Lake Centennial (Maryland)

Centennial Park is a Howard County Department of Recreation & Parks' public park located in Ellicott City, Maryland. It surrounds Centennial Lake, covering an area of 337 acres. There are four areas of Centennial Park, the North, South, East, and West, each with its own entrance. The path around the lake is a 2.6 mile paved trail loop. Boat rentals are available during certain months of the year, and a boat ramp is available to the public. Fishing is permitted in the lake, but hunting, firearms, swimming, sailboarding, wind surfing, stand up paddleboarding, and inner tubing are all prohibited. Pets are permitted in the park except for in picnic pavilions, playgrounds, and sports areas. The lake, field, wooded areas and wetlands that make up Centennial Park are home to abundant wildlife. A buoy line restricts access to a portion of the lake reserved as a Wildlife Area, providing a safe spawning area for fish and nesting sites for birds. The loop around the lake is suitable for running, walking, and biking. There are several benches along the loop and pavilions located nearby. There are also water fountains for public convenience, including water fountains for dogs.

Dorsey's Search is a parcel of land patented by John Dorsey of Hockley-in-the-hole (1645–1714) in Baltimore County (now Howard County). The 479-acre (194 ha) property adjacent to the north branch of the Patuxent river was surveyed by Richard Beard in December 1684, and granted to Dorsey in March 1696. The property lying between "Long Reach" and "Elk Ridge" was resurveyed in March 1723 to include 750 acres (300 ha). After several generations of inheritance, a series of legal disputes were held over the land by Rezin Hammond and Richard Ridgley in 1820. In 1827 the property exchanged hands to Robert Oliver, builder of Oakland Mill, who combined it with multiple properties totaling 2,300 acres (930 ha). George Gaither acquired the property in 1838. John Dorsey's grandson, "Patuxent" John Dorsey of "Dorsey's Search" built Dorsey Hall at the site.

Arlington is a historic slave plantation located in Columbia, Howard County, Maryland, now part of the Fairway Hills Golf Course. The estate occupied several original land patents including "Dorsey's Search, Talbot's Resolution Manor, and Long Reach". The Northeast corner where the Columbia turnpike and Route 108 met formed a small community. The general store built in 1874 by the Bloom family was known as "Blooms Corner" and the downstairs post office was named "Columbia". The store served hard cider with mail delivered by horseback.The Arlington house is a 1+1⁄2-story building with a later addition of a 3+1⁄2-story-tall granite stone building. It was built by slave labor using a circular scaffold that ringed the building for stones to be pushed or rolled into position A one-story wood slave quarters was attached by a walkway to the NorthWest. A wooden carriage house was built south of the manor.In 1928, the Allview Golf Course was founded by New York Railroader Ed "Gunboat" Smith. (Nicknamed after the popular boxer). The golf course was built, but plans for a luxury resort fell through as the depression set in. Well known for enjoying drink, Dorsey and Roger Williams became tenants during the depression. The property was later purchased by Walter A. Edgar who operated the course as well as thoroughbred horse farms in the area. C. Oliver Goldsmith, owner of Thunder Hill, later acquired Allview, and Woodlawn Farms, after marrying Jean Edgar and the passing of her parents. Upon sale of Woodlawn, Allview, and Thunder Hill, Goldsmith moved his horse breeding farm to Longwood Farm in Glenwood.The Allview property was key in expanding the Rouse Company land development project before public notification of zoning changes would raise the acquisition price. Only the Kingdon Gould (Kings Contrivance) and Guldelsky (Town Center) properties were higher priority. Howard Research and Development purchased a 98-year lease on the property. In 1977 the property was subdivided down to 177 acres and the historical survey recommended the property as a critical resource for state funded preservation. The house was converted in use to become the pro shop and restaurant named "Lucky Ned Peppers" for the Allview Golf course. In 1985 Allview was closed so that the course could be subdivided down to 162 acres from 206 for additional residential construction called Fairway Hills by the Rouse Company. In 1988, County Parks Board refused to accept 180 acres of the property for its use as a golf course, with the director saying it was downright ugly. Days later, the Columbia Association accepted an offer to transfer the golf course land from HRD. The Columbia association had issues with the cost of the $5.5 million proposal from Rouse that included contingent approval in order to restore the Arlington building. The course reopened in 1995 as the Fairway Hills golf course managed by the Columbia Association.

