Final Paper

The can be seen when entering Homeland. (Taken by myself)

Homeland, Maryland is a small residential area in Baltimore. This neighborhood might be one many people from Baltimore are not as familiar with, especially considering that Homeland was not even part of the city till 1918 when the city line moved (Stevens, 7). Even though that might be the case, Homeland’s development and community have exhibited what suburbanization was like in many American cities.

Homeland was originally an estate owned by David Perine. The Perine family helped with expanding and establishing their estate before they sold it. The Perine family helped start up the Church of the Redeemer, the first and most prominent church, in 1855 (Leward, 18). In 1872, David Perine sold land to the School of the Sisters of Notre Dame, which is now the College of Notre Dame (Stevens, 9). David Perine’s son, Elias Glen, donated the No. 22 branch of the Enoch Pratt Library in 1919 (Leward, 18).

The Roland Park Company bought Homeland in 1924. The company had already developed the surrounding communities of Roland Park and Guilford making Homeland the company’s third development (Leward, 19). The timing of Homeland’s development was critical to it being another success for the Roland Park Company. The Roland Park Company understood that there was a growing market for housing after World War One and intended on supplying Baltimore with the suburban housing they wanted (Leward, 21).

The Roland Park Company made many efforts in order to apply to the people who wanted to move to the new glamorous suburbs. The Roland Park Company kept the name of “Homeland” because of it being fitting for a residential area (Stevens, 19). The people wanted to move to the suburbs for being around nature and have privacy (Waesche, 61). This was achievable considering that Homeland was known for its produce made on the local farms (Stevens, 8). Citizens just knowing that Homeland was a development of the Roland Park Company would associate them with high class because of them opening the first country club in Baltimore attracting the “right people” (Waesche, 65).

This is an advertisment for row homes trying to compete with the new housing developments by trying to draw people in with "Pure Air and Beautiful Scenery" (North Baltimore:from estate to development. Page 30).

This is a picture of meadows in Homeland, which drew residents in. (North Baltimore: from estate to development. Page18).

This idea of the “right people” was a major part of suburbanization. Besides leaving their homes for land and privacy, people were leaving because of racial tension. The Roland Park Company had many restrictions, such as: on how far from the street houses could be, and how much houses could cost. The restrictions that made more of an impact on the community would be the bans on commercial stores that were not owned and operated by the Roland Park Company and the race restrictions (Waesche, 67). The slogan for Homeland and Guilford subtly implied their discrimination “1,500 acres of restricted land” (Waesche, 113).

Several significant people in Baltimore’s history lived in Homeland. Henry Walters, who established the Walters Art Museum, resided and bred horses (Stevens, 32). John Garrett, the president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and his family had a house there. This house was a vacation house for the Garrett family. Before Homeland was fully developed, Homeland was predominately a vacation destination for the wealthy (Waesche, 30).

Homeland’s scenery has created most of the appeal for people to move there. Even though it is a suburban area, Homeland still has some wildlife, such as foxes, that residents can see on a regular basis (“The Homeland Foxes”).

This a picture of a fox that a resident saw in their back yard. http://www.homelandassociation.org/Fox%20Dec%202005.JPG

They have an array of over fifty of trees from indigenous, deciduous, and evergreens. A white oak, which was over 300 years old, was made Maryland’s Bicentennial Tree on Purlington Way (Stevens, 26). The lakes of Homeland are a landmark for this neighborhood. The lakes cannot be fished or swam in; they are there only for aesthetic purposes (Stevens, 27).

This is a picture of the lakes in 1894.http://www.mdhs.org/Library/Images/Mellon%20Images/Z6access/z6-1894.jpg

This is one of the lakes today (Taken by myself)

The lakes, even though they are not owned by the Homeland Association, meant so much to the residents of Homeland they opposed the destruction of the lakes in the 1970s. Judge Harris in the 1970s proposed to fill the lakes, since one of the small ones was filled in several years before. Besides the residents’ opposition, the budget was not realistic so the proposal never went into action. After the Judge Harris passed on, his daughter, ironically, dedicated a bench by the lakes to him (Petersons).

