Monday, Oct. 12, is Columbus Day for the federal government and the State of Maryland, but inside Baltimore city limits it is officially Indigenous Peoples’ Day. That split matters for anyone with an errand, a trash question or a kid in school on Monday, and it comes as President Donald Trump revived the story of the Columbus statue that protesters pulled down in Little Italy six years ago.
Here is what is open and closed, why Baltimore calls the day something different, and where the city’s most famous Columbus monument stands now.
Is Columbus Day a holiday in Maryland?
Yes. Columbus Day, the second Monday in October, appears on Maryland’s 2026 list of state employee holidays, according to the Maryland Manual, which cites the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 9-201. The Comptroller of Maryland lists its offices as closed on Oct. 12.
Maryland also sets aside a separate day for Native Americans: American Indian Heritage Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving, is on the comptroller’s 2026 closing list for Nov. 27.
What is open and closed on Monday, Oct. 12?
| Service | Status on Oct. 12, 2026 |
|---|---|
| U.S. Postal Service | Post offices closed |
| Banks | Most closed; check with your bank |
| Stock market | Open |
| Maryland state offices (e.g., Comptroller) | Closed for Columbus Day |
| Baltimore City government | Legal city holiday (Indigenous Peoples’ Day) |
| Baltimore City Public Schools | Not listed as a day off on the 2026-27 calendar |
| Baltimore 311 | Open last year on the holiday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
Private businesses, stores and restaurants set their own hours. The national details on mail, banks and markets come from WBUR.
Will Baltimore trash and recycling be picked up?
The Department of Public Works had not posted a 2026 holiday notice when this story was published, so the best guide is last year. In October 2025, DPW closed its offices and sanitation yards for Indigenous Peoples’ Day, including the Northwest Transfer Station, the Quarantine Road Landfill and the city’s two residential drop-off centers, FOX45 reported. DPW said then that the closure would not affect weekly trash and recycling collection, because Monday is not a regular curbside collection day, and it suspended mechanical street sweeping for the holiday.
Water main breaks and sewer emergencies still go to 311. If you are planning a trip to a drop-off center on Monday, check DPW’s channels first.
Do Baltimore City students have school?
The Baltimore City Public Schools 2026-27 calendar does not list Oct. 12 as a closure. The October days families should mark are Thursday, Oct. 15, an early-release day with afternoon parent-teacher conferences, and Friday, Oct. 16, when schools are closed to students for professional development. The district notes that individual schools can differ, so confirm with your school. Other Maryland districts set their own calendars.
Why does Baltimore call it Indigenous Peoples’ Day?
In October 2020 the Baltimore City Council passed a bill from Councilman John Bullock renaming the holiday. Then-Mayor Jack Young did not sign it in time for the 2020 holiday, and the city held its first official Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Oct. 11, 2021, WYPR reported. The Baltimore City Code now lists “Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the second Monday in October of each year” as a legal city holiday under Ordinance 20-432.
The federal government and the state still use the name Columbus Day, which is why the same Monday carries two names depending on whose office you are dealing with.
What did Trump say about Baltimore’s Columbus statue?
Speaking Friday, Trump described the toppling of the Little Italy statue on July 4, 2020, when protesters pulled it down and threw it into the Inner Harbor, and praised the Italian American groups who recovered the pieces, FOX45 reported.
“They raised over $100,000 on this beautiful statue in Baltimore to build a brand-new statue using the pieces.”
President Donald Trump, Oct. 9, 2026, as quoted by FOX45
The holiday’s name and the fate of the statue have been debated in Baltimore since 2020, and the president’s remarks put both back in the news days before the holiday.
Where is the Columbus statue now?
- 1984: The statue, a gift from Italian American Organizations United, is unveiled in Little Italy by President Ronald Reagan and then-Mayor William Donald Schaefer, according to FOX45.
- July 4, 2020: Protesters topple it and dump it in the Inner Harbor. Divers hired by Italian American Organizations United later recover pieces.
- 2020s: A Maryland sculptor rebuilds the statue, which is kept in storage.
- March 22, 2026: The replica, made using remnants of the original, is installed on White House grounds at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, on loan through the end of Trump’s term, NPR reported.
- Today: The marble platform in Little Italy is empty and surrounded by a steel gate, with possible plans for a replacement sculpture by the end of 2027, according to FOX45.
If you are heading out before Monday, check our list of Baltimore road closures this weekend.
Featured image: The empty pedestal at the former site of the Christopher Columbus statue in Little Italy, Baltimore, in 2020. Photo: APK / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.