Fairfield Farm is a historic farm located near Ellicott City, now Columbia in Howard County, Maryland, United States. Fairfield farm was a 200 acre farm at the crossroads community of Columbia. The main house on Clarksville Pike (Route 108) was a three story Victorian with wraparound porches and a Mansard roof. In the 1920s it was the home to Mr. and Mrs. John Lawrence Clark (1853-1924) who also operated a supply store in Ellicott City, becoming the hub of social activity in Howard County. John Clark was on the board for the Ellicott City and Clarksville Turnpike Company, which operated and maintained a road that fronted Fairfield. Their son James Clark, born and married on the farm, would become a prominent Circuit Court Judge, and their grandson James Clark, Jr., became a prominent state senator.During World War II, the farm was managed by George and Corinne (Clark) Bayless. A tower was installed where the Columbia Presbyterian Church resides today and manned in four hour shifts to look for enemy aircraft. After the war, George Bayless agreed to manage the family farm for life in exchange for on half share of the estate, but rented it out to his brother in-law to farm. A day prior to the death of his mother, the terms were changed sparking a legal battle over percentage of ownership. In 1958, a court of appeals ordered the farm sold, delayed to 1961 in appeals ending Fairfield Farm's existence as a farm. The farm was subdivided by the Rouse Company, becoming a key property in the Running Brook subdivision.

Elkridge Farm, is a historic slave plantation located in Ellicott City in Howard County, Maryland, United States. In 1913, James Booker Clark built a mansion resembling the White House to house seven children. James Booker was the son of James Clark, Jr., a Confederate soldier who went into the livestock and banking trade after the war. Senator James A. Clark, Jr. was a nephew who traveled to the property regularly from Keewaydin Farm, down the unimproved Montgomery Road. The plantation house was destroyed by fire on 2 July 1920, with a cracked water reservoir, at a time when James Booker Clark was facing litigation against his family, Garnett Y Clark, for a failed coal mine project. A Target store in Long Gate shopping center now occupies the site.

Centennial High School is a secondary school in Ellicott City, Maryland, United States, that opened in 1977. The school is based in Howard County and is part of the Howard County Public Schools system. The school is named after its road frontage on Centennial Lane, built in 1876 as a shortcut through Denton Hammond's slave plantation Burleigh Manor between Clarksville and Ellicott City.In 1984–85, the school was recognized as one of the top 100 high schools in the country through the USDE Secondary School Recognition Program. In 1996, Centennial High School was the first high school within Maryland to achieve the excellence standard in all categories of the Maryland State Performance Assessment Program's (MSPAP) report card. The school maintained these standards throughout 2000 and 2001. In 2008, the school was nominated by U.S. News & World Report as a "silver medal" school, placing in the top 505 high schools nationwide. In a 2012 joint study by Newsweek and The Daily Beast, Centennial was ranked the second-best public high school in Maryland and number 111 in the nation. In 2014, Centennial was ranked as the best public school in Maryland and 18th in the U.S. In 2017 the school was awarded "gold medal" by US News & World Report which ranked it as the best school nationwide.In 2015, the Centennial men's basketball team bested Westlake for the Maryland 3A state title. The school has a maximum capacity of 1,360 students, but through the addition of nine portable classrooms currently (as of 2022) enrolls over 1,614 students. Of those in attendance, 41.7% are Asian, 38.6% are White, 8.9% are African American, 5.6% are Hispanic, 0.3% are Native American, 0.2% are Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 5.1% are two or more races.

