Dickeyville Historic District
Encyclopedia
The Dickeyville Historic District is a National Register of Historic Places
-listed community
located just inside the western edge of Baltimore City, Maryland
near the intersection of Interstate
s 70
and 695
and adjacent to Kernan Hospital. A small community of about 140 homes and a historic mill, the village
is on the banks of the Gwynns Falls and lies at the start of the Gwynns Falls Trail, a 15 miles (24.1 km) walking and biking trail that is part of the Chesapeake Bay
Gateways Network. The village includes two main roads, Wetheredsville Road and Pickwick Road, and three smaller lanes, Hillhouse Road, Tucker Lane and Sekots Road.
Indians
from 1672.
One of the first of many mills on the Gwynns Falls was built in the vicinity in 1719 by Peter Bond, Gwin's son-in-law. In 1762, a gristmill
and stone house was built by Wimbert Tschudi
, a Swiss mill owner, and what is believed to be the ruins of this mill may still be seen on the banks of the Gwynns Falls today. In 1779, Wimbert's son, Martin Tschudi, patented a nearby plot of land called Sly's Adventure. The Franklin Paper Mill
followed in the early 19th century, giving its name, Franklinville, to the village. In 1829, three enterprising brothers, John, George, and Charles Wethered, converted the Franklin Paper Mill to the manufacture of woolen
cloth. The brothers also built the Ashland Mill on the east side of the village, in addition to some 30 stone houses for workers, a church and a school, and named the village 'Wetheredsville'. John Wethered was elected to the United States Congress
.
In 1871, the Wethereds sold the property to William J. Dickey, whose family came from the market town of Ballymena
in the north of Ireland
. He paid $82,000 for 300 acres (1.2 km²), three mills and many of the houses in the village.
Under Dickey, the village again prospered and expanded. Many new homes were constructed for the millhands, a Presbyterian church and a manse were built, and a village store, owned by Dickey, sold everything from buggy whips
to licorice sticks. On his death in 1896, the name of the village was changed from Wetheredsville to Dickeyville. The Dickey family sold out to the Glasgow
Mills in 1909, but with the decline of the textile
business, work in the mills became harder to get. The Glasgow Mills closed and the formerly prosperous Dickeyville became a shanty
town with a reputation for crime and low life.
In 1934, the Dickey properties, which included much of the village of 81 homes, three mills and the Wethered-Dickey mansion
on nearby Forest Park Avenue (the mansion has since been demolished) was sold at auction for $42,000. A local development company embarked upon the restoration of the properties. They decided that the old buildings should be preserved and only the totally unstable would be demolished. The buildings that remained might be redesigned and modernized but in such a way as to preserve their historic character. New homes must blend in unobtrusively with the old. These requirements are initially overseen by the Dickeyville Community Association, a homeowners group formed in 1938.
The Village was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
in 1968.
during the Civil War
. The stone house at 5123 Wetheredsville Road (built circa 1810) was the home of Enos Humphreys, one of the founders of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
(I.O.O.F.). One of the earliest meeting halls of that fraternal organization is still extant at 2412 Pickwick Road. The Presbyterian church 5116 Wetheredsville was founded in the 1870s and built in 1885. 5111 Wetheredsville was the home of the Ashland Mill superintendent. The springhouse and carriage house that served the property still exist at 2309 and 2305 Pickwick (respectively).
5107 Wetheredsville was built around 1810 and was, for many years, the home of the village lamplighter
. The large home at 5101 Wetheredsville is the Mechanics Hall and was built in 1897 as a lodge for the Junior Order of American Mechanics, a union and fraternal organization. The building served as a village meeting hall, a concert hall for vaudeville
and minstrel
shows, and Madame Jolly's Waxworks, a show based on Madame Tussauds Waxworks in London
before conversion to a private residence. A stage and footlights still grace one end of the main hall. Ashland Chapel, in the center of the village at 2331 Pickwick Road, was built on land given by the mill-owning Wethered family in 1849 as a house of worship for mill workers. The chapel, with its plain interior and lack of a slave gallery, became the Methodist Church. the small garden shed at one end of the property was originally a trolley stop. 5029 Wetheredsville (c. 1850) served as a home of the cow for the village dairy
and a glove
factory. 5027 Wetheredsville is more recent (built in the 1940s) but is known as "Little Mount Vernon
" as it was designed to emulate that famous home.
