Homestead, in Homestead?

Have you ever noticed how developments are plopped right in the middle of perfectly good lands that have served seemingly grander purposes up until recently? This map tells us that this is not a new phenomenon. Northeast Baltimore was still in the county, and was a place of estates for quite a while. Montebello, the elegant mansion of John W. Garrett, was just northeast of Homestead, and and other neighbors included the Gilman, Abbott, Kelso and Patterson families, a virtual "who's who" of Baltimore. Another major landowner was the Gorsuch family, and they got the bright idea of getting into the real estate development business. Robert Gorsuch Jr. inherited land in 1828, and decided to form a syndicate in order to develop Baltimore's first planned suburb. Homestead was begun in 1851 in the area bordering Harford Road, adjacent to land owned by Johns Hopkins, originally planned to be the location of JHU. What did these fine gentlemen think of all this? I am confident it was, "there goes the neighborhood".

Perhaps we should think of Mr. Gorsuch as a visionary of sorts. He laid out the streets quite early, but no one wanted to build there, as the transportation system wasn't ready. Nonetheless, Homestead was modeled as a grand place to enjoy noble country living, albeit a bit more snugly than in the countryside. Homestead boasted about its fine neighbors, and named most of the streets after presidents, including one named Madison Street, home of the Bamberger family......oh, and another named Gorsuch Avenue. Imagine that!