History

The Old Quaker Meeting House

 
The Old Quaker Meeting House is the oldest surviving house of worship in Baltimore, dating to 1781 when it was built by the Patapsco meeting of Friends. The George Matthews design welcomed men and women through separate entrances into a spacious but plain room with a high vaulted ceiling. Sliding wooden panels could be raised for Meeting for Worship and other large gatherings or lowered to divide the men's and women's Business Meetings. Johns Hopkins, Moses Sheppard, Phillip E. Thomas and the Tyson, Ellicott and McKim families were among the worshipers here.
 
By 1926, when most Friends had moved away from East Baltimore, the building was abandoned and in much need of repair. It was sold to the city to become part of the Public Park System. Through the joint efforts of the city of Baltimore and the McKim Community Association, the historic building was restored and released to McKim Community Center in 1967. In 1996 another much needed restoration took place. With several substantial grants from foundations, McKim Community Center partnered with Baltimore City and the Maryland Historical Trust to modernize and restore the space for community programs, taking great care to respect what was by then a Maryland Historical Site.
 
The building is used by McKim mainly for open space activities related to summer camp and the after school program.
 
 

The McKim Free School Building

 
Shortly before his death, John McKim, a Baltimore Quaker, asked his sons, Isaac and William, to help carry out his dream of establishing a school that provided ".the diffusion of useful knowledge, and moral instruction among [those] who have not the means of procuring these advantage for themselves.” Enrollment was to be without “respect or preference to any religious sect or denomination.” The McKim Free School was incorporated in 1821 and opened in a rented school room at the corner of Baltimore St. and Central Ave.
 
 
By 1835 the McKim Trustees had erected the present building at the corner of Aisquith and Baltimore Streets. Designed by William Howard and William Small after the Theseum and the north wing of the Propylea on the Acropolis in Athens, it has been called a perfect example of pure Doric architecture. This building originally housed the first free school in Baltimore, one of the first in the United States.
 
The McKim free School flourished until the 1890's when public education took over its functions. Mckim then established a free kindergarten--another first for the city. The McKim Community Center was extabished by 1917 to serve the children and families in the Jones Town area. Over the years the temple-like building has become a symbol of McKim's service to young people. It is held in high respect, especially by those in the neighborhood and by its alumni.
 
 
The building houses McKim administrative offices and is used by the city every weekday to serve breakfast and lunch to needy elderly folks. It is the site for Youth Place, McKim's after school program, as well as for summer camp and meetings of various groups.
 
Due to normal wear and tear, the McKim Free School building again requires major renovation. Donations are needed for the preservation of this unique and beautiful structure. If you can help or know of a source where McKim might seek help, please call us at 410 276-5519.)