Next Phase
The next phase of the park to be designed will include the following: outdoor basketball courts, skate park, pickleball courts, pathways, parking lot and shade structures. This phase will be adjacent to the West Parking lot (near the three multi-purpose fields).
History on who has lived here.
Susquehannock tribes from the north and Piscataway tribes from further south along the Patuxent hunted and had seasonal camps here, but no permanent settlements have been located. The land was often the scene of conflicts with their main rivals, the Iroquois. In the 1700s, Colonial expansion caused many Native Americans to either leave Maryland, join tribes elsewhere, or stay and assimilate in the majority culture.
The first European settlers who came to this area were Puritans, Quakers, and Catholics seeking religious freedom. The new English Colony of Maryland was founded in 1632, and passed The Maryland Toleration Act of 1649, making the Colony of Maryland attractive to settlers of various religious backgrounds.
The Talbots, a Quaker family, first owned a 1,087-acre land grant in 1714 that included most of today’s Blandair Park. They were followed by the Dorsey, Howard, and Weems families.
Three generations of the Weems family (of Scottish origin) farmed this land from before 1800 until 1844. John Crompton Weems, who served in the U.S. Congress as a representative for Anne Arundel County from 1826 to 1829, named the farm “La Grange.” The Weems family owned between 10 and 15 slaves. Their neighbor and frequent visitor, George Cooke, mentioned some of the enslaved population in his diary.
People of African origin, both enslaved and free, lived and worked on this land. In 1777, the Maryland Quakers banned slave ownership by their members, but slavery was not illegal in Maryland. The 1783 Federal Tax Assessment records state that there were not slaves on the property. However, by 1798, ten enslaved people were recorded. The 1850 Federal Slave Census listed 15 slaves and the 1860 census reported 20 slaves, but names are not listed. The enslaved population labored without pay to plant and harvest crops, as well as tend to the farm and household chores, until the Civil War and emancipation, which happened in Maryland on November 1, 1864.
When the area was named "Blandair."
Theodorick Bland, the Chancellor of Maryland from 1824 to 1846, purchased the land in 1844 as a country retreat, but his main home was in Annapolis. He was a lawyer and judge known for his “great industry and untiring energy.” It was Theo Bland who called it “Blandair,” the name still used today. He wrote that he needed to build a slave quarter and a granary. Both still stand on the property and date to circa 1845.
Bland died in 1846 and his daughter, Sarah Bland Mayo, and her husband, Commodore Isaac Mayo, inherited Blandair two years later. They also lived in Annapolis, but continued to use Blandair as a country home. On the 1850 Federal Slave Schedule for the Howard District of Anne Arundel County, Isaac Mayo is noted as owning fifteen slaves, ranging in ages from three months to 70 years old.
In the fall of 1849, an enslaved woman named Matilda Neal, along with her children Rachael, Mary, Emmeline, James and a baby, Catharine, escaped from the Blandair property with her husband, Richard Neal, a free man. Richard was arrested in Philadelphia in 1853 for inciting slaves to run away, but It is not clear whether Matilda and her children were also caught.
The Mayos deeded the property, which included eleven slaves, to their daughter, Sophia, for “love, affection, and one dollar,” when she wed a neighbor, Thomas Gaither, in 1857.
The young Gaither couple built the brick two-story manor house that stands in the park today. A news story from 1857 identifies that the house was built that year, with reports that a strong wind blew away part of the roof that Thomas Gaither was building. The 1860 Federal Slave Schedule for District 1 of Howard County shows 20 slaves between the ages of one and 60 years old, and two slave houses. The Gaithers began raising a family there, but after the Civil War, farming was not as successful without unpaid slave labor, so the Gaithers sold Blandair in 1867 and relocated to Baltimore.
Land uses: from dairy farm to fruit orchards
Thomas Burwell bought and lived on the farm for eight years, then leased it for two years to Frederick Brosenne, a dairyman from Bavaria, Germany. Brosenne then officially bought the land in 1878. He and his sons raised cows and operated a dairy for 34 years. They delivered milk, butter, and cheese to the Lexington Market in Baltimore.
