Poplar Springs

Poplar Springs. "From Drovers to Drivers". , In the early 1800s, as settlers spread west from the Chesapeake Bay, the farming community of Poplar Springs grew up around the Baltimore and Frederick-Town Turnpike, part of the system of roads making up the National Road. An endless parade of drovers and teamsters were just a two-day ride from Baltimore, known a that time as the "Monument City." They were driving their geese, sheep, cattle, pigs and freight wagons east and west, to and from the busy port on "a smooth way.", Catering to new generations traveling in automobiles, the Poplar Springs tourist facility was built in 1920. Travel writer Robert Bruce noted in 1916 that "Now and then we pass an old, low, square signpost "_M to Baltimore," the figures and letters often difficult to decipher at speed. Prosperous farms line both sides of the road…most of the houses are painted white… This seems to be a fashion throughout Central Maryland… and adds to the attractiveness of the country in spring and summer.", [Captions:] , For 80 years, a traveler stopping at old Poplar Springs Hotel could get a wheel or piece of harness fixed along with "fine food and lodging for man and horse.", In 1937, John and Virginia Haines stand proudly in front of their "new" Poplar Springs facility which featured dining with live entertainment and three tourist cabins., Virginia Haines and "Sis" Richard pose with a shiny family sedan in front of their tourist cabins in 1951. Post World War II prosperity soon replaced cabins with motel industry.