Road to Freedom Trail

Our goals

Our organization, The Northeast Towson Improvement Association (NeTIA), presents a bold vision, the Road to Freedom, a multi-use trail that will provide a historical account of the connection between Hampton National Historic Site, a former plantation, and Historic East Towson, Baltimore county’s oldest African American community.

Kids reading placard for the Jacob House

Education

Create an opportunity to bridge gaps in public knowledge and understanding. In this time of racial reckoning, truth can bring about healing and reconciliation.

Nancy Goldring, Elizabeth Diggs, Carol Brooks, and Louis Diggs standing by Howard Cooper Memorial

community

Build a more inclusive community where stories like ours are known, valued, and woven into the topography.

economic

Provide a stimulating, positive economic impact to the community. Benefits include increased property values, revenue for local businesses, and no-cost recreation for families.

background

       The Hampton Mansion in Towson, Maryland was the largest private home in the U.S. when it was completed in 1790. Now designated as a National Historic Site due to its Georgian architecture, Hampton was once a vast plantation where hundreds of African Americans were enslaved by Maryland's fifteenth governor, Charles Carnan Ridgely.
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       Unbeknownst to many, a neighborhood of equal historical value lies about two-and-half-miles away. Historic East Towson’s roots trace back to 1829 when Ridgely's will freed some of the people he held enslaved. Upon manumission, many who had been forced into labor at Hampton plantation continued to work on the estate or in the area, and settled in the nearby neighborhood now known as Historic East Towson, the oldest African American community in Baltimore County.

       The community, which once extended from York Road to North and West Towson, included schools, churches, and family homes. Today, only about seventy families remain on the six blocks of the historic core, a reduction of 70% of our once thriving neighborhood. Over time, the neighborhood has slowly been erased by development pressure and public projects that threaten the community’s historic landmarks, rich cultural heritage, and detrimental environmental impacts.

       The Road to Freedom Trail is an initiative to help preserve what’s left of Historic East Towson and commemorate our important history in the region.
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Graphic of Northeast Towson Improvement Association since 1943

Concept

The historic landmarks to be connected by the trail:

Hampton National Historic Site

Goucher College’s Hallowed Ground Project

Former Sandy Bottom Community Site

Mt. Olive Baptist Church

Pleasant Rest Cemetery

Howard Cooper Memorial Marker

Mt. Calvary African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church

St. James African United Methodist Protestant (AUMP) Church

Historic East Towson Carver Community Center

The Jacob House

The Historic Parker House

The Pride of Towson Lodge

Phases

There are four key phases to bring the trail to life:

Pre-construction

Educating the public about the importance of Historic East Towson and lining up permits and contractors for construction of the Road to Freedom Trail.