Eutaw Manor Estate Divided Creating Ivy Hill Estate
Estates sold to Baltimore to create Herring Run Park in 1908
Ownership of the Eutaw estate, then in Baltimore County, went unresolved for years in the mid-19th century. The estate that was to become Baltimore City’s Herring Run Park belonged to Benedict William Hall following the death of his father in 1812. But in 1843, Hall met an untimely end as the result of a train derailment and the disposition of the land became tied up in court.
Meanwhile, one of Benedict William Hall’s daughters, Sidney, married the prominent Baltimore lawyer and future congressman J. Morrison Harris, and the couple were interested in building a new home somewhere on the Eutaw property. In 1854, the Harrises sued the other children of Benedict Hall and his widow, Ann, and the case concluded with division of the estate. In 1856, Sidney and her husband received 33 acres of Eutaw farm located on the southwest side of Herring Run. There, approximately across from Chesterfield Ave., they built a stately mansion house they named Ivy Hill.
The 1856 decision by Baltimore County required the parties to construct two roads through the property, allowing each of the parties’ access to the main roads from their allotted parcels. The first was constructed along the south side of Eutaw, extending from the Harford Turnpike to Belair Road. This road is known today as Chesterfield Avenue. The second road was laid out and constructed on the north side of Eutaw and also extended between Harford Turnpike and Belair Road. At the time, the road was known as Eutaw Road, but was eventually changed to its present name, Parkside Drive.
In 1900, Sidney Hall Harris, now a widow, sold the property to her son, William Hall Harris, who at the time was employed as a lawyer in Baltimore City. Four years later, he was appointed by Theodore Roosevelt’s administration as Baltimore’s postmaster. In 1908, William Hall Harris sold Ivy Hill to the City of Baltimore, which converted his estate and the rest of the former Eutaw farm into Herring Run Park.
Sources:
https://herringrunarchaeology.org/ann-hall-1843-1858/
Estates sold to Baltimore to create Herring Run Park in 1908
Ownership of the Eutaw estate, then in Baltimore County, went unresolved for years in the mid-19th century. The estate that was to become Baltimore City’s Herring Run Park belonged to Benedict William Hall following the death of his father in 1812. But in 1843, Hall met an untimely end as the result of a train derailment and the disposition of the land became tied up in court.
Meanwhile, one of Benedict William Hall’s daughters, Sidney, married the prominent Baltimore lawyer and future congressman J. Morrison Harris, and the couple were interested in building a new home somewhere on the Eutaw property. In 1854, the Harrises sued the other children of Benedict Hall and his widow, Ann, and the case concluded with division of the estate. In 1856, Sidney and her husband received 33 acres of Eutaw farm located on the southwest side of Herring Run. There, approximately across from Chesterfield Ave., they built a stately mansion house they named Ivy Hill.
The 1856 decision by Baltimore County required the parties to construct two roads through the property, allowing each of the parties’ access to the main roads from their allotted parcels. The first was constructed along the south side of Eutaw, extending from the Harford Turnpike to Belair Road. This road is known today as Chesterfield Avenue. The second road was laid out and constructed on the north side of Eutaw and also extended between Harford Turnpike and Belair Road. At the time, the road was known as Eutaw Road, but was eventually changed to its present name, Parkside Drive.
In 1900, Sidney Hall Harris, now a widow, sold the property to her son, William Hall Harris, who at the time was employed as a lawyer in Baltimore City. Four years later, he was appointed by Theodore Roosevelt’s administration as Baltimore’s postmaster. In 1908, William Hall Harris sold Ivy Hill to the City of Baltimore, which converted his estate and the rest of the former Eutaw farm into Herring Run Park.
Sources:
https://herringrunarchaeology.org/ann-hall-1843-1858/
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