Historical Society of Baltimore County

Historical Society of Baltimore County

The Almshouse as it looks today. Constructed in 1872 of native limestone as the Baltimore County poorhouse, it is now the headquarters of the Historical Society of Baltimore County.
Formation	1959
Type	Historical Society
Purpose	Collect, preserve, and interpret the history of Baltimore County, Maryland
Location	9811 Van Buren Lane, Cockeysville, Maryland 21030
Coordinates	39°27′36″N 76°37′40″W / 39.4601°N 76.6278°W / 39.4601; -76.6278Coordinates: 39°27′36″N 76°37′40″W / 39.4601°N 76.6278°W / 39.4601; -76.6278
Services	Weekly operating hours: Fridays: noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free for members; $5.00 for visitors. Free assistance for on site research. Fee-based research for off site inquiries.
Website	www.hsobc.org

The Historical Society of Baltimore County (HSBC) was founded in 1959 with the goal of preserving and illustrating the history of Baltimore County for the benefit of present and future generations of Marylanders.^[1] "The Society accomplishes its mission through the production of presentations, lectures, workshops, entertaining educational publications, historical tours, and exhibits."^[2] Centrally located in Cockeysville, Maryland,^[2] the Society operates out of the Agriculture Building, the former Baltimore County Almshouse,^[3] which was built in 1872 and used to house the poor and mentally ill of Baltimore County until 1958.^[4]

A nonprofit organization, the Society maintains a library and research facility. Since 1966, the Society has published History Trails, a county history journal.

The Almshouse Farm Site

Located on Baltimore’s County Home Property, the Historical Society’s campus comprises several buildings of various ages and states of repair. Chief of these is the Almshouse which houses the offices and library. Other buildings are the Pest House, Smokehouse, and Barn.

The Almshouse

Constructed of local limestone in 1872, the Almshouse was damaged by a fire in 1919 after which it was rebuilt. The building has been used in several different capacities since 1958 when modern methods of caring for the indigent dictated its closing as a poorhouse. The Historical Society and various county agencies have been located in the Almshouse since 1959. During the Cold War, the Almshouse was used as a fallout shelter; emergency supplies from that era still reside in the basement. The Almshouse was designated a Baltimore County Landmark in 1980.^[5]

The Pest House

The Pest House, used to quarantine the ill residents, was built shortly after the Almshouse. It is a two story building with a slate roof. The exterior is in reasonable condition, but the interior suffers from decades of non-use and vandalism. In 2012, Preservation Maryland placed the Pest House on its list of threatened historic properties.^[6]

The Barn

The Barn is a modern post and beam structure, built on the original foundation, as a replacement for a 19th-century barn destroyed by fire in the 1970s. It now house a farm museum, named in honor of Baltimore County Veterinarian Dickinson Gorsuch (1878-1970) whose bequest enabled the establishment of the museum.^[7]

Collections

Artifacts

Items from the museum collection of 9,000 item are not on general display but can sometimes be seen in special exhibitions.^[2]

Maps

The Society has a collection of 500+ maps and atlases.^[2]

Library

The Society's library contains 4,000 volumes.^[2]

Photographs

Over 9,000 photographs reside in the Society's files.^[2]

Genealogy

The Society maintains extensive genealogy files and tombstone inscription files and offers a free class each month in genealogical research.^[2]

References