Stone Lodge at Former Auto Camp SiteA New Deal project to serve visitors to the park
Look up and you may see the remnants of a small stone lodge on the hill above the trail. It was likely built during the 1930s by the Works Project Administration under Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Despite being in rough shape today, with a collapsed roof and evidence of vandalism, the quality of stonework is still evident.
In its early years, the lodge was a gathering place for an “auto camp” that served out-of-town motorists traveling along U.S. Route 1 (Belair Rd.). An auto camp was a place for tourists to park, pitch a tent, cook a meal, and spend a night or two. The stone lodge provided common shelter and a fireplace for warmth. The lodge’s location still offers a spectacular view of Herring Run Park.
The entrance to the camp was on Parkside Dr. at Belair Rd., where you can still see the small brick Keeper’s House. Remnants of a campsite kiln or two remain overgrown with weeds in the woods’ edge.
The building was in good shape for several decades after the auto camp was abandoned. Bob Mayes, a resident of the nearby Arcadia neighborhood, remembers as a boy attending Boy Scout meetings in the lodge. “In 1955, I was a member of Boy Scout Troop 94, sponsored by the Shrine of Little Flower Church. On Friday evenings the troop meetings were conducted in the old stone building as shown in the photo. The troop continued for many years.”
Image & Story provided by Robert Mayes.
Look up and you may see the remnants of a small stone lodge on the hill above the trail. It was likely built during the 1930s by the Works Project Administration under Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Despite being in rough shape today, with a collapsed roof and evidence of vandalism, the quality of stonework is still evident.
In its early years, the lodge was a gathering place for an “auto camp” that served out-of-town motorists traveling along U.S. Route 1 (Belair Rd.). An auto camp was a place for tourists to park, pitch a tent, cook a meal, and spend a night or two. The stone lodge provided common shelter and a fireplace for warmth. The lodge’s location still offers a spectacular view of Herring Run Park.
The entrance to the camp was on Parkside Dr. at Belair Rd., where you can still see the small brick Keeper’s House. Remnants of a campsite kiln or two remain overgrown with weeds in the woods’ edge.
The building was in good shape for several decades after the auto camp was abandoned. Bob Mayes, a resident of the nearby Arcadia neighborhood, remembers as a boy attending Boy Scout meetings in the lodge. “In 1955, I was a member of Boy Scout Troop 94, sponsored by the Shrine of Little Flower Church. On Friday evenings the troop meetings were conducted in the old stone building as shown in the photo. The troop continued for many years.”
Image & Story provided by Robert Mayes.
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