Dorsey Hall is a historic home in Columbia, Maryland, United States. It is a six-by-one-bay, 2+1⁄2-story stucco structure with a gable roof covered with asphalt shingles. It is a well-preserved and detailed example of the vernacular dwellings of the early 19th century in Howard County and associated with the Dorsey family, one of the "first families" of the county.Dorsey Hall was built on Dorsey's Search, a parcel of land patented by Hon. John Dorsey of Hockley-in-the-hole (1645–1714) in Baltimore County (now Howard County), the brother of Edward Dorsey. The 479-acre (194 ha) property adjacent to the north branch of the Patuxent River was surveyed by Richard Beard in December 1684, and granted to Dorsey in March 1696. The surrounding residential neighborhood of Dorsey's Search was named after the original land grant. Judge Richard Ridgley owned the property which returned to the Dorsey family after his death and purchase by Caleb Dorsey. The farm operated with slave labor until the death of Caleb Dorsey in 1864. In 1963, owner Julius Mandel and Gudelsky Company attempted to rezone the site for high-rise apartments. The property was retitled to the Gudelsky-owned Contee Sand and Gravel Company. The 685-acre property was then purchased by The Rouse Company's shell corporation Columbia Industrial Development Corp. for redevelopment, which was halted in 1968 by residential opposition. The building underwent a renovation in 1979. The stone gristmill remains were still visible onsite at the time.The 5.4 acres (2.2 ha) of land surrounding Dorsey Hall that was acquired by The Rouse Company was resold to land developers Richard Talkin and Donald Reuwer for $785,000 in 2000. In July 2000, a $3.5 million, 32,000 square-foot office project broke ground. By 2001, the site of the estate was subdivided and reduced to 2 acres with a survey claiming no outbuildings were present unlike the neighboring Woodlawn Estate from the same period.Dorsey Hall now stands at the entrance to a business park (comprising mostly medical offices) at 5100 Dorsey Hall Drive, the architecture of which is compatible with the building. However, although it forms an imposing image, it has no signage or other identification and is not open to the public. The confusion is amplified by the adjacent business park at 5010 Dorsey Hall Drive, which bears a sign naming itself the "Dorsey Hall Business Park." Just north of Maryland Route 108, Dorsey Hall is technically at the southern edge of unincorporated Ellicott City, Maryland, rather than the northern edge of Columbia. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

Oakland or Oakland Manor is a Federal style stone manor house commissioned in 1810 by Charles Sterrett Ridgely in the Howard District of Anne Arundel County, Maryland (now Howard County). The lands that became Oakland Manor were patented by John Dorsey as "Dorsey's Adventure" in 1688 which was willed to his grandson Edward Dorsey. In 1785, Luther Martin purchased properties named "Dorsey's Adventure", "Dorsey's Inheritance", "Good for Little", "Chew's Vineyard", and "Adam the First" to make the 2300 acre "Luther Martin's Elkridge Farm".

The Howard County Center of African American Culture is located in Columbia, Maryland. The museum host exhibitions and event about African American history.

Wilde Lake is a man-made drainage reservoir dug in 1966 and the name of the surrounding "village" of neighborhoods located in Columbia, Maryland, just north and west of Columbia Town Center. The village was the first part of Columbia's "New Town" to be built in the late 1960s, James W. Rouse and Frazar B. Wilde formally opened the neighborhood on June 21, 1967. The lake and village are named for Frazar B. Wilde, a past chairman of the board of Connecticut General Life Insurance Company and former employer of James Rouse. In 1963, the company agreed to fund the secret land purchases and, in return, acquired an equity participation. This arrangement was subsequently formalized by the creation of The Howard Research and Development Corporation, the joint venture established to develop Columbia.

Clark's Elioak Farm, located along Maryland Route 108 in Howard County, Maryland, is a historic farm covering 540 acres. All of the acreage is part of county or state farmland protection programs, barring use of the property for non-farm development. The Clarks, a family with a tradition of farming in Maryland spanning seven generations, have owned the Elioak farm since 1927.The name, Elioak, refers to a type of silty clay loam common to the slopes and summits of hills in the northern portion of the Piedmont Plateau. Elioak soil is deep, well-drained, and moderately permeable, making it suitable for apple orchards. Elioak was also listed as a former turn of the century Howard County postal village.In recent years, the Elioak Farm has become a petting zoo and the venue for restoration of the former Enchanted Forest.

Mt Hebron is a historic home located in Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland. Mount Hebron was built by Col. John Worthington Dorsey of the Revolutionary war in 1808 for his son Thomas Beale Dorsey. The house is a two-story stone structure. Dorsey operated a farm at the location with 49 slaves listed in the 1840 census. Mount Hebron High School, built in 1966, is named after the manor