Todd Farmhouse is a historic home located at Fort Howard,

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. It is a -story, brick dwelling that is three bays in width. Although initially of a Federal architecture inspired plan, later

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

alterations dominate its present exterior appearance. It features a steeply pitched

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

roof. Also on the property are several farm buildings and a family cemetery.

History

In 1664, Thomas Todd made the first purchase of land in what would become over 1000 acres of Baltimore County, MD. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, the house, which overlooks Shallow Creek and the Chesapeake Bay, was used by the Todd family as a lookout point to observe the approaching British Fleet. When troops were spotted coming ashore, family members would sound an alarm. As they withdrew from Baltimore on September 14, 1814, following the

Battle of North Point The Battle of North Point was fought on September 12, 1814, between General John Stricker's Maryland Militia and a British force led by Major General Robert Ross. Although the Americans retreated, they were able to do so in good order having inf ...

, the British burned the house in retaliation. The Todd farmhouse was one of the few private properties burned by the British. The house was rebuilt in 1816 and remodeled in 1867. The Todd family owned the property until the early 1970s, when it was purchased by Mr. Elmer H. Cook, a teacher and historian who grew up in the Fort Howard area. After his death in 1996, the house stood vacant and was vandalized. It underwent further renovations in 2009, and was opened to the public as part of the annual

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celebrations held in September. The Todd House is owned by the State of Maryland and overseen by the

Maryland Department of Natural Resources The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a government agency in the state of Maryland charged with maintaining natural resources including state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, wildlife, and recreation areas. I ...

. An all-volunteer group
Todd's Inheritance Historic Site, Inc.
is responsible for daily operations. The Todd Farmhouse was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1973.

References

External links

Todd's Inheritance Historic Site, Inc. website
*, including photo from 1973, at Maryland Historical Trust Houses in Baltimore County, Maryland Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Houses completed in 1816 Federal architecture in Maryland Italianate architecture in Maryland 1816 establishments in Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Baltimore County, Maryland {{BaltimoreCountyMD-NRHP-stub