5023 Wetheredsville was built in 1835 and served as the village apothecary
and then as a candy store. The smaller homes at each end were built by the storekeeper for his newly married sons. 5016 Wetheredsville was the home of one of the mill-owning Wethereds; next door is the village dispensary and doctor's home, both built around 1840. The open area opposite 5017 was a trolley
stop on the old Lorraine streetcar line, the railings are still visible. The nearby home at 5010 was built in 1810 for the Cherry Cough Syrup Co and later served as a tavern
and a garage
. 5008 Wetheredsville, built around 1865, was originally the village school. The last house on Wetheredsville road is 4901, built in 1865 for the Ashland superintendent, the grounds include the historic location of the Tschudi home. Martin Tshudi founded the first mill in the area around 1762. The graves of his wife and daughter can still be found on the hill. The Ballymena
Mill (formerly the Ashland Mill) anchors this end of the village where Wetheredsville Road becomes a hiking and biking trail. The old woolen mill, built circa 1830, now houses commercial tenants.
2322 Pickwick was the home of the village shopkeeper, the old streetcar line ran inches from the corner of the home. 2332 Pickwick (c. 1832) is said to have been an Officers' Quarters at Fort McHenry
before the home was moved to Dickeyville. The four-story rubblestone homes at 2411 and 2407 Pickwick date from c. 1860. 2405 Pickwick ( c. 1860) was the village store. The second floor was meeting room for the YWCA
. 2415 and 2417 Pickwick date from about 1870 while 2407 and 2411 date from around 1860. 2412 was built in 1853 for one of the first IOOF
lodges in the U.S. There was a tin shop in the basement. Later, it became a general store, with a Post Office and gas station. The one-story extension to the right was the pharmacy.
2423 Pickwick, built in the General Grant style in 1872, was restored as a studio by noted Baltimore muralist R. McGill Mackall in 1932. He built a complete two-story house inside so that he could live here as well as work. The house has been occupied ever since by artists. The present owner, sculptor Barry Johnston, displays some of his bronze sculptures in the back yard. 2433 Pickwick (c.1875) was the home of Malcolm Moos
, an advisor to President Dwight Eisenhower and reportedly had a direct telephone link to the White House
. 2435 was built as a mill office in 1840. It also housed the village jail where offenders could be locked up in a windowless room on the first floor. In 1899, Teddy Roosevelt spoke from the wooden front steps (the main entrance to the building, now demolished). 2500 Pickwick is believed to date to 1790 and some say began as an Indian trading post. Known as "The Old Stone Row," the building served as millworker housing.
Bonfire night, Christmas
caroling and other holiday events occur through the course of the year. The Garden Club hosts frequent lectures and meetings while the Poker Club continues its own, more recent, tradition of late night poker sessions. The village should not be confused with the "other" Dickeyville; Dickeyville, Wisconsin
.
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
-listed community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
located just inside the western edge of Baltimore City, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
near the intersection of Interstate
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
s 70
Interstate 70 in Maryland
Interstate 70 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Cove Fort, Utah to Baltimore, Maryland. In Maryland, the Interstate Highway runs from the Pennsylvania state line in Hancock east to the Interstate's eastern terminus near its junction with I-695 at a park and ride in...
and 695
Interstate 695 (Maryland)
Interstate 695 is a -long full beltway Interstate Highway extending around Baltimore, Maryland, USA. I-695 is officially designated the McKeldin Beltway, but is colloquially referred to as either the Baltimore Beltway or 695...
and adjacent to Kernan Hospital. A small community of about 140 homes and a historic mill, the village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
is on the banks of the Gwynns Falls and lies at the start of the Gwynns Falls Trail, a 15 miles (24.1 km) walking and biking trail that is part of the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
Gateways Network. The village includes two main roads, Wetheredsville Road and Pickwick Road, and three smaller lanes, Hillhouse Road, Tucker Lane and Sekots Road.
History
The village grew up along the banks of the Gwynns Falls from the late 17th century. Among the area's first settlers was Richard Gwin [or Gwynn], a Welshman who reputedly traded with the AlgonquianAlgonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
from 1672.
One of the first of many mills on the Gwynns Falls was built in the vicinity in 1719 by Peter Bond, Gwin's son-in-law. In 1762, a gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
and stone house was built by Wimbert Tschudi
Tschudi
Tschudi is a surname common in the Canton of Glarus, Switzerland.-History:The Tschudi name can be traced back to 870...
, a Swiss mill owner, and what is believed to be the ruins of this mill may still be seen on the banks of the Gwynns Falls today. In 1779, Wimbert's son, Martin Tschudi, patented a nearby plot of land called Sly's Adventure. The Franklin Paper Mill
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
followed in the early 19th century, giving its name, Franklinville, to the village. In 1829, three enterprising brothers, John, George, and Charles Wethered, converted the Franklin Paper Mill to the manufacture of woolen
Woolen
Woolen or woollen is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn...
cloth. The brothers also built the Ashland Mill on the east side of the village, in addition to some 30 stone houses for workers, a church and a school, and named the village 'Wetheredsville'. John Wethered was elected to the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
.
