Savage is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

located in Howard County,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, United States, approximately south of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and north of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

It is situated close to the city of

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

and to the

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

of Columbia. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 7,054. The former

mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe Italy * ''Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World Her ...

is a registered historic place, and has many original buildings preserved within and around the Savage Mill Historic District.

History

The lands of Savage were first settled ''circa'' 1650. Colonel Henry Ridgley surveyed the land around Savage Mill and nearby Annapolis Junction in 1685, naming the tract "Ridgely's Forrest". Joseph White was the grandson of

Peregrine White Peregrine White ( 20 November 162020 July 1704) was the first baby boy born on the Pilgrim ship the '' Mayflower'' in the harbour of Massachusetts, the second baby born on the ''Mayflower''s historic voyage, and the first known English child b ...

, the first child born of the Mayflower expedition. In 1734, he opened a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

on land patented as "Whites Fortune" and "Mill Land". The parcels were consolidated to become "Whites Contrivance". A rich vein of American industrial history lies in Savage. When the textile industry was in its heyday, Savage was an important manufacturing center, its mills harnessing the water power on the falls of the Little and Middle Patuxent rivers. The town was named for John Savage, a

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

merchant with interest in a mill on the falls of the Little Patuxent. In 1822 he and his associates, the Williams brothers, chartered the Savage Manufacturing Company, purchasing of the White property for $6,666.67. The company produced sails for the

clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "C ...

ships that sailed out of

Baltimore Harbor Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is a shipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland on the upper northwest shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the nation's largest port facilities fo ...

, in addition to a wide variety of other cotton products. The cotton milling industry started in Maryland in the 18th century and flourished in the 19th century. Cotton was shipped cheaply from Southern ports and hauled overland by mule and oxen teams to the mills before rail transportation served Savage. In 1835 the Washington branch of the

B&O Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

was completed, and Savage Station was established on the line about a mile southeast of the present mill. A spur of the B&O was laid to the Savage factory in 1887, and it was at this time that the famous

Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge The Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge across the Little Patuxent River at Savage, Maryland, is one of the oldest standing iron railroad bridges in the United States and the sole surviving example of a revolutionary design in the history of American ...

was moved to its present site from another location. Originally built in 1852, it was one of about 100 on the B&O line. Beloved by railroad buffs, the iron truss bridge is the only one of its type in the world, and, along with the

Savage Mill The Savage Mill is a historic cotton mill complex in Savage, Maryland, which has been turned into a complex of shops and restaurants. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It is located in the Savage Mill Historic Dis ...

, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Savage post office opened on January 13, 1836, on "Yankee Hill" at the corner of Washington and Foundry streets with Amos Adams Williams as postmaster. It would later become a branch of the Patuxent Bank of Laurel. Parts of the Savage Mill are said to date from about 1820, and historians have recorded that the mill once had an iron foundry that made many kinds of machinery, specializing in textile manufacturing. The operation of the mill was greatly expanded in 1880 with the installation of steam power. Army uniforms, field tents, and vehicle covers were made. A renovation program began in 1984 that established Savage Mill as a major permanent marketplace. Savage Mill Manor Dec 08

The Savage Mill Manor House is down the street from the mill and has also been completely renovated. It is now used to host weddings, parties and special events. Savage Mill Community Bldg Dec 08

Carroll Baldwin Hall once housed the Savage branch of the Howard County Library. It was built in the early 1920s as a memorial to Carroll Baldwin, former president of the manufacturing company. The Baldwins managed the company from 1859 to 1911. In 1880, the population reached 2617 residents, and 2930 by 1890. In 1929, Dr. Wolman issued a recommendation that did not pass, to dam and flood the Patuxent River Valley around Savage for a dedicated water source. Savage remained a mostly segregated town for most of its early history until the civil rights movements of the 1950s. Factory work at the mill was almost exclusively for white workers, with exceptions of black "apprentices" at the forges in the antebellum era. The community slowly integrated as it moved into the new millennium. The Savage Volunteer Fire Company was founded in 1937 with a station at Savage-Guilford Road. The station relocated to Lincoln Street in 1957, and Corridor Road in 2013. In June 1972,

Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes in 1972 was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, from the Caribbean to Canada, ...

flooded the local rivers, raising the Patuxent 25.4 feet, washing out the road bridge. A replacement opened on 10 September 1975. In 1976, county executive

Edward L. Cochran Edward Leo Cochran Jr. (born 1929) was a chemist known for his work with free radicals. In 1956 he moved from Orange, Connecticut, to his hometown in Clarksville, Maryland, and began his career at Applied Physics Laboratory. He also served as ...

convened a waste task force that reviewed submissions for a 538-acre landfill at route One and 32 owned by Realty Trust and Chase Manhattan Mortgage, with commercial dumping sites at the Savage quarry.

Alpha Ridge Landfill The Alpha Ridge Landfill (Alpha Ridge Sanitary Landfill) is a municipal solid waste landfill located in Marriottsville, Maryland, once known as the postal town of Alpha, Maryland. Alpha Ridge is the third official landfill built in Howard County ...

was selected instead, but a new quarry would eventually take its place. A new $7 million elementary school was built in Savage in 1988, named Bollman Bridge Elementary.

Geography

Savage is located in southeastern Howard County, bordered by Columbia to the north and

North Laurel North Laurel is a census-designated place (CDP) in Howard County, Maryland, United States. The published population was 4,474 at the 2010 census. This population was substantially less than the CDP's population in 2000, and was the result of an er ...

to the southwest.

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...

(Washington Boulevard) forms the southeast edge of the CDP. The historic Savage mill village is located in the southern part of the CDP, while a major freeway interchange between

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

and

Maryland Route 32 Maryland Route 32 (MD 32) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The road runs from Interstate 97 (I-97) and MD 3 in Millersville west and north to Washington Road in Westminster. The east–west portion ...

sits on the northern edge of the CDP. The Middle Patuxent and Little Patuxent rivers join to the west of the mill village. The Middle Patuxent (above the confluence) and the Little Patuxent (below the confluence) form the southwest edge of the CDP. The river drops about in to form the falls that powered the early mills. The Little Patuxent continues southeast to join the

Patuxent River The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington, D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast ...

at Crofton.

Demographics

References

External links

Savage-Guilford, Maryland Detailed ProfileSavage Mill
{{authority control Census-designated places in Maryland Census-designated places in Howard County, Maryland

History

Geography

Demographics

See also

References

External links