4 Center Place, Dundalk, MD 21222 410.284.2331
DUNDALK-pATAPSCO nECK
HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUM, Inc.
Eastfield-Stanbrook
There’s not much history on the North Point Peninsula prior to the 19th century – let’s face it, following the Battle of North Point in 1814, the farms of Patapsco Neck were pastoral, as you would expect. Locally historic names like Merritt, Todd, Gorsuch and Lynch owned most of the acreage, and while East Field got its names from its location compared to other tracts, the Stanbrook name came straight from the family working that particular piece of land.
There were mostly dirt paths but residents named them for function. Church Road was so named for obvious reasons, while Eddylynch Road was named for farmer Edwin Lynch because the path led to his house.
By 1874, members of those famous families and other farmers banded together to form Patapsco Grange No. 125, part of a national network of independent land owners who could bargain for more advantage with grain merchants and railroads. It was a natural for the rapidly growing area and by the mid-1880s the Grange (meaning farm, from the Latin “granum”) bought an acre of land from William Lynch and built a meeting house at Wise Avenue and Church Road, where there also was a general store and post office.
During the early years of the 20th century, the group acted as a watchdog of the area, keeping taverns and other disreputable businesses out of the area, and establishing a strong civic and recreational culture that still highlights the area.
Families began settling in large numbers, but there were large tracts set aside for recreation. Adjacent to the neighborhood is Stansbury Pond. Once known as Emala Lake, it’s off Bear Creek and accessed daily by residents who fish, run or play there. The surrounding Stansbury Park has numerous ball fields and other recreational opportunities, including acreage where urban farmers maintain the tradition of planting and harvesting crops.