In 1871, the Wethereds sold the property to William J. Dickey, whose family came from the market town of Ballymena
Ballymena
Ballymena is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the 2001 Census....
in the north of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. He paid $82,000 for 300 acres (1.2 km²), three mills and many of the houses in the village.
Under Dickey, the village again prospered and expanded. Many new homes were constructed for the millhands, a Presbyterian church and a manse were built, and a village store, owned by Dickey, sold everything from buggy whips
Whips
Whips may refer to:*Whip plural.*Political Whip.*An acronym: WHIPS, Whiplash Injury Protection System....
to licorice sticks. On his death in 1896, the name of the village was changed from Wetheredsville to Dickeyville. The Dickey family sold out to the Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
Mills in 1909, but with the decline of the textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
business, work in the mills became harder to get. The Glasgow Mills closed and the formerly prosperous Dickeyville became a shanty
Shanty
Shanty may refer to:* Ice shanty, a portable shed placed on a frozen lake* Sea shanty, shipboard working songs* Shanty Hogan , Major League Baseball catcher* Shanty town, unit of irregular, low-cost dwellings...
town with a reputation for crime and low life.
In 1934, the Dickey properties, which included much of the village of 81 homes, three mills and the Wethered-Dickey mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
on nearby Forest Park Avenue (the mansion has since been demolished) was sold at auction for $42,000. A local development company embarked upon the restoration of the properties. They decided that the old buildings should be preserved and only the totally unstable would be demolished. The buildings that remained might be redesigned and modernized but in such a way as to preserve their historic character. New homes must blend in unobtrusively with the old. These requirements are initially overseen by the Dickeyville Community Association, a homeowners group formed in 1938.
The Village was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1968.
Notable buildings
The red house at 5131 Wetheredsville Road (built circa 1850) was the home of Billy Ware, a union soldier who was a flag-bearer at GettysburgBattle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
during the Civil War
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 stone house at 5123 Wetheredsville Road (built circa 1810) was the home of Enos Humphreys, one of the founders of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows , also known as the Three Link Fraternity, is an altruistic and benevolent fraternal organization derived from the similar British Oddfellows service organizations which came into being during the 18th century, at a time when altruistic and charitable acts were...
(I.O.O.F.). One of the earliest meeting halls of that fraternal organization is still extant at 2412 Pickwick Road. The Presbyterian church 5116 Wetheredsville was founded in the 1870s and built in 1885. 5111 Wetheredsville was the home of the Ashland Mill superintendent. The springhouse and carriage house that served the property still exist at 2309 and 2305 Pickwick (respectively).
5107 Wetheredsville was built around 1810 and was, for many years, the home of the village lamplighter
Lamplighter
A lamplighter, historically, was an employee of a town who lit street lights, generally by means of a wick on a long pole. At dawn, they would return and extinguish them using a small hook on the same pole. Early street lights were generally candles, oil, and similar consumable liquid or solid...
. The large home at 5101 Wetheredsville is the Mechanics Hall and was built in 1897 as a lodge for the Junior Order of American Mechanics, a union and fraternal organization. The building served as a village meeting hall, a concert hall for vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and minstrel
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
shows, and Madame Jolly's Waxworks, a show based on Madame Tussauds Waxworks in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
before conversion to a private residence. A stage and footlights still grace one end of the main hall. Ashland Chapel, in the center of the village at 2331 Pickwick Road, was built on land given by the mill-owning Wethered family in 1849 as a house of worship for mill workers. The chapel, with its plain interior and lack of a slave gallery, became the Methodist Church. the small garden shed at one end of the property was originally a trolley stop. 5029 Wetheredsville (c. 1850) served as a home of the cow for the village dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
and a glove
Glove
A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb; if there is an opening but no covering sheath for each finger they are called "fingerless gloves". Fingerless gloves with one large opening rather than individual openings for each...
factory. 5027 Wetheredsville is more recent (built in the 1940s) but is known as "Little Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon (plantation)
Mount Vernon, located near Alexandria, Virginia, was the plantation home of the first President of the United States, George Washington. The mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style, and the estate is located on the banks of the Potomac River.Mount Vernon was designated...
" as it was designed to emulate that famous home.
