Old Hamilton Library listed on the National Register of Historic Places

On September 25, the Old Hamilton Library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by Baltimore architect Theodore W. Pietsch, the historic branch library was built thanks to the organized efforts of the Woman’s Club of Hamilton and the Hamilton Improvement Association along with support from Pittsburgh industrialist Andrew Carnegie.

Baltimore Heritage submitted the nomination to the Maryland Historical Trust in February with support from both the owner and the Hamilton-Lauraville Main Street. We hope this designation and the financial incentives of city, state and federal historic tax credits can help our partners find a new use for this neighborhood landmark and restore it to its long-time role as an asset to northeast Baltimore communities.

Bring a Friend, Win a Prize! 2012 Membership Challenge

Behind the Scenes Tour of the USS Constellation, March 2011

In fall, Baltimore Heritage launched our annual membership drive and the new 2012 Membership Challenge. As part of our ongoing efforts to get more Baltimoreans engaged in learning about and preserving our great historic buildings and neighborhoods, we are asking for your help by bringing friends, neighbors, family members, and others to our tours and events. We know we need a large and diverse group of friends and supporters to effectively preserve and promote Baltimore’s historic places, and we believe that coming to one of our events is a great way to introduce people to our work.

As a way of saying thank you for your help and support, we are raffling off private guided tours of historic neighborhoods – a walking tour of Mount Vernon, a bike tour of West Baltimore Parks and more – led by myself and Baltimore Heritage Field Officer Eli Pousson. Anybody who joins us for a tour or to an event and then becomes a member of Baltimore Heritage, along with any current Baltimore Heritage member who refers a new member is eligible to win. We’ll announce the winners in early January. So the next time you register for one of our Behind the Scenes tours or other events, please bring a friend! Thank you for helping us with our 2012 Membership Challenge, and for helping us protect our shared history and revitalize our historic neighborhoods. I hope to see you and a guest at one of our events soon.

Explore Colonial Grandeur at the Perry Hall Mansion

Join us in exploring one of Baltimore County’s most historic places, Perry Hall Mansion, home of the Gaugh Family. We’re pleased to host this event with our partners, the Friends of the Perry Hall Mansion and the Preservation Alliance for Baltimore County.

Behind the Scenes Tour of Perry Hall Mansion

Wednesday September 19, 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm
3930 Perry Hall Rd, Perry Hall, MD 21128
RSVP today! $15 per person.

Erected high on a hill above the Gunpowder River Valley, Perry Hall Mansion dominated life in northeastern Baltimore County in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Built in the 1770s by Harry Dorsey Gaugh, Perry Hall was named after the family castle near Birmingham England. The 16-room home, the seat of a vast plantation, soon became one of the leading houses in colonial Maryland. The mansion, considered a “sister” house to Hampton Mansion not very far away, turned from a house of raucous parties to a place of more reserved pleasure as Gaugh and his wife, Prudence, became ardent supporters of the early Methodist movement that had strong roots in Maryland.

Gaugh became a distinguished planter, a member of Maryland’s House of Delegates, and on the board of one of Maryland’s first orphanages. After Gaugh’s death in 1808, the mansion remained in the family for nearly 50 years. It was sold to a group of investors in 1852 that carved the plantation into lots for houses, many of which went to German immigrants. By 2001, the estate had dwindled to four acres and the house was sold to Baltimore County for use as a museum and community center. The County completed a first stage of restoration in 2004, and exterior restoration won an award from the Preservation Alliance of Baltimore County as an “outstanding public project.” The Friends are continuing with the restoration of this stately home.