Fun Fact: Did You Know that the First Gas Streetlamp in the Country was Lit in the City of Baltimore?

Question: Did you know that the first gas streetlamp in the country was lit in the City of Baltimore?

Courtesy of Baltimore City Mayor Catherine Pugh
Courtesy of Baltimore City Mayor Catherine Pugh

It’s true! The gas streetlamp was first lit 200 years ago by BGE’s predecessor, the Gas Light Company of Baltimore. Artist Rembrandt Peale first lit up a room in his museum on Holliday Street using a ring of burning gas on June 11, 1816. Eight days later, the mayor signed an ordinance allowing the Gas Light Company of Baltimore to begin lighting the streets. That became a reality on Feb. 7, 1817, when the first gas street lamp was lit at a ceremony on Holliday Street.

Baltimore CitySource: BGE, an Exelon Company

Do you have a fun fact to share about your county? If so, please send it to Kaley Schultze to be featured in MACo’s weekly Fun Fact on Conduit Street.