Oakland Mills | |
|---|---|
Village | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Maryland |
| City | Columbia |
| Established | 1968 [1] |
| Named for | Oakland Mill [1] |
Oakland Mills is one of the 10 villages in Columbia, Maryland, United States. It is located immediately east of Town Center, across U.S. Route 29. [2]
Neighborhoods in the village of Oakland Mills include Steven's Forest, Talbott Springs, and Thunder Hill. [3]
The name Oakland Mills is derived from the mill and postal station in the local area that were part of a 2,300-acre (9.3 km2) estate that combined Oakland Manor slave plantation and surrounding properties. The 1796 grist mill and its properties are aligned along the road built by the Columbia Turnpike and Road Company between Montgomery County and Baltimore in 1810. The road was managed by the Columbia Turnpike Company and later came to be known as the Columbia Pike, Old Columbia Road, and now U.S. Route 29. [4] The Oakland Mills Blacksmith House and Shop was built around 1820. A sawmill, coopers shop and country store was built on a 16-acre (65,000 m2) site prior to 1824. [5] The Oakland Mills postal station opened on February 23, 1821, in the Howard district of Anne Arundel County. It operated until 1909, and the name was used again in 1974 when the land development company Rouse picked the name for one of its villages. [3] [6] [7] The grist mill at Oakland Mills was built by Robert Oliver in 1826 on the site with the sawmill. [8] On May 13, 1858, a tornado passed through the Oakland Mills town from Woodstock, Maryland, taking out large swaths of trees. [9]
In 1969, the Rouse Company started land development, choosing Oakland Mills for the name of one of its "villages" to the east of the historic Oakland Mills site. The village was considered officially open on November 11, 1969, with the opening of the village center. [10] Homebuilders from Amberly, Artery Leighton, Green, Page, and Ryland built model homes in the Stevens Forrest neighborhood with a random mix of architectural styles including Modern, Contemporary, Farm, and California style. [11] In 1971, arsonists burned as many as ten new homes under construction, prompting residents to form community watches. [12]
In 1987, the State of Maryland and Howard County approved a road widening which affected historic buildings at the Oakland Mills site. In 2011, the Blacksmith House was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The same year, the Maryland State Highway Administration commissioned a Maryland Historical Trust survey to include adjoining mill buildings declaring the site not eligible for state historical status because they "no longer effectively reflect their historic design or association with the historic mill site". [13] County executive Ken Ulman broke ground at the project May 28, 2014, in front of the Mill Buildings announcing, "It means we can be more productive in our careers. It means we can get to our kids' practices and games on time. It means more quality time for families." [14]
A concrete footbridge was built over Route 29 in 1982 to connect Oakland Mills to the neighboring Columbia Town Center. In 2005, the county held a charrette to discuss redevelopment of the Rouse Planned Community beyond its initial 100,000 population design requiring the developer to conduct a study on the benefits of the footbridge. In 2010, The Downtown Columbia Plan passed, requiring the developer to fund a replacement footbridge as a condition before additional development could occur in Columbia. In 2010, The Rouse Company conducted a study, stating that there was little transportation benefit to the bridge. County Executive Ken Ulman proposed an unexpected $600,000 in county funds in the 2012 budget to relieve the developer of the bridge building expense and development restriction. [15] In 2013, Howard County spent $100,000 to conduct its own study. [16] [17] In 2018, the bridge was renovated, with a new spiraling geometrical design, upgraded lighting, and safety enhancements. [18]
Steven's Forest is named for the 702 acres (2.84 km2) original land grant patented to Charles Stevens on May 10, 1709. The tract was resurveyed on August 4, 1746, by Phillip Hammond. The tract was only 90 acres (0.36 km2) by 1783 when owned by Brice Hammond. In 1787, Major General of the 1st division of the Maryland State Infantry Charles Sterrett Ridgely, [19] combined "Browns Adventure", "Chew's Angle", "Stevens Forest" and "Cost upon Cost" to form a 1,696-acre (6.86 km2) tract for the Oakland Manor slave plantation. [20]
Streets in Steven's Forest are named for works of John Dos Passos, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway. [3]
Talbott Springs comes from the name of the 1,087 acres (4.40 km2) land grant, Talbott's Resolution Manor, patented on August 30, 1714, by John and Elizabeth Talbot, reduced to 249 acres (1.01 km2) in 1783 by Rachel Ridgley. [20] Street names are taken from the works of Carl Sandburg, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. [3]
Thunder Hill derives from the name of the area farm of landowner Oliver Goldsmith who sold property to Rouse. The street names are from Andrew Wyeth. The street "Coonhunt Court" generated some controversy, without a direct reference to Wyeth's works; efforts to change the name started in 1969. [3] [21]
Oakland Mills Village Center contains an LA Mart ethnic grocery store and other smaller retail establishments including a Dunkin'. [22] "The Meeting House," located at the village center, is an interfaith center. [23]
The community center is in The Other Barn, which was built in 1947 to service 50 cattle by Dorsey Owings, once part of the Owings Dorsey Dairy Farm. It was repurposed by the Rouse company in 1969 as a community center and a teen center named the Orange Propeller. [24] [25]
Each neighborhood has an outdoor pool. [26]
The Columbia Ice Rink and the Youth and Teen Center are also part of the Oakland Mills Village Center complex, administered by the Columbia Association.
