Baldwin Common

Baldwin Common. . Commons originated in England as open areas within settlements where people could graze their livestock. In colonial American, these areas became known as "village greens" where people assembled, troops drilled and games were played. Later, bandstands, benches and gardens were added to many, turning the common into a pleasure park. Many parks in New England are still referred to as "the common," the best known example being the Boston Common., What Was Here Before The Park?, For thousands of years, this area was the domain of Algonquian speaking people. In 1608, Captain John Smith sailed up the river called "Pawtuxent" and visited tribal villages along its shores., In 1632, the King of England claimed this land and chartered it to Cecil Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore. The charter named the colony "Maryland" after Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I. The Calverts granted plots to settlers from England., In 1659, this land was part of 6,000 acres granted to Henry Ridgely of Devonshire, England. In 1865, he surveyed it and named it "Ridgely's Forest.", In the next 100 years, this property changed hands many times and in 1759, Joseph White included it in a parcel he named "White's Contrivance." He owned an adjacent piece of land called "Mill Land" where he built White's Mill., In 1822, John Savage of Philadelphia partnered with the Williams brothers of Baltimore to charter the Savage Manufacturing Company. The next year, Savage bought White's Contrivance from Gideon (White's son) for land to house the millworkers, and it became the company-town, known as Savage., By 1921, the town's population had grown and the Savage Elementary School was built at this site. Yet for many years before, a ravine on this lot had been a dumping ground. When the ravine was filled with soil, the buried trash slowly caused the ground to settle, the school walls to crack, and the building to be condemned., In 1937, the school was torn down and the younger children attended temporary classes in the Memorial Hall. A few pieces of play equipment remained on the grounds, and people of Savage used the area for events such as Savage Days and carnivals., In 1977, Howard County purchased the lot adjacent to the Memorial Hall property and built Baldwin Common, which opened on August 26, 1978. It was designed to resemble a village green for the town of Savage. The Department of Recreation and Parks maintains it for all to enjoy., This land has been part of three counties: , Baltimore County from 1659 to 1726 , Anne Arundel County from 172 to 1851 , Howard County from 1851 to the present. ,