Lauraville, Baltimore
Encyclopedia
Lauraville is a neighborhood located in northeast Baltimore, Maryland. The neighborhood is bounded on the east by Harford Road
, on the north by Echodale Avenue, on the south by Argonne Drive and Herring Run Park, and on the west side by Mount Pleasant Park and Morgan State University, with East Coldspring Lane passing through the center of Lauraville.
Lauraville is named for the daughter of John Henry Keene, who was a local property owner and businessman active after the American Civil War
. The area was developed by several subdivisions during the period between 1910 and 1930 as an upper middle class
neighborhood, with many houses built on double lots. Sales in 1910 indicated houses were priced at $4,000 at a time when the typical house in Baltimore sold for $1,200.
Soon after the Civil War, Lauraville became an official village, with its own post office, and as a result its present name. Local residents who had lobbied for a local mail service were confronted when they discovered the Post Office's requirement for a village name as a mail destination. At a local meeting, chief supporter for the village post office, John Henry Keene, a local property owner who also operated a planing mill
and lumber yard on the site of today's Bond Lumber, suggested that the community be named after his daughter Laura. Apparently that was acceptable to all present, for the area has been Lauraville since.
Until Hamilton got its own post office, the Lauraville post office which was located in William Emmel's confectionery store on the west side of Harford Road, south of Southern Avenue, handled all of the mail service along Harford Road, between the Herring Run, and Parkville.
In the last decades of the 19th century Lauraville became thoroughly self-sufficient. Blacksmiths and carpenters practiced their trades along Harford Road, and virtually any necessity could be bought locally for the house or farm. Truck farms covered the area and a wide variety of locally raised produce, as well as fresh meat, poultry, and dairy products were available. Weber's Park, a brewery, with adjoining picnic grounds and beer garden operated for many years along Harford Road in the Southern end of Lauraville, about opposite today's Overland Avenue. A fire station for the volunteer fire company was also built, on the site of the present modern engine house.
In the early 1870s the Hall Springs Passenger Railway opened its limited horse-drawn passenger service on the Harford Road between the Hall Springs Hotel and a car barn south of 25th Street, where connections could be made for downtown Baltimore. While never wildly successful, the line operated continuously until it was electrified and extended north to Hamilton Avenue in the 1890s, and eventually absorbed into the United Railways and Electric Company
street railway system.
This growth and improvement of the Harford Road transit service coincided with the rapid development of Lauraville as a residential suburban community. First commuter transit, then automobile travel, made communities like Lauraville increasingly accessible to the Baltimore Downtown.
In 1895 land was acquired from the Garrett family for a new schoolhouse, which was built in the late 1890s at Morello and Ailsa Avenues. The school was and is still called Garrett Heights, though it previously had junior high grades as well as the elementary grades. The 1932 addition to Garrett Heights is the only portion still standing, as the older wing was destroyed by fire in 1969. By 1918, when most of Lauraville was annexed to Baltimore City, many houses had already been built.
In 1918, residents of Lauraville were incensed that the nearby Ivy Mill property, where Morgan State University
would eventually be built, had been sold to a "negro college
." They attempted to have the sale revoked by filing suit in the circuit court in Towson
, which dismissed the suit. They then appealed the case to the state Court of Appeals
. The appellate court upheld the lower court decision, finding no basis that siting the college at this location would constitute a public nuisance
. Despite some ugly threats and several demonstrations against the project, Morgan State was allowed to be constructed at this site and would later expand.
as the home neighborhood of fictional Baltimore Police Detective Jimmy McNulty
.
Maryland Route 147
Maryland Route 147 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Harford Road, the state highway runs from U.S. Route 1 in Baltimore north to US 1 and US 1 Business in Benson. MD 147 is an alternate route to US 1 between Baltimore and Bel Air, the county seat of Harford County...
, on the north by Echodale Avenue, on the south by Argonne Drive and Herring Run Park, and on the west side by Mount Pleasant Park and Morgan State University, with East Coldspring Lane passing through the center of Lauraville.
History
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The area was developed by several subdivisions during the period between 1910 and 1930 as an upper middle class
Upper middle class
The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...
neighborhood, with many houses built on double lots. Sales in 1910 indicated houses were priced at $4,000 at a time when the typical house in Baltimore sold for $1,200.
