The Cost of Breaking the Law in Baltimore - 125 to 200 Years Ago

Baltimore City Hall (c1900)
Detroit Publishing Company
(Courtesy: Shorpy.com)

   One would be surprised as to what you might get arrested for in violation of Baltimore City Ordinances between 125 and 200 years ago in Baltimore City.   Public law in early Baltimore City was written and enacted in response to the pressing issues of the day (health, safety, wrongs against individuals and public property) as was the case in many developing cities within the United States and around the world.  Current Baltimore City laws and ordinances have citations deriving from City Code as far back as 1879.

   What follows is a collection of offenses from the period of 1801 to the 1870s, along with associated fines for violating the ordinance or code.  It has been determined from actual Baltimore City Ordinance of the period or from court judgments and/or arrests as noted in Baltimore Sun legal articles.  So as to impress upon today's reader the magnitude of the fine, each of the fines for offense are indicated by value in today's U.S. dollar.

1801 (as noted in Ordinances of the Corporation of the City of Baltimore)

• Driving a carriage, caravan, wagon, sleigh, cart, etc in the middle (as opposed to the right side) of the street - FINE, $14
• Cock fighting of any kind within the City Limits - FINE, $271
• Gun or pistol which is willfully and needlessly shot or discharged within the City - FINE, $68
• Bringing damaged coffee, hides or other damaged or infected articles into the city limits, by land or water - FINE, $4,070
• Operating the performances or exhibitions without a license (See below, for license cost): - FINE, $13,565

Licenses were required for the following: Circus or theatrical exhibition - $109 / performance; Rope or wire dancing, or puppet shows - $136 / week; Musical parties for gain - $68 / week; All other public exhibitions - $27 / week

1840s (as noted from Baltimore Sun Public Notice, Court Judgments)

• Washing salt sacks in a tub placed under a pump in public - FINED, $37 plus costs
• Throwing rubbish into the street and permitting it to remain there - FINED, $22 plus costs
• Permitting wood to remain upon a wharf longer than 2 days - FINED, $5.50 daily / foot of ground



Baltimore Police from the Mid 1800s

• Purchase or sale of wood without a license - FINED, $44 / each cord sold

1850s (as noted from Baltimore Sun, Public Notice of Court Judgments)

• Throwing stones in public - FINED, $27
• Running wagons without license numbers - FINED, $27-$50
• Improper conduct in the presence of ladies - FINED, $121
• Throwing a nuisance in the street - FINED, $27

1860s (as noted from Baltimore Sun, Public Notice of Court Judgments)

• Allowing a ten-pin alley to be used after 11 o'clock at night - FINED, $252
• Exposing unsound meats for sale - FINED, $504
• Bathing in the Jones Falls - FINED, $17
• Boys were arrested for jumping upon one of the Philadelphia Railroad cars while in motion - FINED, $17
• Running against and breaking a city lamppost - FINED, $85
• Throwing nauseous liquors on the street - FINED, $85
• Immoderate driving in the street - FINED, $85 plus costs
• Gambling on Sunday - FINED, $85 plus costs
• Permitting gambling on premises - $510 plus costs
• Carrying on a distilling business on McElderry's wharf without a license - SENTENCED TO PAY FINE OF $3,236 AND IMPRISONED  UNTIL PAID.  [Of interest: Within 6 months, the convicted, Thomas Carr, received a pardon from the President of the United States, which remitted the fine and he was immediately released]

1870s (as noted in Ordinances of the Corporation of the City of Baltimore or Baltimore Sun)

• Killing or attempting to kill, or in any manner injure or molest sparrows, robins, wrens, or other small insectivorous birds in the city of Baltimore, to include their birdhouses - FINE, $85 per offense
• Playing cards on Sunday - FINED, $24
• Carrying a concealed razor on his person - FINED, $72

These are in interesting contrast to EXISTING ordinances within the City of Baltimore:

• Tossing, throwing, flinging any object capable of being thrown or used as a projectile (excluding paper wrappers) on the playing field or arena, official or any member of the team at a sporting event - FINE, up to $1000 or imprisonment up to 12 months (misdemeanor)
• Playing, singing, or rendering the "Star Spangled Banner" anywhere publicly in the City of Baltimore, except in its entirety in composition, separate from any other melody. Likewise, it cannot be played for dancing or as an exit march. - FINE, not more than $100 (misdemeanor)
• Sell, give away or dispose of a "toy cartridge pistol" within the City Limits of Baltimore - FINE, $10.  
• To discharge or fire a "toy cartridge pistol" - FINE, $2.
• Unauthorized by any person not of the Department of Public Works within the City Limits of Baltimore to remove recyclable materials from designated containers without approval from the owner or operator of the recycling operation - FINE, up to $500 (misdemeanor)