The Oakland Mills Community Association serves as the homeowner's association and village board of directors for Oakland Mills. [27] Members of the village board serve one year terms and are elected annually. [28] The board has up to seven members and includes the Oakland Mills representative to the Columbia Council as an ex-officio member. A Village Manager oversees day-to-day operations of the community association.
Current village board membership: [29]
Oakland Mills High School is located in the village; students from Oakland Mills and neighboring communities attend. There are three elementary schools, Stevens Forest Elementary School, Thunder Hill Elementary School, and Talbott Springs Elementary School, and one middle school, Oakland Mills Middle School, within the village. [30] Both Stevens Forest Elementary School and Talbott Springs Elementary School have been recognized as National PTA Schools of Excellence. [31]
Columbia is a census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It is a planned community consisting of 10 self-contained villages. The census-designated place had a population of 104,681 at the 2020 census, making it the second most populous community in Maryland after Baltimore. Columbia, located between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., is officially part of the Baltimore metropolitan area.
Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River, in northern Prince George's County. Founded as a mill town in the early 19th century, Laurel expanded local industry and was later able to become an early commuter town for Washington and Baltimore workers following the arrival of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1835. Largely residential today, the city maintains a historic district centered on its Main Street, highlighting its industrial past.
Guilford is an unincorporated community located in Howard County in the state of Maryland. The location is named after the Guilford Mill. Guilford is near Kings Contrivance, one of the nine "villages" of Columbia.
Wilde Lake is a human-made drainage reservoir dug in 1966 and the name of the surrounding "village" of neighborhoods located in Columbia, Maryland, just north and west of Columbia Town Center. The village was the first part of Columbia's "New Town" to be built in the late 1960s, James W. Rouse and Frazar B. Wilde formally opened the neighborhood on June 21, 1967. The lake and village are named for Frazar B. Wilde, a past chairman of the board of Connecticut General Life Insurance Company and former employer of James Rouse. In 1963, the company agreed to fund the secret land purchases and, in return, acquired an equity participation. This arrangement was subsequently formalized by the creation of The Howard Research and Development Corporation, the joint venture established to develop Columbia.
The Rouse Company, founded by Hunter Moss and James W. Rouse in 1939, was a publicly held shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when General Growth Properties (GGP) purchased the company.
River Hill is the last and westernmost village to be developed in the town of Columbia, Maryland, United States, though some residents maintain addresses in Clarksville. The village is home to 6,520 residents in 2,096 housing units in 2014. The area was used as a game preserve by James Rouse to entertain clients and personal hunting during the buildout of the Columbia project. In 1976, County Executive Edward L. Cochran selected the 784-acre parcel owned by Howard Research and Development for an alternate location for a county landfill; a task force selected Alpha Ridge Landfill instead. Residential construction started in 1990. It is bounded by Maryland Route 108 and Maryland Route 32, and is centered on Trotter Road. The village is divided into two neighborhoods: Pheasant Ridge and Pointers Run, with about 6,500 residents.
Kings Contrivance is a village in the planned community of Columbia, Maryland, United States and is home to approximately 11,000 residents. It is Columbia's southernmost village, and was the eighth of Columbia's ten villages to be developed. Kings Contrivance consists of the neighborhoods of Macgill's Common, Huntington and Dickinson, and includes single-family homes, townhouses, apartments and a Village Center.
