Loch Raven in Towson in Baltimore County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

The Cream of Hampton

Dairy, constructed c. 1800

— Hampton National Historic Site, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior —

The Cream of Hampton Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 2, 2020

1. The Cream of Hampton Marker

Inscription. The ingenious design of this building enabled the Ridgelys to produce fine dairy products here for 150 years. Built into the ground to maintain coolness, the structure is also shaded by low-hanging eaves. Inside you will see a natural refrigeration system. Cool water from a nearby spring bubbles to the ground and runs through a tap into a trough that surrounds the dairy floor. Workers set urns of milk and tubs of butter into the cold water to keep them from spoiling. In the early years fresh milk, cream, and butter were luxuries mainly supplied for the master's table. Hampton's dairy products were sold commercially and helped support the estate.

[Caption:]
The Ridgelys' famous Alderney and Jersey cows were kept in a large stone barn, which once stood beyond the Long Barn in front of you. Fences circled the area to keep the animals from straying. If you visited the dairy in the 19th century, you would have seen women hauling heavy milk pails on yokes and churning cream into butter. In the 20th century, mainly men were hired to run the dairy.

Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

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Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Agriculture • Animals • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers • Women.

Location. 39° 25.197′ N, 76° 35.171′ W. Marker is in Towson, Maryland, in Baltimore County. It is in Loch Raven. It is on Hampton Lane 0.1 miles west of Stone Barn Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 654 Hampton Lane, Towson MD 21286, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Baltimore Metro Region

and in Central Maryland.

It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic,

in the Chesapeake Bay Region,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A Slave Village (within shouting distance

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 2, 2020

2. The Dairy

of this marker); The Lower House (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The View from Below (about 300 feet away); Quarters #2 & 3 (about 300 feet away); Corn Culture (about 400 feet away); Hampton: An American Story (about 400 feet away); Thoroughbreds at Hampton (about 600 feet away); a different marker also named Hampton: An American Story (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Towson.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 2, 2020. It was originally submitted on January 2, 2020, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 398 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 2, 2020, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.