Towson

History

The first inhabitants of the future Towson and central Baltimore County region were the Susquehannock people, who hunted in the area. Their region included all of Baltimore County, though their primary settlement was farther northeast along the Susquehanna River. Towson was settled in 1752 when Pennsylvania brothers, William and Thomas Towson, began farming an area of Sater's Hill, northeast of the present-day York and Joppa roads. William's son, Ezekiel, opened the Towson Hotel to serve the growing number of farmers bringing their produce and livestock to the port of Baltimore. He built the hotel at current-day Shealy Avenue and York Road, near the area's main crossroads. The village became known as "Towsontown". The property in West Towson came from two land grants: 400-acre Gott's Hope in 1719, and Gunner's Range in 1706. In 1790, businessman Charles Ridgely completed the Hampton Mansion just north of Towsontown, the largest private house in America at the time. The Ridgelys lived there for six generations, until 1948. It is now preserved as the Hampton National Historic Site and open to the public. Grafton Marsh, a surgeon during the War of 1812, and his brother Josiah Marsh settled their families in a collection of early houses known as Gott's Hope that was part of a group along Joppa Road. They consolidated four of the structures into a larger dwelling that they called "Marshmont". The brothers went into business together as medical practitioners. Neither had any heirs but were joined in practice later by their nephew, Dr. Grafton Marsh Bosley, who eventually inherited the medical practice, the Marshmont compound, and a 140-acre farm. The farm extended west of York Road, south of Joppa Road, north of the Sheppard Pratt Hospital, and east of Woodbine Avenue. In…

Geography

Towson is located at (39.392980, −76.609562). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (1.06%) is water. The community is located immediately north of Baltimore City, inside the Beltway (I-695), east of I-83 and along York Road. Its census boundaries include Pikesville to the west, Lutherville and Hampton to the north, Parkville to the east, and Baltimore to the south. Major neighborhoods in Towson include: Anneslie, Idlewylde, Fellowship Forest, Greenbrier, Southland Hills, Rodgers Forge, Stoneleigh, Wiltondale, Towson Manor Village, Hunt Crest Estates, Knollwood-Donnybrook, Campus Hills, East Towson, Knettishall, Loch Raven Village and West Towson. Ruxton and Riderwood, which lie to the west, are considered a part of Towson. Eudowood is a Towson neighborhood named after Eudocia, the wife of Dr. John T. Stansbury, on whose former estate it is situated. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system Towson has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  52,326
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  44,488
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  41,478
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  39,533
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  36,250
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  35,748
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  34,200
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  33,299

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-10-27
  4 km E of Riverside, Maryland
• M 2.6 — 2021-06-25
  2 km SE of Woodlawn, Maryland
• M 2.81 — 2019-09-15
  5 km ESE of East Berlin, Pennsylvania
• M 3.6 — 2010-07-16
  5 km NNW of Barnesville, Maryland
• M 3.05 — 2010-06-03
  4 km ENE of Franklintown, Pennsylvania
• M 2.76 — 2009-10-25
  4 km ENE of Franklintown, Pennsylvania