Locust Point

Locust Point may refer to a location in the United States:

Locust Point, Baltimore

Locust Point is a peninsular neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland. Located in South Baltimore, the neighborhood is entirely surrounded by the Locust Point Industrial Area; the traditional boundaries are Lawrence street to the west and the Patapsco River to the north, south, and east. It once served as a center of Baltimore's Polish-American, Irish-American and Italian-American communities; in more recent years Locust Point has seen gradual gentrification with the rehabilitation of Tide Point and Silo Point. The neighborhood is also noted as being the home of Fort McHenry.

History

In 1776, with the outbreak of the American Revolution, the citizens of the City of Baltimore, assisted by the State of Maryland, dug fortifications at the end of the "Whetstone Point" peninsula that juts into Baltimore Harbor between the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River on the north and the Middle Branch and the Ferry Branch (now the Southern Branche) to the south. This fort was named "Fort Whetstone". This fort escaped British attack, although it was nearly attacked in August 1777 when a British fleet from New York City sailed up the Chesapeake Bay to the Head of Elk in Cecil County in the northeastern corner of the state. There the ships disembarked troops heading for the new American capital city in Philadelphia, and thus engaged in the Battle of Brandywine and the Battle of Germantown. However, Baltimore was considered safe enough for the Continental Congress to meet in when Philadelphia was overrun.