Pasadena's Hidden History: Part 2

Taking a look at Mountain Road now, who would have ever thought that it was but a simple dirt road?  A photograph from Isabel Shipley Cunningham’s book entitled, Between Two Rivers, brings to light the revelation that at one time during the history of the community that Pasadena was indeed a simple place.

Did you know that during the early 20^th century, many Polish and Czechoslovakian people migrated to the Pasadena area to work on the farms during the summer season?  There were many Eastern European families that populated the state of Maryland during that time, and because the economy of the 19^th century was reliant on slave labor, when slavery was no longer in existence, Pasadena farmers needed affordable labor to aid in picking crops.  This labor came in the form of Eastern European families who fulfilled a great need during the summer months.

The Pasadena Peninsula had ferries and steamers that people would board when they wanted to go to Baltimore for the day.  Remember, there were no highways back then, and what might be a twenty minute ride on the highway now could have actually taken several hours back then.  More often than not a ferry or a steamer would prove to be a quicker route of passage into the city limits. 

Imagine the location of Compass Pointe Golf Course.  The rolling hills lush greenery are undeniably beautiful, and to think that this lush, green, aesthetically pleasing golf course was at one time a farm may be a bit daunting.

Compass Pointe was once a popular farm known as Bottomley’s Farm.  Bottomley’s was a farm whose surroundings were not quite as glamorous as that of the golf course.  There were rundown, wooden shanties and cooking shacks that lined the entry to the berry portion of the farm.  Many of the Eastern European families who worked on the farm actually lived in these little shacks.  Small hands toiled the land, working in that often unbearable, humid laden heat that the summer months are notorious for.

There is a quite history that is hidden within Pasadena.  It requires a bit of digging but once you start, you just can’t stop because there are so many wonderful stories about this community that lay shrouded in mystery.  Many of these stories are hidden in old photographs.

“I never get tired of looking at the pictures,” said local photographer Katrina Krauss.  Some of the most fascinating history that can be discovered about the area is available from looking at photos from yesteryear.