Hickory Ridge is one of the 10 villages in Columbia, Maryland, United States, located to the west of the Town Center with a 2014 population of 13,000 in 4,659 housing units. The village overlays the former postal community of Elioak. It was first occupied in 1974. Neighborhoods in the village are Hawthorn, Clary's Forest, and Clemens Crossing. The name Hickory Ridge is derived from the 1749 estate "Hickory Ridge" in nearby Highland, which later became the family home of the nephew of hospital and university founder Johns Hopkins.
Long Reach, one of ten villages composing Columbia, Maryland, United States, is found in the northeast part of Columbia along Maryland Route 108. Started in 1971, it is one of the oldest villages, and comprises four neighborhoods: Jeffers Hill, Kendall Ridge, Locust Park, and Phelps Luck. The village, with an approximate population of 15,600, is governed by five elected village board members through "Long Reach Community Association, Inc." The Village Office is located in Stonehouse, the community center, which opened in 1974.
The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) is the school district that manages and runs the public schools of Howard County, Maryland. It operates under the supervision of an elected, eight-member Board of Education. Jennifer Mallo is the chair of the board. William J. Barnes has been the acting superintendent since January 2024.
Dorsey's Search is a parcel of land patented by John Dorsey of Hockley-in-the-hole (1645–1714) in Baltimore County. The 479-acre (194 ha) property adjacent to the north branch of the Patuxent river was surveyed by Richard Beard in December 1684, and granted to Dorsey in March 1696. The property lying between "Long Reach" and "Elk Ridge" was resurveyed in March 1723 to include 750 acres (300 ha). After several generations of inheritance, a series of legal disputes were held over the land by Rezin Hammond and Richard Ridgley in 1820. In 1827 the property exchanged hands to Robert Oliver, builder of Oakland Mill, who combined it with multiple properties totaling 2,300 acres (930 ha). George Gaither acquired the property in 1838. John Dorsey's grandson, "Patuxent" John Dorsey of "Dorsey's Search" built Dorsey Hall at the site.
Owen Brown is one of the ten villages in Columbia, Maryland, United States, established in 1972. Neighborhoods in the village include Dasher Green, Elkhorn and Hopewell. Owen Brown lies south and east of the town center.
Harper's Choice is one of the ten villages that comprise Columbia, Maryland, United States. It lies in the northwest part of Columbia and consists of the neighborhoods of Longfellow, Swansfield, and Hobbit's Glen and had a December 1998 population of 8,695.
Town Center is one of the ten villages in Columbia, Maryland, United States, first occupied in 1974. The Town Center is a non-contiguous, diverse area, and the most urban-like, ranging from multi-level high density apartments, homes and office buildings to single family homes.
The Middle Patuxent Environmental Area (MPEA) is a 1,021-acre (4.13 km2) wildlife area in Clarksville, Maryland and operated by the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks. It is located next to the River Hill village in the town of Columbia, Maryland, in the United States. The MPEA was created in 1996 for educational, research, and recreational purposes.
Melvin James Berman, was a prominent land developer in Maryland. He was instrumental in the creation of Columbia, Maryland along with his development partner James Rouse.
The Oakland Mills Blacksmith House and Shop, also known as Felicity, is a historic property at 5471 Old Columbia Road in Oakland Mills, Maryland.
Oakland or Oakland Manor is a Federal style stone manor house commissioned in 1810 by Charles Sterrett Ridgely in the Howard District of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The lands that became Oakland Manor were patented by John Dorsey as "Dorsey's Adventure" in 1688 which was willed to his grandson Edward Dorsey. In 1785, Luther Martin purchased properties named "Dorsey's Adventure", "Dorsey's Inheritance", "Good for Little", "Chew's Vineyard", and "Adam the First" to make the 2300 acre "Luther Martin's Elkridge Farm".
Arlington is a historic slave plantation located in Columbia, Howard County, Maryland, now part of the Fairway Hills Golf Course.
The Dasher Farm is a historic farm located in Columbia, Howard County, Maryland, now part of the Rouse Company land development.
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Municipalities and communities of Howard County, Maryland, United States | ||
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| CDPs |  | |
| Villages | ||
| Unincorporated communities |
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| Ghost town | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |