Friday, August 9, 2013

Aloha to Savage Mill


We found a townhouse in Howard County, Maryland.  Above is a historic house in my neighborhood.  From the county's website (link),

Howard County is located between Baltimore and Washington in the “heart” of Maryland and was named after John Eager Howard, a Revolutionary War hero and the fifth Governor of Maryland. There is a sense of pride in Howard County in our rich and diverse history. Originally a farming community with the thriving mill town of Ellicott City and the busy shipping port in Elkridge Landing, today’s Howard County is a successful blend of old and new, urban and rural.





The urban can be seen from the I-95 overpass.



We live near Savage Mill.  From its website (link),

In 1820, Amos Williams and his three brothers borrowed $20,000.00 from their friend John Savage to start a textile weaving business on the banks of the Little Patuxent River. The water from the river flowed over a huge 30 foot water wheel which powered the machines that wove the cloth. They named the business Savage Mill after their generous friend. It functioned as a working textile Mill from 1822 to 1947.




Between 1947 and 1950, the entire Mill was turned into a Christmas Display Village. Christmas tree ornaments were manufactured and a miniature B&O Railroad train transported visitors to and from the Route 1 parking area. There was also a one ring circus in the huge New Weave Room.

The Winer family bought the mill in 1950. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

The historic complex of buildings with over 175,000 square feet is now home to major collector quality antique centers, home furnishing stores, craft galleries, artist studios, specialty shops, destination restaurants and banquet facilities.



I enjoyed the metal sculpture greeting the parking lot.



I recall from our previous assignment to Fort Meade that Savage Mill hosted a Polish Pottery Mart (link) ...



... and it is still selling unique pottery from Boleslawiec, Poland (military spouses in Europe drive by the bus loads to purchase this high quality dinnerware).



I was curious about the Terrapin Adventures ....



... it offers rope climbing and zip lining.   The terrapin is a turtle that serves as the UM mascot.



Look what I found back inside the mill ...



... and the antique store was equally entertaining.  For $8000, you can own this skeleton rocking chair!



I followed the smell of fresh bread to Bonaparte Bakery (link). I'll keep these extra large croissants in mind for my next coffee date.  



I was curious about the clock store ... 
 

... which reminded me of the time in my belowed Hawaii.



Do you have a historic area near you?

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City



15 comments:

  1. So many interesting places already :) Love the cats in the pottery store, of course lol. Pittsburgh has a lot of history.

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  2. We have a few including Grand Central Terminal.

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  3. My area has a lot of history dealing with settlers, including Daniel Boone park which still has many of the old buildings and they do demonstrations about what life was like back then and make crafts and household goods such as candles, aprons, toys, etc.

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  4. Wow, nothing like this. One of these days I will have to wander around all of these historical sites. Thanks for the great tour Kim, looks like a beautiful neighborhood!

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  5. I will take two of the rocking chairs. Lots of history in Connecticut. Our town green is beautiful.

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  6. Loved the pictures!! We have several plantation ruins, Blackbeard's watch tower and some old houses. Tweeted.

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  7. LOve the photos. :) Not really... Toronto isn't that old.

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  8. Great photos! I can see you have moved to another very interesting place in our country and I look forward to learning more about it. That skeleton rocking chair is quite something!

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  9. Oh, I can see that we are going to wonderful adventures with you in Maryland, Kim!! There's lot of historical places in Texas! The community I live in is named after a Confederate General (Patrick Cleburne). The Chisolm Trail Musuem is also in Cleburne (http://www.jcchisholmtrail.com/attractions/).

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  10. Looks like an interesting place. No, I don't

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  11. Now those pictures are great. You always find great places to visit no matter where you are.

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  12. Well, you know more about the many historical places here in HI than I do :-)

    Great pix, Kim. Glad to see that the new place will keep you just as busy as Hawaii.

    Nadja

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  13. Do the zip line as soon as you get a chance. My nephew manages a zip line place here and it is so much fun! They have the ropes course too. I'm glad that y'all had a safe trip over and that you're settling in. :)

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  14. Stupid gluttonous Americans with Giant Croissants! Smaller is better...Looks like a fun neighborhood.

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  15. Kim I love your pictures and the history lesson that I learn.

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