The claim
A lively Fells Point saloon on cobbled Thames Street that claims roots as the Fountain Inn in 1775 and says it never closed, even during Prohibition. Renamed in 1972, it keeps a Western theme with saddle bar stools and an old front bar. Live music plays nightly, and a sign marks 'Poe's Last Stop', a legend rather than fact.
What the records show
The 1775 is published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation's magazine, which says the tavern that originally occupied this colonial building was founded in 1775 and that the building has been a bar ever since; Wikipedia attaches the year to the Fountain Inn, the saloon's predecessor. No primary record was found, and nothing the bar publishes was traced. The popular story that this was Edgar Allan Poe's last stop is described as unproven by both Wikipedia and the National Trust. The district listing was read from the register itself on 17 September 2026. The National Park Service's register locations service places 1626 Thames Street inside the Fell's Point Historic District, certified on 28 March 1969 under 69000319, and inside the boundary increase of 14 July 1986 under 86003777; no individual listing for the saloon is returned. That is worth saying carefully, because a district listing describes and dates a neighbourhood and not one house in it. Standing inside the boundary tells a reader that Thames Street is old; it says nothing at all about 1775.
What to look for inside
- Claims to be Maryland's only bar open before, during and after Prohibition
- 'Poe's Last Stop' legend
- Renamed The Horse You Came In On in 1972
Visiting
The Horse You Came In On Saloon is in Baltimore, United States, at 1626 Thames Street, Baltimore, MD 21231. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Horse_You_Came_In_On_Saloon
- savingplaces.org/stories/historic-bars-baltimores-the-horse-you-came-in-on-saloon
- mapservices.nps.gov/arcgis/rest/services/cultural_resources/nrhp_locations/MapServer/1/query?where=RESNAME+LIKE+%27Fells+Point+Historic+District%25%27&outFields=NRIS_Refnum%2CRESNAME%2CResType%2CAddress%2CCity%2CState%2CCertDate&returnGeometry=false&f=html
Know something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Sept 2026
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