Historic Canton

Historic Canton. The Railroad Transfer Bridge. , The Pennsylvania Railroad used this railroad transfer bridge to land cars that were transported on ferries between Locust Point and Canton. Known as "carfloating," this activity occurred in the Baltimore Harbor from 1871 to 1969. This two-story steel gantry was built in 1912. A remnant of the Industrial Revolution that began here in the Canton area in 1828 under the aegis of the Canton Company and lasted until the 1980's, it is a reminder of the working harbor that was needed by the railroad companies to transfer cargo across the harbor from Locust Point., In 1828 the Canton Company was chartered as a real estate company when it purchased the 3000 acres of the Captain O'Donnell estate that included 2.5 miles of shoreline property next to deep water and access to the Chesapeake Bay and the farms of the Eastern Shore. The company was able to successfully transform the Canton area into a complete industrial neighborhood that would provide a stable working force for decades. The smokestack industries of Canton flourished and became an economic engine for the success of Baltimore City.