5023 Wetheredsville was built in 1835 and served as the village apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
and then as a candy store. The smaller homes at each end were built by the storekeeper for his newly married sons. 5016 Wetheredsville was the home of one of the mill-owning Wethereds; next door is the village dispensary and doctor's home, both built around 1840. The open area opposite 5017 was a trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
stop on the old Lorraine streetcar line, the railings are still visible. The nearby home at 5010 was built in 1810 for the Cherry Cough Syrup Co and later served as a tavern
Tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
and a garage
Garage (house)
A residential garage is part of a home, or an associated building, designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles. In some places the term is used synonymously with "carport", though that term normally describes a structure that is not completely enclosed.- British residential garages:Those...
. 5008 Wetheredsville, built around 1865, was originally the village school. The last house on Wetheredsville road is 4901, built in 1865 for the Ashland superintendent, the grounds include the historic location of the Tschudi home. Martin Tshudi founded the first mill in the area around 1762. The graves of his wife and daughter can still be found on the hill. The Ballymena
Ballymena
Ballymena is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the 2001 Census....
Mill (formerly the Ashland Mill) anchors this end of the village where Wetheredsville Road becomes a hiking and biking trail. The old woolen mill, built circa 1830, now houses commercial tenants.
2322 Pickwick was the home of the village shopkeeper, the old streetcar line ran inches from the corner of the home. 2332 Pickwick (c. 1832) is said to have been an Officers' Quarters at Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, is a star-shaped fort best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy in Chesapeake Bay...
before the home was moved to Dickeyville. The four-story rubblestone homes at 2411 and 2407 Pickwick date from c. 1860. 2405 Pickwick ( c. 1860) was the village store. The second floor was meeting room for the YWCA
YWCA
The YWCA USA is the United States branch of a women's membership movement that strives to create opportunities for women's growth, leadership and power in order to attain a common vision—to eliminate racism and empower women. The YWCA is a non-profit organization, the first of which was founded in...
. 2415 and 2417 Pickwick date from about 1870 while 2407 and 2411 date from around 1860. 2412 was built in 1853 for one of the first IOOF
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows , also known as the Three Link Fraternity, is an altruistic and benevolent fraternal organization derived from the similar British Oddfellows service organizations which came into being during the 18th century, at a time when altruistic and charitable acts were...
lodges in the U.S. There was a tin shop in the basement. Later, it became a general store, with a Post Office and gas station. The one-story extension to the right was the pharmacy.
2423 Pickwick, built in the General Grant style in 1872, was restored as a studio by noted Baltimore muralist R. McGill Mackall in 1932. He built a complete two-story house inside so that he could live here as well as work. The house has been occupied ever since by artists. The present owner, sculptor Barry Johnston, displays some of his bronze sculptures in the back yard. 2433 Pickwick (c.1875) was the home of Malcolm Moos
Malcolm Moos
Malcolm Charles Moos was an American political scientist.He received his bachelors and masters degrees in political science from the University of Minnesota. He went on to receive his doctorate, also in political science, from the University of California, Los Angeles. After receiving his Ph.D...
, an advisor to President Dwight Eisenhower and reportedly had a direct telephone link to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. 2435 was built as a mill office in 1840. It also housed the village jail where offenders could be locked up in a windowless room on the first floor. In 1899, Teddy Roosevelt spoke from the wooden front steps (the main entrance to the building, now demolished). 2500 Pickwick is believed to date to 1790 and some say began as an Indian trading post. Known as "The Old Stone Row," the building served as millworker housing.
Current events
The Dickeyville Community Association, the Dickeyville Garden Club and the Dickeyville Poker Club maintain an active schedule of community events. Most noteworthy is the Fourth of July celebration that includes a parade around Ashland Chapel and a dinner-dance on Pickwick Road. A HalloweenHalloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
Bonfire night, Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
caroling and other holiday events occur through the course of the year. The Garden Club hosts frequent lectures and meetings while the Poker Club continues its own, more recent, tradition of late night poker sessions. The village should not be confused with the "other" Dickeyville; Dickeyville, Wisconsin
Dickeyville, Wisconsin
Dickeyville is a village in Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,043 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dickeyville is located at ....
.
External links
- Dickeyville Community Association
- Gwynns Falls Trail
- Live Baltimore summary
- Map of Dickeyville
- Satellite image from Google and Windows Live Local
- Laura LippmanLaura LippmanLaura Lippman is an American author of detective fiction.-Biography:Lippmann was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the daughter of Theo Lippman Jr., a well known and respected writer at the Baltimore Sun, and Madeline Lippman, a retired school librarian for the...
's web page (author who grew up in Dickeyville) - Dickeyville Garden Club