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Towson , Maryland :
A Great Place to Live, Work & Play!
A Synopsis of Towson , MD
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Brief History of Towson |
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The community of Towson began about 1750 when two brothers,
William and Thomas Towson, emigrated from Pennsylvania and
started farming on Sater's Hill, to the northeast of York
and Joppa Roads. In 1768, Thomas' son, Ezekiel built a large
tavern at the crossroads, just north of where the Towson
Theater is now. A small village called "Towsontown" began
to grow around it, serving area farmers who traveled on York
, Dulaney Valley , and Joppa Roads.
In 1790 the Ridgely family built the magnificent Hampton
estate, while other buildings were erected by the Chews,
Shealeys, Schmucks, Phipps, Paynes, Lees, Bowens, Wares,
and Bosleys. In 1839 Epsom Chapel became the first house
of worship for the community. (It was demolished in 1950,
making way for what is now the Towson Town Centre.)
A new era began in 1854 when the Court House construction
started and Towson officially became the Baltimore County
Seat. Numerous buildings were built in a wide variety of
sizes, shapes, and styles, giving the community a distinctive
19th Century atmosphere that is still visible.
Towson retains its charm and sense of history, even though
it has grown rapidly since World War II. Today it is more
than a crossroads and courthouse town, having become a center
for education, medicine, county government and law, and more
recently a retail destination |
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Local Government |
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Towson was established as the County Seat for Baltimore
County in 1854 and is located 13 miles north of downtown
Baltimore City and just two-miles north of the Baltimore
City/Baltimore County line. Baltimore County government consists
of a County Executive and a seven-member County Council who
are elected for four-year terms.
There are no incorporated cities in Baltimore County and
the county operates by a charter form of government, one
of three types of government self rule in Maryland . Towson
is the largest unincorporated county seat in the nation.
Towson is the County Seat and headquarters for most of the
County’s government operations as well as the corporate
home of national and global corporations. |
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Health Care Facilities |
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Serving the health care needs of the community, the Greater
Baltimore Medical Center, St. Joseph Hospital and the Sheppard
Pratt Health System are all located in the Towson area. |
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GBMC: In October 1965, Greater Baltimore
Medical Center (GBMC) opened in Towson , created by two prestigious
Baltimore hospitals, founded in the late 19 th century, who
sought to serve the growing population north of the city. The
Hospital for the Women of Maryland in Baltimore City opened
in 1882 in Bolton Hill ( Baltimore City ) as only the second
women’s hospital in the country. The Presbyterian Eye,
Ear and Throat Charity Hospital had nearly 100 years of excellence
in ophthalmology and otolaryngology, originating as a clinic
in a civil war surgeon’s East Baltimore carriage house
in the 1887. Today the hospital has 302 licensed beds and residency
programs in medicine, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, obstetrics,
gynecology and podiatry. It employs 2,386 full-time employees,
1,417 physicians, 76 medical residents as well as 730 volunteers.
GBMC is a non-profit health care organization licensed and
accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation for Health
Care Organizations (JCAHO). |
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St. Joseph Medical Center : is
a 365-bed acute care, not-for-profit, regional medical center
located on a 37-acre site in Towson that offers a comprehensive
range of health services for both inpatients and outpatients.
The tradition of concern for the delivery of high quality health
care remains as strong, today as it was more than 135 years
ago. St. Joseph Medical Center is accredited by the Joint Commission
of Accreditation for Health Care Organizations. |
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Sheppard Pratt Health System: is a private,
non-profit behavioral health organization that provides a
full range of services in a variety of settings to meet the
needs of children, adolescents, adults and older adults.
Headquartered in Towson , Sheppard Pratt has 1,500 employees
and programs in eleven counties of Maryland and in Baltimore
City .
Built on what had been a 340-acre farm a few miles north
of Baltimore City , the original Sheppard Asylum was greatly
enhanced by an endowment from Enoch Pratt, upon his death
in 1896 and subsequently renamed Sheppard and Enoch Pratt
Hospital .
In 2004 Sheppard Pratt Health System served more than34,000
individuals and provided approximately 799,000 units of mental
health services, which describes patient days of hospitalization,
partial hospitalization, residential treatment or respite,
or of special education, psychiatric school rehabilitation
or outpatient programming operated by Sheppard Pratt. |
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Higher Education |
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Towson is fortunate to be situated in the midst of two fine
institutions of higher learning. The downtown business district
is within walking distance from Goucher College and Towson
University . |
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Goucher College : On
its northern end, Goucher College 's 287-acre wooded campus
is home to impressive facilities in technology, the sciences,
and the arts. Founded in 1885 and once located in downtown
Baltimore , Goucher was originally named the Woman's College
of Baltimore and was founded by the Reverend John Franklin
Goucher, after whom the College was renamed in 1910. Goucher
is a college of over 1,300 undergraduates and 1,000 students
in graduate and professional studies programs from across
the United States and many foreign countries.
Towson University: T.U., just south of
the "Gateway to Towson", was originally designated
the Maryland State Normal School when it first opened its
doors in 1866, with the mission of preparing teachers for
Maryland's public school system. After undergoing a number
of changes in name and status, university status was accorded
the former Towson State University in 1976 in recognition
of its broadened role in Maryland higher education. Now part
of the University of Maryland System , situated on a 320-acre
campus, Towson University enrolls almost 13,000 full-time
and over 2,300 part-time undergraduates and over 3,000 graduate
students. Thirty academic departments offer over 40 majors
and 60 concentrations leading to the bachelor's degree. The
Graduate School offers 26 master's degree programs. |
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