Soon after the Civil War, Lauraville became an official village, with its own post office, and as a result its present name. Local residents who had lobbied for a local mail service were confronted when they discovered the Post Office's requirement for a village name as a mail destination. At a local meeting, chief supporter for the village post office, John Henry Keene, a local property owner who also operated a planing mill
Planing mill
A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and seasoned boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the planer and matcher, the molding machines, and varieties of saws...
and lumber yard on the site of today's Bond Lumber, suggested that the community be named after his daughter Laura. Apparently that was acceptable to all present, for the area has been Lauraville since.
Until Hamilton got its own post office, the Lauraville post office which was located in William Emmel's confectionery store on the west side of Harford Road, south of Southern Avenue, handled all of the mail service along Harford Road, between the Herring Run, and Parkville.
In the last decades of the 19th century Lauraville became thoroughly self-sufficient. Blacksmiths and carpenters practiced their trades along Harford Road, and virtually any necessity could be bought locally for the house or farm. Truck farms covered the area and a wide variety of locally raised produce, as well as fresh meat, poultry, and dairy products were available. Weber's Park, a brewery, with adjoining picnic grounds and beer garden operated for many years along Harford Road in the Southern end of Lauraville, about opposite today's Overland Avenue. A fire station for the volunteer fire company was also built, on the site of the present modern engine house.
In the early 1870s the Hall Springs Passenger Railway opened its limited horse-drawn passenger service on the Harford Road between the Hall Springs Hotel and a car barn south of 25th Street, where connections could be made for downtown Baltimore. While never wildly successful, the line operated continuously until it was electrified and extended north to Hamilton Avenue in the 1890s, and eventually absorbed into the United Railways and Electric Company
United Railways and Electric Company
The United Railways and Electric Company was a street railway company in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area of the U.S. state of Maryland from 1899 to 1935....
street railway system.
This growth and improvement of the Harford Road transit service coincided with the rapid development of Lauraville as a residential suburban community. First commuter transit, then automobile travel, made communities like Lauraville increasingly accessible to the Baltimore Downtown.
In 1895 land was acquired from the Garrett family for a new schoolhouse, which was built in the late 1890s at Morello and Ailsa Avenues. The school was and is still called Garrett Heights, though it previously had junior high grades as well as the elementary grades. The 1932 addition to Garrett Heights is the only portion still standing, as the older wing was destroyed by fire in 1969. By 1918, when most of Lauraville was annexed to Baltimore City, many houses had already been built.
In 1918, residents of Lauraville were incensed that the nearby Ivy Mill property, where Morgan State University
Morgan State University
Morgan State University, formerly Centenary Biblical Institute , Morgan College and Morgan State College , is a historically black college in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Morgan is Maryland's designated public urban university and the largest HBCU in the state of Maryland...
would eventually be built, had been sold to a "negro college
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....
." They attempted to have the sale revoked by filing suit in the circuit court in Towson
Towson, Maryland
Towson is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 at the 2010 census...
, which dismissed the suit. They then appealed the case to the state Court of Appeals
Maryland Court of Appeals
The Court of Appeals of Maryland is the supreme court of the U.S. state of Maryland. The court, which is composed of one chief judge and six associate judges, meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in the state capital, Annapolis...
. The appellate court upheld the lower court decision, finding no basis that siting the college at this location would constitute a public nuisance
Public nuisance
In English criminal law, public nuisance is a class of common law offence in which the injury, loss or damage is suffered by the local community as a whole rather than by individual victims.-Discussion:...
. Despite some ugly threats and several demonstrations against the project, Morgan State was allowed to be constructed at this site and would later expand.
Housing
While Lauraville was built over a period of years by various developers, most of the houses are detached, single family frame or cedar shingle structures, similar in style. The Lauraville neighborhood benefits from irregular street patterns, and from the considerable number of shade trees that the residents have striven to protect.Trivia
Lauraville is mentioned on the Baltimore based HBO drama The WireThe Wire (TV series)
The Wire is an American television drama series set and produced in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series was broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States...
as the home neighborhood of fictional Baltimore Police Detective Jimmy McNulty
Jimmy McNulty
Detective James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by British actor Dominic West. McNulty is an Irish American detective in the Baltimore Police Department...
.