Baltimore City Public Schools Indian Education Program Office (ca. mid-1970s–2008) 101 S. Ellwood Avenue

The original Patterson High School was located at 101 S. Ellwood Avenue.[1] The building later became home to Hampstead Hill Junior High, and later still, Highlandtown Middle. Now it’s luxury apartments.

Hampstead Hill Junior High (#43) was one of the original Baltimore City Public Schools visited by Indian Education Program staff, as its Indian student population had been one of the highest in the district since the height of the Lumbee migration to Baltimore. From the mid 1970s until 2008, school #43 housed Baltimore’s Indian Education Program’s central office, in Room 14. Room 14 was an enormous classroom on the first floor. It was a safe haven for generations of students. The outer wall featured a giant eagle mural and the words “Native American Program.” Inside was a trove of artifacts, art supplies and school supplies. And the program staff was there, eager to listen, tutor, and assist.

Highlandtown Middle School closed in 2008, and the Indian Education Program’s central office relocated to the former Canton Middle School (801 S. Highland Avenue). Later, the office relocated to the “new” Patterson High School (100 Kane Street). Finally, in 2016, the office relocated to the third floor of the Baltimore American Indian Center (113 S. Broadway), where it remains today.

1. Patterson High School relocated to 100 Kane Street in 1960. Personal communication with former principal, Laura D’Anna, August 9, 2019. Also see Polk's Baltimore City Directory, 1942. Baltimore, Maryland: R.L. Polk.