Mid-Govans, Baltimore
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mid-Govans is a community in northeast Baltimore, Maryland and part of the development of York Road, a historic Baltimore route to Pennsylvania. The Govans neighborhood features many different housing types, trees and a neighborhood park at DeWees.
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[edit] Points of interest
Govans includes several historically and culturally significant places of interests including: DeWees Park, Chinquapin Park, the Senator Theater, Epiphany House, Gallagher Mansion, McCabe Mansion, Homeland and Belvedere Square Shopping Centers, City Garden plots on Woodbourne Avenue, Loyola College, College of Notre Dame of Maryland and the DeWees PAL Center.[1]
[edit] Demographics
According to the 2000 US Census, 2,375 people live in Mid-Govans with 80.4% African-American and 16.4% White. The median family income is $40,948. 93% of the houses are occupied and 75.7% of those are occupied by the home's owner. [2]
[edit] Schools
Mid-Govans has three public elementary schools: Yorkwood, Leithwalk and Guildford elementary schools. The area is served by the Chinquapin Middle School. High school students generally attend n Mervo , City, DuBois or Lewis highschools.
[edit] History
Twenty neighborhoods in north Baltimore have aligned themselves with the York Road corridor. These neighborhoods are extremely diverse in building type and demographic make-up; their diversity is a product of four centuries. For the first 150 years, these neighborhoods shared the same history.
The York Road is almost as old as York, Pennsylvania itself. Shortly after 1741, when York was first established as a town, a conference of Baltimore and York tradesmen and merchants met to establish a road between the two young communities. By the mid 1750s, back-country farmers routinely used the York Road to bring grain and other agricultural goods to Baltimore. As the City demands for agricultural products increased, the development of farmland in Baltimore County increased. Consequently, in 1787 Baltimore County, through State enabling legislation, created the Baltimore County-operated York turnpike. By 1805 the county sold the turnpike to private investors; in turn, the Baltimore and York Turnpike Company remained in private hands until the early 1900s. York Road opened up the rural areas of north Baltimore to development.
The first cross-road village, Govans, was established by 1783. The village was named after its first known resident, William Govans who in the 1750s moved to the area. By the early nineteenth century, Govans village was home to a tollgate located near Rossiter Avenue, Susan Miller's Govans' Town Tavern, and John Wooden's inn and race course.
In the 1840s Govans developed into a thriving village. Shops opened along the York Road, catering to the surrounding gentlemen estates and truck farms. In 1844 Govans was connected to Baltimore by daily omnibus service, and ten years later the village had daily mail service. Omnibuses conveniently stopped near the prevailing inns and taverns: Cold Spring Tavern, south of Govans at Oakland and York; the Star Tavern in Govans; and Robert Ramsey's Hotel in Govans. Churches were also established: the Govans Presbyterian Church was constructed in 1845; St. Patrick's R.C. Church built an orphanage for Irish children in 1847; St. Mary's R.C. Church was constructed in 1849; and the Govans Methodist Episcopal Church was constructed in 1849-50.
For the first half of the 19th century, the larger Govans area was a farm community made up mostly of gentlemen estates and small truck farms. Many prominent city residents bought country estates in the area. These estates were gentlemen farms and were the summer homes of Baltimore's elite. These were hobby farms, architectural statements, and carefully designed landscapes.
The 1870s saw rapid development spawned by innovations in transportation. In 1874 the Horse Car Railway connected Govans to Baltimore and Towson. York Road became a mixed-use street with commercial, residential, and agricultural-oriented uses. Just a block or two from the road, Suburban style houses were built. In the 1877 G.M. Hopkins' atlas, Govans residents included carpenters, florists, wholesale produce dealers, inn keepers, teachers, farmers, and one landscape gardener. By 1881, Greater Govans had a population of just over 1200.
The village became a node for horse and buggy businesses. Five blacksmith shops; two carriage shops; two livery stables hay; and a grain and feed shop were active in the 1860s through the 1880s. Other businesses included several community-oriented grocery stores, butchers, doctors, carpenters, shoemakers, tailors, and other craftsmen serving domestic needs. Business and residential housing began to expand in scale and diversity as the horse-car railway was electrified. By the 1920s, Govans was a thriving mainstreet that catered to the newly built suburban neighborhoods. Drug stores, restaurants, hardware stores, clothing stores, movie theaters, house-ware stores, and banks were established along the York Road corridor. Automobile dealers replaced livery stables and carriage shops, gas stations replaced grain and feed stores, and automotive repair garages replaced blacksmiths. Residential housing began to cater to suburbanites. Houses in the current, eclectic style were built within a short walking distance from York Road.
Churches increased in number as well as expanded their activities. Movie theaters were constructed (the Senator being a rare survivor), and taverns continued to line the corridor. In 1948 the Hochschild, Kohn Belvedere and Hess Shoes buildings were built. The Hochschild, Kohn & Co. established in 1897 was a major downtown department store. In 1946 they started building a branch store in Govans. Completed in 1948, the store became an anchor of the neighborhood. In addition, Hess Shoes also opened in 1948, making Govans a shopping destination. By the mid-1950s, the shopping core of Govans, centering on York and Belvedere roads, also included an A & P grocery store, a Steiff Silver outlet, Read's Drug store, a carpet store, a jeweler, the Senator Theater (opened 1939), banks, several restaurants, service stations, cleaners, barbers, shoe repair shops, and seven other specialty shoe and clothing stores. Govans shopping district catered to the newly developed suburban neighborhoods within the area.
The conglomeration of new suburban developments grew into neighborhoods such as Penn Lucy, Wilson Park, Radnor Winston and Winston Govans.[3]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Govans/Mid-Govans. Live Baltimore Home Center. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
- ^ Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: Mid-Govans. Baltimore City Planning Department. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
- ^ Holcomb, Eric. A History of Govanstowne. Govanstowne Business Association. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
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According the my personal research, Govans was named for James Govane who had an estate north of the city limits...his grave is located there as well, east of the Drumcastle area.
