Mid-Atlantic region and believed to be sole survivors of their kind in Baltimore. Now owned by the Society for the Preservation of Federal Hill and Fell's Point, the houses - through their rehabilitation - present a unique educational opportunity to expand the knowledge of the multi-layered history of Fell's Point.
In the early 1780s Ann Bond Fell Giles laid out for development the area called Fell's Point, just south of the existing Fell's Prospect community. Development was in part to provide housing needed to meet the demands of the growing maritime econony. Families that occupied these South Wolfe Street residences before the Civil War included free African-Americans employed as caulkers in adjacent shipyards. Research indicates the houses were occupied prior to 1801.
The plan of 612-14 South Wolfe Street is one-room deep with an attic floor having a dormer. Originally two identical houses were attached to the north of 612, forming a row of four living units in one building (a quadplex). The construction method was light timber frame with bricks filling the spaces between the framing (known as nogging).
Exterior bricks covered with a plaster rendering were coated with limewash. Wood siding was added at a later date.
These remaining houses as examples of timber-frame brick nogging construction are rarities in the Mid-Atlantic region and believed to be sole survivors of their kind in Baltimore. Now owned by the Society for the Preservation of Federal Hill and Fell's Point, the houses - through their rehabilitation - present a unique educational opportunity to expand the knowledge of the multi-layered history of Fell's Point.
Location. 39° 17.062′ N, 76° 35.407′ W. Marker is in Baltimore, Maryland. It is in Fells Point. Marker is on South Wolfe Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Baltimore MD 21231, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regarding Caulkers' Houses. Frederick Douglass worked as a caulker and may have lived in a very similar building.
Caulkers sealed the seams between ship planking with tar soaked rope to make the ship watertight.
Photographed By Bill Pfingsten, October 28, 2017
2. Caulkers' Houses
Drawing on marker.
Photographed By Bill Pfingsten, October 28, 2017
3. Caulkers' Houses
Only two of the four units remain.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 17, 2020. It was originally submitted on October 30, 2017, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland. This page has been viewed 270 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on October 30, 2017, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland.
