Bladensburg Balloon Park Historic Site
4100 Baltimore Ave Bladensburg MD 20710
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Size: 1.37 Acres
Amenities
This park was the site of the first unmanned hot air balloon ascension in the United States. A walkway in the shape of a hot air balloon pays tribute to this legacy. The site is also home to the “Undaunted in Battle” monument, commemorating those who fought and died in the Battle of Bladensburg in 1814.
Inscription on the First Unmanned Balloon Ascension historical marker:
On June 17, 1784, the first documented balloon ascension in America took place in a field near the town of Bladensburg. The man responsible for this remarkable event was an enterprising Prince George’s County innkeeper and lawyer named Peter Carnes. Carnes conducted the balloon ascension as a public exhibition. It was originally intended to be a tethered, manned ascent, but while the balloon was being brought closer to town for the exhibition, a gust of wind blew the passenger basket against a fence and damaged it severely. Because of this mishap, it was unsafe for anyone to go aloft with the balloon, so a tethered, unmanned balloon ascent took place instead. However, one week later Carnes conducted another public exhibition of his balloon. This time the location was Baltimore, and the tethered balloon was sent aloft with a 13 year-old boy as a passenger.
