River Hill is the last"River Hill Community Association"
riverhill.columbiavillages.org, accessed May 29, 2009 and westernmost village to be developed in the town of

Columbia, Maryland Columbia is a planned community in Howard County, Maryland, United States, consisting of 10 self-contained villages. With a population of 104,681 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most-populous community in Maryland ...

, United States, though some residents maintain addresses in Clarksville. The village is home to 6,520 residents in 2,096 housing units in 2014. The area was used as a game preserve by

James Rouse James Wilson Rouse (April 26, 1914 – April 9, 1996) was an American businessman and founder of The Rouse Company. Rouse was a pioneering American real estate developer, urban planner, civic activist, and later, free enterprise-based philanthr ...

to entertain clients and personal hunting during the buildout of the Columbia project. In 1976, County Executive Edward L. Cochran selected the 784-acre parcel owned by Howard Research and Development for an alternate location for a county landfill; a task force selected

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 Coun ...

instead. Residential construction started in 1990.Marx, Paul. It is bounded by

Maryland Route 108 Maryland Route 108 (MD 108) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs from MD 27 in Damascus east to MD 175 in Columbia. MD 108 is an S-shaped highway that winds through northern Montgomery County and central Howa ...

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 Maryland Route 3, MD 3 in Millersville, Maryland, Millersville west and north to Washington Road in ...

, and is centered on Trotter Road. The village is divided into two neighborhoods: Pheasant Ridge and Pointers Run, with about 6,500 residents. The original plan called for the village to be connected to the rest of Columbia via an extension of Little Patuxent Parkway. In addition, a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

on the

Middle 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 northeas ...

would have created a large lake in that

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

. However, with the rise of the

environmental movement The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement) is a social movement that aims to protect the natural world from harmful environmental practices in order to create sustainable living. In its recognition of humanity a ...

, a large part of the watershed was made into a park, with approximately half of its acreage devoted to open space, which includes the of the

Middle Patuxent Environmental Area The Middle Patuxent Environmental Area (MPEA) is a wildlife area in Clarksville, Maryland and operated by the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks. It is located next to the River Hill, Columbia, Maryland, River Hill village in the ...

. In 1998, the county initiated managed deer hunting in River Hill, becoming the first time hunting was permitted in the Columbia development since the land purchases of 1963–1966. River Hill is largely disconnected from the rest of the city, accessing Columbia Town Center only by roads on the periphery of the city. The original plan called for to be devoted to apartments, but the rural neighbors wanted a lower population density. The county zoning board decided upon for apartments. Consequently, River Hill has the most open space of all the villages.

Etymology

River Hill is named for River Hill Farm, claimed to be one of the first plantations in Maryland to free its slaves, and demolished by the Rouse Company to build Pointer's Run. River Hill consists of the communities of Pheasant Ridge and Pointer's Run. Pheasant Ridge is named after Henry Howard's (1772–1773) 195-acre slave plantation land tract patented on November 16, 1745, later inherited by John Beal Howard. The street names are derived from the works of

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

and

James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...

Education

The

Howard County Public School System The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) is the school district that manages and runs the Public school (government funded), public schools of Howard County, Maryland. It operates under the supervision of an elected, eight-member Board of ...

is a shared

public school system A state school, public school, or government school is a primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-funded schools ar ...

serving the village: *Elementary Schools **Clarksville Elementary School **Pointers Run Elementary School *Middle Schools **Clarksville Middle School *High School ** River Hill High School **

Atholton High School Atholton High School is a high school in Columbia, Maryland, United States and is a part of the Howard County Public School System. The school hosts an Army JROTC program. The school mascot is the Raider. History Atholton takes its name from a ...

Notable people

* Ken Ulman, Howard County Executive.

References

*Marx, Paul. ''Jim Rouse:capitalist/idealist'' (2007), Rowman & Littlefield, , p. 225

Notes

External links