Sherwood History
FOR A CAPSULE PDF OF THE SHERWOOD HISTORY, CLICK HERE.
Frances Sherwood acquired the majority (80 acres) of Sherwood Farm in 1934 from Eben Finney, being a part of a much larger tract (256 acres) that Finney had just acquired from John Lindsay Clark. Clark had obtained this part from Duane Rice's will in 1924, then known as "Valley View Farm". Duane Rice had acquired the land in 1890 from Sarah Burke.
The unique Sherwood House was constructed in 1935 for Mr. Donald Henry Sherwood (1898-1989) and his wife, Frances Wellington Sherwood (1899-1992), at an approximate cost of $37,000. The English manor style mansion was built by Palmer and Lamdin Architects and has 27 rooms, including five bedroom suites, eight bathrooms, five fireplaces, and living quarters for up to four servants. The 108.5 x 94.5 foot house has stone walls that are 18.5" thick. There are 28 windows on the first floor and 34 on the second. The push button on the wall in each of the rooms in the living quarters was used to summon the servants. The house was heated with a boiler to service the radiant heating system.
The house was placed on the Baltimore County Landmarks List on July 23, 2006, thus affording it an additional measure of protection and requiring the owner (Baltimore County) to preserve it.
Donald Sherwood went to work at an early age for his brother-in-law, Arthur Gregg Wellington, president and founder of the Maryland Car Wheel Company, a manufacturer of railroad car wheels.
The company principally supplied the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad with wheels until Mr. Sherwood liquidated the company following WWII, investing as a majority stockholder in Ellicott Machine Company. A worldwide supplier of dredges and dredge machinery, Ellicott Dredges, Inc is still in business.
In his later years, Donald Sherwood and his neighbor to the East, Robert Merrick, planned a residential development to be located on the adjoining farms. When that plan ended, the park came into being.
The main structure on Sherwood Farm is the Sherwood House, built in 1935. The house serves as the Park office and contains a meeting room which may be used, for a fee, by county and school groups, as well as some non-profits. Enquire at the office about the availability. Sherwood Farm also contains several outbuildings from the previous farm operation.
