The Baltimore County union, the Towson news., 1909-11-06
HELL TOWNS" GREAT CHANGES.
Recollections of Early Days and PRINT
tive Customs in Lower Long
Green Valley.

Recollections of Early Days and PRINT
tive Customs in Lower Long
Green Valley.
The descriptive story published in The Union
News week before last. written by one who
recently took tramp from Towson to Jockeys
tavern. having been read with a great deal OF
interest by the readers of this paper,the writer
has written the following dealing with early
"reminiscences of what lis now known as Lower
Long Green Valley:
Our section has only since the building of the
Baltimore and Delta Narrow Gauge Railroad,
now the Maryland and Pennsylvania, been called
Lower Long Green Valley. but who is respon-
sible for the name ] cannot say. Perhaps 1t
was old Mr.. johnson who resided here and died
about 1890 at an advanced age. He was the Oldest
resident of this section and was known locally
as the Mayor of He'll Town Bottom for that
was our name back in the '70's and early SOS.
Why the change l cannot say, unless some OF
our citizens, like the inhabitants of Dog Town,
hard by, got ashamed of their name and re-
christened their village Unionville.
If l can't tell you how our section was changed
to Lower Long Green, can tell you how it be-
came known as He'll Town Bottom. There used
to be group of three small houses on piece
of land in front of the present site of the Sisters
of Notre Dame and the property CT Mr.. William
Hops, which were owned by a man named
Stone and were occupied by man named
Hilton, who kept a tavern in small way,
which had, in years gone by, very hard repu-
tation. hence from this little group of buildings
and the man who conducted the place it became
known as He'll Town Bottom. When the rail
road was built persons of refined tastes re-
7 Do
thought our little valley near enough situated
to beautiful and bountiful Long Green to be
called her sister valley. OF the three small
houses two have crumbled to decay in my time
and one is yet standing and occupied. They
were built of stone, and one of them had log
addition attached.
This section of country lies between Glen
Arm Station, Maryland and Pennsylvania
Railroad, and the Gunpowder falls. The same
valley extends across the falls near the dam at
Loeb Raven, but after crossing the falls it bears
the name of Lime Kiln Bottom, deriving its
name from the extensive lime business carried
on there many years ago. The country round
about here is rather billy and generally rough
limestone country, although there is consider
able level-lying land and is quite fertile sec
ton of the county and formerly produced far
more of the necessities of life than it does now.
Why the decay or decline l am unable to say.
Here is located the Summerfeld property, the
present home Of Mrs. William Gimor. but back
in the eos the residence of the late James Car
roll. The tract then comprised about ], 100 acres,
but it has since been divided into smaller farms
and sold, until today about 300 acres of the
original tract remain.
Going eastward from the falls or Cromwell's
bridge we come to the old Cuttings tract, the
home of the father of the late John s. Cuttings.
former well-known banker of Baltimore, and
Dr. David s. Cuttings, in his day the most
widely known physician of the county. who
owned most of the property until the time OF
his death, somewhere in the sos. His holdings
passed into the hands of the late John K. Cowen
and became the Notch Cliff Stock Farm, but
now the property of the Sisters of Notre
Dame and Mr.. William Hops.
The writer moved here when boy in 1868.
There was no railroad, and the county road that
passed through this section was for most of the
way narrow mud hole, and in places narrow
cuts where, if two teams were approaching from
opposite directions, one would have to wait fol-
the other to pass through the cut before enter
ing, and of all the streams that crossed the
roadbed only one was spanned by small bridge
or culvert. Many times have seen teams wait
lug IOT d SIudll lTtSueU, OCCdSiOuCu ny q ouai
shower, to subside in order that they might
cross over. Today every stream is spanned by
a bridge or culvert. The road has been widened
so that teams can pass at any point, and has
been macadamized, and yet the people growl.
This road used to be quite an outlet for teams
from Hartford and York counties to Baltimore
with their produce, and by going this route they
could save passing through three tollgates on
the Hartford turnpike. 1t was not an uncom-
mon sight to see dozen or more of the old
ConestoGa wagons in a string on the road-a
rough farm wagon with wooden bows, often
made with rough, bent hickory saplings covered
with white canvas to protect the driver and
contents from the weather. saw one, the first
in many years, pass here the other day, and it
was quite curiosity. The railroad has changed
all this, and the greater part of the produce
from this direction clear up in York county is
shipped to Baltimore by rail in the form of
milk and other less bulky stuff. Grain is also
shipped by rail, and there is now hardly one
wagon going in with load where there used to
be twenty or more, except in the summer sea-
son, when great many farmers near the city
haul large quantities of green produce, com
monty called truck, something which they did
not do in the early days of my recollection.
Then our daily mail. How did we get it then,
and how do we get it now? Today the rural
carrier brings it to our door every day, and yet
many people are not satisfied because they do
not get it twice day. My father subscribed to
the Baltimore American or the Sun, for which
he paid SO Ia year, then a one-sheet paper of four
pages. now a three-sheet paper, and often more,
with from IL to % pages. for SO year. The
paper was brought from Baltimore by Mr.. r. c.
Francis, lately of this section but now a resi-
dent of the city. who conducted an omnibus line
from Greenwood to Baltimore, which was left at
P. NJ. at Amos tavern, and the next day as
went from school to the tavern, a distance of a
mile and a-half, got the paper, although it
was day after its publication, and very many
did not have it as convenient as we did, as there
were few families who subscribed for daily
paper. Our post Office from which we receive
The Union was Towson. five to six miles away.
frequently rode to Towson horseback just 10
get The Union, and it was rare occasion VIII
we received any mail more than once week.
Some time ago,in conversation with the late Dr.
William W. Wilson, who resided in he upp"r
end of the county, he told me they used to get
their mail from Kingsville, about the same
distance we had to travel, and that they used %
take turns in going for it on Saturday, oae
person bringing the mail for the neighborhooi
Speaking of the late DR.. Wilson, brings to my
mind an old prank perpetrated upon man at
the Copper Factory about DIR. Wilson's fathers
chimney The man upon whom the joke
played was noted far and near for the lies he
could tell. One morning he met fellow
mechanic. stonemason and a bricklayer, Who