Late to the Game

Accession Number P75-54-0489g, Hughes Company Glass Negatives Collection,

Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Originally in this blog, I set out to explore changes to the water systems in Baltimore -- both drinking water and waste water utilities.  What I found, however, is that the Hughes Collection did not support my interest in the history of the city's sewer system.  The story of the development of the sewers, although interesting, actually predates the 1918 annexation.

Student Population Soars

Accession Number P75-54-N490g, Hughes Company Glass Negatives Collection,
Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Changing laws about child labor and the age of mandatory school attendance led to a student population boom in Baltimore's schools in the 1920s.  Students were met with a severe shortage of classroom space, buildings in terrible physical condition, and a slow municipal response to remedy the situation.  This image shows Nathaniel Ramsey School #96 at Smallwood and Ashton Streets in the Carrollton Ridge neighborhood, where the total enrollment in June of 1920 was 554.