This is a picture of the wolf statue when it was still located in Homeland by the lakes. http://www.homelandassociation.org/Wolf2.htm

The statue of wolf of Homeland has two stories: the one portrayed on the Homeland Association website and the one that actually happened. The story that one would think happened from the Homeland Association’s website is that the statue of the wolf was stolen because of the page saying when it was last seen and that they “wanted” the statue and information about it (“Statue of the Famous Homeland Wolf). However, Lynn Petersons, the operations manager of the Homeland Association, told a different story when asked about the wolf statue. The wolf statue was never actually the neighborhood’s property. It came to Homeland in the 1930s and 1940s as part of Edward Henry Berge’s artwork being displayed. After that it was in a flower shop’s window on Charles Street. After that it went on an auction in D.C. The local of the statue as far as who bought it from the auction are unknown (Petersons); yet there is still more known about it than the Homeland Association’s website implies.

The standard of appearance is very high because of the strict rules and regulation enforced by the Homeland Association. Before any changes are done on the outside of a homeowner’s house, expect for “minor repairs”, they must get the consent from the Homeland Association. The changes that go under this exterior consent are things such as: new exterior paint, driveways, doors, porches, and awnings (“Standards Concerning Exterior Changes”). The purpose of this is to keep the community’s aesthetics as close to how was when the neighborhood was originally developed. Since the neighborhood drew residents in by the unique and classic home construction, the neighborhood association is determined to maintain it as long as they can. Their efforts have been very effective, especially if one compares Paddington Court from 80 years ago to now.

This is a picture (below,left) of Paddington Court from 1928. (Houses in Homeland: a reproduction of photographs illustrating various types of houses, The Enoch Pratt Library).

This is a picture (below)of Paddington Court today; not much has changed (Taken by myself).

Homeland is the home of several notable properties of Baltimore. Loyola College and The College of Notre Dame are both religious based colleges. Loyola was established in 1852. The college stays true to their mission of education and spirituality by getting the ideals incorporated into all aspects of the curriculum (Loyola University Maryland). Catholic nuns started the College of Notre Dame in order to educated young women. The college is still an all girls’ college (College of Notre Dame). The Peale Museum is located in Homeland. Rembrandt Peale founded the museum. When the museum was still running it had exhibits of art works and science. Even though the museum is a historical landmark, it closed in 1997. The Maryland Historical Society has possession of their displays (Maryland State Archives).

This is a picture of the Peale Musuem today.
http://www.baltimorestyle.com/images/features/preserve07.jpg

Homeland has several community organizations that were started soon after the development of Homeland. Homeland’s Garden Club started in 1926. After accumulating over 50 members, the club became a part of the Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland. The Homeland Association Inc. is more involved in maintaining the acceptable condition of the neighborhood. This association is in control of setting up the agreements and contracts with new residents (Stevens, 30).

The Three Arts Club of Homeland was the most successful club of the community by far. This club when started in 1929 was for women to practice and appreciate different types of art (Milholland, 3). For these everyday women this was a huge accomplishment of getting the club up and running because of their position in the family life. The club had only book and garden workshops in the beginning, but now also include painting and music. Their meetings were held in various locations such as churches and auditoriums (Milholland, 4). But after getting 600 members, the club became set on getting a clubhouse and becoming a non-profit. In 1964, the club was able to purchase a building (Milholland, 6). The Three Arts Club is an ever-present aspect of Homeland. They still give away an annual award for a piano student at Peabody Conservatory of Music of $200 per year (Milholland, 8).

This normally unrecognizable Baltimore neighborhood has many features that make it stand out. Homeland’s developmental history from being the Perine’s family estate to being a development of The Roland Park Company is essential in understanding how Homeland came about. Homeland’s citizens have caused successful organizations such as The Three Arts Club. Without its citizens Homeland’s major landmark and natural beauty from the lakes would be gone. Homeland might be a residential suburban community but should be remembered in the history of Baltimore.