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History · Towson · established 1750

18 landmarks tell Towson’s story

The public archives hold no old photos of Towson yet. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1750established
0old photos & papers
18historic places
27famous people
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What stands out about Towson’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtRodgers Forge Historic District protects 1,780 historic buildings.A National Historic Landmark18 places on the National Register, including Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital and Gatehouse, a National Historic Landmark. #5 in MD.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Towson are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Older than the countryEstablished in 1750, 26 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

18 listings protect 3,392 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
18
National Historic Landmark
1
Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital and Gatehouse
historic buildings protected
3,392
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital and Gatehouse
in Maryland
#5
by listings
Baltimore County CourthouseAuburn HouseVilla AnneslieBare Hills HouseSt. John's ChurchTyrconnellTowson AcademyStoneleigh Historic DistrictGoucher College, built 1885Bellona-Gittings Historic DistrictBaltimore County JailRodgers Forge Historic DistrictBare Hills Historic DistrictLake Roland Historic DistrictAigburth Vale, built 1868Anneslie Historic DistrictSila ResidenceSheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital and Gatehouse★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival5
Tudor Revival4
Modern Movement4
Gothic Revival3
Greek Revival2
Italianate2
★ Landmark
Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital and GatehouseTudor Revival
Baltimore County CourthouseGreek Revival
Auburn HouseItalianate
Villa AnneslieItalianate Villa
Bare Hills HouseGothic Revival
St. John's ChurchGothic Revival
TyrconnellColonial Revival
Towson AcademyBuilding
All 18 listings
Stoneleigh Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2003Goucher CollegeDistrict · listed 2007Bellona-Gittings Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2008Baltimore County JailBuilding · listed 2009Rodgers Forge Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2009Bare Hills Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2011Lake Roland Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992Aigburth ValeBuilding · listed 1999Anneslie Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2012Sila ResidenceBuilding · listed 2025

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

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Start Towson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Towson’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Towson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Towson.

Read it all →

The first inhabitants of the future Towson and central Baltimore County region were the Susquehannock people, who hunted in the area. Their region included all of Baltimore County, though their primary settlement was farther northeast along the Susquehanna River.

Towson was settled in 1752 when Pennsylvania brothers, William and Thomas Towson, began farming an area of Sater's Hill, northeast of the present-day York and Joppa roads. William's son, Ezekiel, opened the Towson Hotel to serve the growing number of farmers bringing their produce and livestock to the port of Baltimore. He built the hotel at current-day Shealy Avenue and York Road, near the area's main crossroads. The village became known as "Towsontown".

Chapters1600s1700s1800s1900s

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Towson, 1750 to 1999

Woven from the archive, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1750
    FoundingTowson is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1868BuiltAigburth Vale is built
  5. 1885BuiltGoucher College is built
  6. 1889Born hereWilliam Purington Cole is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1971LandmarkSheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital and Gatehouse named a National Historic Landmark
  9. 1972Born hereThomas Roberts is born here
  10. 1989Born hereKimmie Meissner is born here
  11. 1999Born hereIzaiah Brockington is born here
By decade

Towson, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the heart of Towson, Maryland2011Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the h… Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the heart of Towson, Maryland2011Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the h… Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the heart of Towson, Maryland2011Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the h… Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the heart of Towson, Maryland2011Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the h… Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the heart of Towson, Maryland2011Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the h… Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the heart of Towson, Maryland2011Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the h… Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the heart of Towson, Maryland2011Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the h… Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the heart of Towson, Maryland2011Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the h… Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the heart of Towson, Maryland2011Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the h… Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the heart of Towson, Maryland2011Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the h… Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the heart of Towson, Maryland2011Towson Branch Library is a landmark building in the h…
Famous people

27 famous people were born in Towson

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Kimmie MeissnerAmerican figure skater, born 1989 · b. 1989
William Purington ColeAmerican jurist and politician · b. 1889
Izaiah BrockingtonAmerican basketball player · b. 1999
Thomas RobertsAmerican television journalist and sexual abuse… · b. 1972
A
Albert CassellAmerican architect · b. 1895
Dawn ZimmerAmerican politician · b. 1968
Stories next door

History across the town line

Baltimore309 historic placesPikesville8 historic placesParkvilleIts storyHampton3 historic placesMays Chapel1 historic placeLuthervilleIts story

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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From the Library of Congress (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (18), Wikipedia and Wikidata for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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