In spite of a prediction of thundershowers, a dozen people showed up at the Battle Monument School in Dundalk on May 29 to take a tour of the proposed "Maryland Line Trail" with historian Robert Reyes. Robert has been spearheading the creation of the trail along Bear Creek since at least 2010. The reason: the significant history of this beautiful area. This is the place where the Maryland militia and rifleman held off the advance of the British on September 12, 1814, preventing them from traveling up the North Point Peninsula and burning Baltimore just as they had burned Washington, D.C. A mural on a building facing Battle Monument Park, shown below, commemorates this historic day.
The proposed trail would take boaters coming up Bear Creek from a water landing near Bear Creek Elementary School, across Bear Creek Park, then across school-own land at Stricker Middle, Charlesmont Elementary and Battle Monument schools, to an easement secured by NeighborSpace behind the Charlesmont Apartments, and finally to Battle Acre and the North Point State Battle Field across the street.
The effort seeks to highlight the significant history as well the natural beauty of the area. The image below is one of several possible vistas that might be viewed from the trail.
The point of the May 29 tour was to engage members of a Steering Committee in thinking about a design concept for the trail. The Neighborhood Design Center is leading this initial design effort with financial support from NeighborSpace of Baltimore County and the Baltimore Community Foundation. NeighborSpace appreciates that so many of you contributed toward this design effort as part of Giving Tuesday, 2018 and helped to make it a reality!
The organization is also grateful to those who have taken time out of their busy schedules to participate in recent meetings and offer feedback, including, but certainly not limited to, Amy Menzer, Executive Director of the Dundalk Renaissance Corporation, Merril Plait, Director of Facilities for the Baltimore County Public Schools, BCPS Board of Trustees Member Rod McMillion, Mike Jankewicz from the Department of Recreation and Parks, and Charlesmont Elementary School Principal Dawn Hoffmaster.
The effort is being led by Dundalk resident, Rob Zacherl, in partnership with the Steering Committee Leadership Team of Buddy Staigerwald, Patricia Paul, John Alexander and Barbara Hopkins. The next meeting, which is open to the public, will be a community charrette led by landscape architect, Marita Roos, from the Neighborhood Design Center to solicit ideas about specific aspects of the trail's design. It will take place on Saturday, July 13, in the Cafeteria of the Battle Monument School, 7801 East Collingham Drive, Dundalk, MD 21222, from 10 AM to Noon. Persons interested in attending should register here. Questions may be directed to Barbara Hopkins, Executive Director, NeighborSpace of Baltimore County, at 443-377-3760 or at barbara@neighborspacebaltimorecounty.org. NeighborSpace also maintains a webpage containing relevant information about the project here.