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Halethorpe in Baltimore County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Site of Manual Labor School for Indigent Boys

1839 - 1922

 
 
Site of Manual Labor School for Indigent Boys Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 8, 2020
1. Site of Manual Labor School for Indigent Boys Marker
Inscription.
"Baltimore Farm Where They Raise — Good, Honest Citizens",
"Just outside the pretty little village of Arbutus, about seven miles from Baltimore, there is a farm whose principle product for 60 years has been men. It is a beautiful farm, too, with 200 rolling acres of meadow land, orchards and fertile fields; with sleek cattle grazing over broad pastures and with attractive buildings embowered handsome trees and the crest of a hill overlooking the country for miles around. It is a farm that disposes of more than $3500 worth of produce annually, and yet with all the productiveness in the agricultural line its biggest and best and chiefest product is and has been honest men and useful citizens." (1903 news article I Albin O. Kuhn Library, UMBC) Johns Hopkins, founder of his namesake university and hospital in Baltimore, served as a member of the Farm School's Board of Directors for nearly 25 years until his death in 1873. Gustav W. Lurman, Jr., esteemed 19th century Catonsville resident and owner if his well-known nearby estates of "Farmlands" and "Bloomsbury", served on the Farm School Board of Directors beginning in 1881 as a member, and later as Board President for a period of more than 20 years. (Maryland Historical Society Library)

[Captions:]
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Student Residence Was Constructed In 1860 At A Cost of $16,000

Young Students On An Afternoon Hike To Find Spring's First Arbutus

 
Erected 1996 by Coalition for the Preservation of Southwestern Baltimore County, Catonsville Historical Society, Baltimore County Historical Trust, University of Maryland Baltimore County.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: AgricultureAnimalsEducationHorticulture & ForestryScience & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 1873.
 
Location. 39° 15.158′ N, 76° 42.456′ W. Marker is in Halethorpe, Maryland, in Baltimore County. It is on Hilltop Circle 0.1 miles east of Commons Drive, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1000 Hilltop Circle, Halethorpe MD 21227, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Central Maryland. It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. 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 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Chemistry Building (approx. 0.3 miles away); Janet and Walter Sondheim Hall (approx. 0.3 miles away); George and Betsy Sherman Hall (approx. 0.3 miles away); Joseph Beuys Tree Partnership (approx. 0.4 miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 1.3 miles
Site of Manual Labor School for Indigent Boys Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 8, 2020
2. Site of Manual Labor School for Indigent Boys Marker
away); “Little Arlington” (approx. 1.4 miles away); Paradise Train Station (approx. 1.4 miles away); History of the Catonsville Short Line (CSL) Railroad (approx. 1.4 miles away).
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 8, 2020. It was originally submitted on February 8, 2020, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 608 times since then and 56 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on February 8, 2020, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
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Jun. 11, 2026