In 1910, William and Evelyn Marvel bought the farm and then sold it to John D. Mitchell nine years later. He, in turn, sold it to his brother-in-law, George Davis and his wife Julia who lived on the land with their daughter and son-in-law. At one time, four of their extended families (numbering up to 15 individuals) lived here.
In 1933, The Davis’ twin granddaughters were born in the Blandair mansion. Ina Lou and Violet May Ecker had fond memories of their grandparents and birthday parties on the front lawn. Their Aunt Betty recalled that the farm grew many crops, including corn, alfalfa, potatoes, beans, and cane sugar. The Davis families also raised cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, horses, and mules. Their orchards produced apples and pears that were sold at market.
Who were the last owners?
Henry and Lillian Smith bought the farm in 1937 during the Great Depression to raise Arabian horses. Henry, a Baltimore contractor, improved the old mansion by installing bathrooms and electricity, but he died soon after. His wife “Lilly” died in 1979 and their daughter Elizabeth “Nancy” continued to operate the farm until she died in 1997. The two women resisted efforts by James Rouse to purchase Blandair as part of the development of Columbia in the 1960’s.
How has the land developed?
A mixed deciduous forest once grew here, but by the late 18th century, early settlers began clearing it for farms. New trees have since grown along the streams, fence rows and borders of the property.
The fields and farmlands were productive for over 200 years, from the first crops of tobacco, to wheat, corn, turnips, and an apple orchard. The last harvest was corn and soybeans in 2009.
Blandair’s property borders changed from the first colonial grant of over 1,000 acres to the present 300 acres, due to the sale, purchase and recombining of lots.
The landscape around Blandair was slowly transformed by developer James Rouse into the town of Columbia after the 1965 “New Town District” zoning code was adopted. Now in the 21st century, Columbia is an unincorporated city, with a population of over 100,000, yet Blandair has remained a green oasis.
Blandair is now parkland that offers varied opportunities for outdoor recreation and future nature education and historic interpretation…in the heart of Howard County.
When did Howard County purchase the property and start to develop it into a park?
The last residing owner, Nancy Smith, passed away in 1997 and the farm, long having ceased operations. Howard County purchased the property in 1998, with assistance from the State Department of Natural Resources’ “Program Open Space.” Planning began soon after by Howard County’s Department of Recreation & Parks in collaboration with a Citizen’s Advisory Committee. Lou Parlette, one of the Davis Twins born at Blandair, served on the committee.
Legal challenges ensued, delaying planning efforts for the next three years. After court affirmation of the County’s ownership, repairs of the deteriorated facilities could begin. A Historic Easement was placed on 28 acres that contain the farm structures, and restoration work is underway under a separate contract with the National Park Service.
In 2001, a committee of 23 citizens was appointed to advise the County on the direction it should take in developing the park. The Blandair Planning Committee deliberated for over a year and a half, considering multiple issues regarding the park. The County commissioned several studies: a Traffic Study, a Forest Delineation Study, a Wetland Study, and a Hazardous Waste Assessment. Experts in various areas were invited to address the committee on pertinent topics.
Three sub-committees were established to address 1) historic preservation; 2) environmental protection and nature; and 3) active recreation. Access to the park from Route 175 and other local roads, as well as bicycle and pedestrian pathways, and a highway overpass to connect the two areas of the park were discussed extensively.
The committee determined that the North Area should feature historical interpretation, preserve natural areas, and provide predominately passive recreation and nature education. It also could provide space for occasional large outdoor gatherings. They determined that the South Area should provide more facilities for active recreation, as well as preserve its natural areas.
Three conceptual plans were created and discussed, and one concept was chosen to be modified. The final plan was presented before three public meetings, and adopted as the Master Plan in August, 2003.
The Department of Recreation and Parks is restoring the Blandair Mansion, which will become the historical centerpiece of the future 300-acre park. The Department contracted the National Park Service (NPS), Historic Preservation Training Center to provide architectural and construction services in accordance with stringent federal and state preservation guidelines to restore the Blandair mansion. Archeological investigations were conducted around the perimeter of the house, a new drainage system and metal roof was installed, existing windows and doors were repaired, the brickwork was repointed, and the front portico was rebuilt. Upon completion, the mansion will become the historical centerpiece of the future 300-acre Blandair Regional Park.
