Among the many activities commemorating the town of Crofton's 50th anniversary in 2014, my contributions included the Facebook albums listed on the left and two illustrated talks:

  • Crofton History: The Ridge Road Community​ in the 19th Century, October 19, 2014, at the Crofton Community Library
  • Linthicum Walks: Then and Now, 1672-2014, October 25, 2014 at Linthicum Walks

​Linthicum Walks House, 1924

    From Sotweed to Suburbia: Stories of the Crofton, Maryland Area, 1660s-2014

I contributed two chapters to A History of Servern Parish, Anne Arundel County Maryland, 1838-1988, published in 1989, which commemorated the 150th anniversary of the parish.. 

  • A Time of Testing, 1860-1900
  • The Chapels: St. Paul's and St. John's


Listen to my reflections on Crofton's history in a 2014 interview on Baltimore public radio station WYPR.

From Sotweed to Suburbia: A History of the Crofton, Maryland Area, 1660s-1960s, Revised Edition, 2004.

​Dr. Joseph L. Browne,    jlbrowne41@gmail.com   720-883-7079

I originally published Sotweed to Suburbia in 1985, and revised and updated it in 2004. Over 100 images help to tell stories of 300 years of change and tradition in what became Anne Arundel County in Tidewater Maryland.

  • From Settlement to the Revolution, 1660s-1760s
  • From the Revolution to the Civil War, 1760s-1860s
  • From the Civil War to the New Town of Crofton, 1860s-1960s
  • Families and Houses , 1700-1900

​Crofton's 50th Anniversary​

​​​​From the 1660s... 

"Settlers who came up the South River in the early 1660s had to travel beyond the head of the river to find land not already taken. From there new settlers had to walk, taking them farther from the South River, which they knew was the beginning the of the water highway to England, the only road that existed."


To the 1960s...

"Hamilton Crawford decided it was a good location. The 1,300 acre site was located equidistant from Baltimore and Washington and the highway system was good. 'We bought the land. planned it, zoned it, designed the streets, shopping centers, and schools,' Crawford said.  The cost of long range planning was high: $5,000,000 before building any houses."



​

Stories of Maryland and Washington, D.C. History

More Stories from the Crofton Area's Past

On Facebook see, "Crofton-Maryland-History", for albums of

additional stories and images of the Crofton area that I prepared

for the 50th anniversary of the town of Crofton in 2014.

​

  • ​​Books about Crofton History, Parts I and II
  • ​From Sotweed to Chrysanthemums
  • Hamilton Crawford Plans a New Town
  • Hamilton Crawford's Road to Crofton, Parts I and II
  • Houses of "old" Crofton
  • Location, Location, Location
  • The Old houses of Crofton
  • The Passing of an Era
  • Patents of the Crofton Area
  • Planning a New Town, an Idea with a Long History
  • ​Surviving Buildings of the Crofton Area
  • A Trip Along Ridge Road, Parts I and II
  • ​Underfoot and Underground​