| Towson,
Baltimore
County Zip Code(s):
21286, 21204
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Description
Towson is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in
Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 51,793 at
the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the
second-most populated unincorporated county seat in the United States
(after Ellicott City, Maryland).
History
1600s
The first inhabitants of the Towson region were the
Susquehannough people who hunted in the area. Though their region
included all of Baltimore County, their primary settlement was along the
mouth of the Susquehanna River.
1700's
Towson was settled in 1752 when two Pennsylvania brothers, William and Thomas Towson, began farming northeast of present-day York and Joppa Roads. William's son, Ezekial, started the Towson Hotel at York and Joppa Roads in 1768 to serve the increasing traffic of farmers bringing their produce and livestock to the port of Baltimore. The village became known as "Towsontown". Today a shopping mall is situated at the intersection of York Road and Joppa Road known as the "Towson Town Center"--but this name more likely reflects its location, in Towson, rather than being an homage to the original village name.
In 1790, Charles Ridgely completed the
magnificent Hampton Mansion just north of Towsontown, the largest
private house in America at the time. The Ridgelys lived there for six
generations, until 1948.[6]
It is now preserved as the Hampton National Historic Site and open to
the public.
1800s
From 1850 to 1874, another notable land owner / Amos Matthews, had a farm of 150??acres (0.61??km2) that - with the exception of the 17-acre (69,000??m2) largely natural parcel where the Kelso Home for Girls (currently Towson YMCA), was later erected - was wholly developed into the neighborhoods of West Towson, Southland Hills and other subdivisions beginning in the middle 1920's.Towson was briefly the scene of a minor engagement between Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War. On July 10, 1864, a 130-man Confederate cavalry detachment attacked the Northern Central Railway in nearby Cockeysville, under orders from Gen. Bradley T. Johnson. After cutting telegraph wires along Harford Road, they encamped at Towson overnight. The next day, the Confederate cavalry skirmished with a smaller force of Union cavalry along York Road as far south as Govans, before heading west to rejoin Gen. Johnson's main force.
The Towson fire of 1878 destroyed most of the 500 block along the York
Turnpike causing an estimated $38,000 in damage.
During the summer of 1894, the Towson
Water Company laid wooden pipes and installed fire hydrants that were
connected to an artesian well near Aigburth Vale. On November 2 1894,
Towson was supplied with electric service through connection with the
Mount Washington Electric Light and Power Company.
1900s
At the beginning of the century, Towson remained largely
a rural community. Land continued to be sold by the acre, rather than as
home parcels. Most residences lay within Towson proper: no houses
existed west of Central Avenue along Allegheny or Pennsylvania avenues,
and there were only three homes along the West Chesapeake Avenue
corridor.
As the growth of Baltimore's suburbs
became more pronounced after World War II, considerable office
development took place in Towson's central core area. Many of the large
Victorian and colonial-style residences in the vicinity of the Court
House were demolished in the 1980s and 1990s for offices and parking.
In 1839, Epsom Chapel became the first
Christian house of worship in Towson, used by various denominations. As
the population grew in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several
churches were built to serve the community, such as Calvary Baptist
Church, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Trinity Episcopal Church,
First Methodist Church, and Towson Presbyterian Church. Epsom Chapel was
demolished in 1950 when Goucher College sold a portion of its property
for development of the Towson Plaza shopping center, now Towson Town
Center. First Methodist Church moved in 1958 to land also acquired from
Goucher College and is now Towson United Methodist Church.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there
were 51,793 people, 21,063 households, and 11,331 families residing in
the CDP. The population density was 3,688.7 people per square mile
(1,424.3/km??). There were 21,997 housing units at an average density of
1,566.6/sq mi (604.9/km??). The racial makeup of the CDP was 86.9%
White, 7.53% African American, 0.10% Native American, 3.7% Asian, 1.9%
Hispanic, and 0.0% Pacific Islander.
There were 21,063 households out of
which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6%
were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with
no husband present, and 46.2% were non-families. 36.4% of all households
were made up of individuals and 17.3% had someone living alone who was
65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the
average family size was 2.87.
In the CDP the population was spread
out with 17.4% under the age of 18, 17.5% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25
to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 82.8
males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.8 males.
The median income for a household in
the CDP was $53,775, and the median income for a family was $75,832
(these figures had risen to $64,313 and $98,744 respectively as of a
2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $49,554 versus $38,172 for
females. The per capita income for the CDP was $32,502. About 2.5% of
families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line,
including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
Neighborhood Links
WestTowson.com
WestTowson.com is an independently-owned and operated
website created to help the West Towson neighborhood share information
about news and events.
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