Photo courtesy of Bill Miller

If you follow Bendix Road and make a right on a small paved driveway, you'll soon end up on a dirt road that leads you back in time to the 1800s. On that dirt road, you'll find Woodlawn Slave Quarters, which was restored by Columbia Association in May 2007.

Photo courtesy of Bill Miller

Now, one year later, the Woodlawn Task Force wants to make the area a complete historical park with educational tours, a visitor's center and bike trails.

Bill Miller, who led the call for the restoration and is a key member of the task force, lived in the Woodlawn main house in the 1970s and saw the slave quarters deteriorate over time. In the early 2000s, the site was overgrown with trees and brush. Walls of the slave quarters had partially collapsed. The historical value of the building, which is thought to have been built sometime after 1820, was in jeopardy.

"This is a good start," Miller said of the renovations, which were funded by Columbia Association and completed by stonemasons and contractors with the advice of architects who specialize in historical renovations. "The dimensions and look are historically authentic and show the style and palette of the original building. It is a beautiful piece of stone work."

In the short term, task force members hope to create a master plan for the site, secure grant funding and stage periodic events while continuing historical research, said Barbara Kellner, manager of Columbia Archives and member of the task force. But additional volunteer members are needed for the task force, especially anyone with knowledge of filing grant applications or programming educational events. In the long term, the plan is to connect the CA bike trails and Open Space system with state and county trails to link the area to Blandair, Savage Mill and Meadowbrook Park.

"The big picture is to link the existing paths so the trail begins to tell the story of life in the 1800s and early 1900s in Howard County," Kellner said.
The Owings family owned Woodlawn Farm from the 1850s to the 1940s. Walter Edgar, a Baltimore shipbuilder, owned it from the 1940s until the 1960s, and it was a noted thoroughbred farm. In 1964, The Rouse Company purchased the property, and it was the site of Columbia Horse Center until the horse center was moved to its current location on Gorman Road.

To get involved in the project or for more information, call Barbara Keller, manager of Columbia Archives, at 410-715-3103 or e-mail Columbia.Archives@ColumbiaAssociation.com.

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