Bare Hills Historic District – Baltimore MD - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form

Inventory No.: BA-2998
Date Listed: 11/22/2011
Period/Date of Construction: 1730-1961
Resources: 90 (65 contributing, 21 non-contributing)

The Bare Hills Historic District is historically significant for its representation of the process of community development over time as it relates to the milling and mining industries of the Bare Hills area of Baltimore County, Maryland and the associated transportation corridors of the Falls Road/Turnpike and Green Spring Branch Railroad. The fertile soils of Baltimore County provided the produce that fed the mills along the powerful watercourse know as Jones Falls, but the mineral rich rock formation that forced the Jones Falls into its sweeping arc around the Bare Hills left the area with thin soils, sparse vegetation, and its “Bare Hills” moniker. The Bare Hills geology, the source of chromite and copper, and a distinctive green building stone called serpentine, produced a legacy of mining and quarrying that gives the area its unique character. Both milling and mining were significant factors in the development of the road and rail transportation through the Jones Falls Valley. The presence of both industry and transportation shaped the early phases of community development in the Bare Hills area. After the creation of Lake Roland in 1861, development around the Bare Hills centered on the scenic rural landscape and the convenience of railroad transportation to and from Baltimore City. The Bare Hills Historic District gains additional historical significance in the area of Ethnic Heritage relating to the African-American community known as the “Scott Settlement,” recognized as one of the earliest free-black communities in Baltimore County. Established by Aquila Scott about 1830 and still occupied by many Scott family descendants, the people and buildings of the Scott Settlement have been an integral component of the Bare Hills community and its associated developmental history for more than 180 years. The Bare Hills Historic District is architecturally significant for its collection of largely vernacular representations of popular architectural styles from the later 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. The district also includes several distinctive architectural examples such as the Gothic Revival Bare Hills House, the Bauhaus-inspired Hooper House II designed by architect Marcel Breuer, and the serpentine stone Bare Hills School.

Contributing Building:

Registration Form Item 38
6229 Falls Road - Bare Hills School (MIHP BA-1560). Y-shaped school house built of serpentine stone, with pedimented shingle-covered frame gable facing onto Falls Road. Hip roofed cupola/belfry at front gable. Slate roof, 9/9 windows, grouped in sets of five on side walls. Entrance with bracketed shed cover in south elevation. 1881. 1 contributing building.

Street address: 6229 Falls Road Baltimore , MD United States 21209 County / Borough / Parish: Baltimore County Year listed: 2011 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Industry, Transportation, Community Planning and Development, Ethnic Heritage Black, Architecture Periods of significance: 1730-1961 Historic function: Domestic, Landscape Current function: Domestic, Transportation, Education Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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