Old Harford Road

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Old Harford Road, one of the oldest continuously-used rights-of-way in central Maryland, is a southwest-northeast thoroughfare in northeast Baltimore and eastern Baltimore County.

Present-day Old Harford Road begins in the 6000 block of Harford Road in the Hamilton section of Baltimore City and continues 5 1/2 miles northeast through the Parkville, Maryland area of the County to near the Big Gunpowder Falls north of Cub Hill. Old Harford Road follows a curving path along relatively high land bordering streams that feed the upper Chesapeake Bay, including Chinquapin Run. This suggests its likely origin as an Indian trail that was later adopted by settlers to convey farm products from northeastern Baltimore County and Harford County to the port of Baltimore in the late 1700s.

Contents

[edit] History

The name "Old Harford Road" appears on area maps dating back to at least the 1850s (including a collection of early maps displayed in Meeting Room of the Baltimore County Public Library in Towson). One of these maps indicates that all or parts of today's Satyr Hill, Cromwell Bridge and Glenarm Roads collectively were known as Old Harford Road. This naming most likely dates to the period shortly after private interests constructed the more direct "Harford Turnpike" (now known as Harford Road, part of Maryland Route 147) between present-day Mt. Vista Road and what later became the Hamilton section of Baltimore in 1816.

While Old Harford Road has never been part of the Maryland State Highway system, rapid urban development throughout the Parkville-Carney area following World War II brought substantial traffic increases to the city- and county-maintained road. In particular, completion of the nearby Parkville High School and Perring Plaza Shopping Center spurred increases in the late 1950s and early 1960s, respectively. Major improvements (including widening, resurfacing and construction of curbs/sewers) occurred over various segments in the following years: 1971, 1972, 1975, 1979, 1984, 1990, 2000, and 2001. Construction of an overpass at the Baltimore Beltway (Interstate 695) in 1961 resulted in relocation of the roadway about 300 feet west of the original right-of-way. This reconstruction also eliminated an existing "y" intersection with Satyr Hill Road.

[edit] Points of Interest

Several sites of historical interest exist along Old Harford Road. The first three have been placed on the Baltimore County Landmarks List and include:

  • The 19th century Krause lime kiln near Summit Avenue (in Krause Memorial Park)
  • The 1883 Pine Grove School, a one-room school house at the southeast corner of Old Harford and Cub Hill Roads
  • The stone Federal-style Cub Hill and Shanklin-Carroll-Longbottom residences north of Summit Avenue.
  • The superstructure of one of the Maryland State Forest Service's former network of fire lookout towers remains extant at 9405 Old Harford Road. The Cub Hill site, with an elevation of 484 feet above sea level, is one of the highest points in eastern Baltimore County. The tower is now used to support communication equipment, while the surrounding grounds serve as an ecological research facility of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (see below)
  • The Maryland State Training School For Boys. This facility, now known as The Charles H. Hickey School after a former Baltimore County sheriff, originated as a house of refuge in southwest Baltimore. It moved to its present location in 1910 and contains several buildings displaying what might be termed "early 20th century institutional" architecture.
  • The Parkville Precinct of the Baltimore County Police Department, since 1954
  • The Parkville station of the Baltimore County Fire Department (at the corner of present-day Putty Hill Avenue), since 1954.

Until the late 1950s, Putty Hill Avenue (then known as Putty Hill Road) did not extend west of Old Harford Road; an existing dead-end street known as "Miller Avenue" was consumed by Putty Hill's extension west of Old Harford around 1960.

[edit] Major Intersections

Major intersections with commercial and/or institutional development along Old Harford Road include:

[edit] Public Transportation

Old Harford Road in Baltimore County is served by a limited number of trips on the Maryland Transit Administration's no. 19 bus line between Taylor Avenue and Satyr Hill Road (see map).

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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