Local perspective: Honeygo community both new and old
by David Marks
There’s a saying: everything old is new again. Look no farther than Honeygo Boulevard and Joppa Road.
Most people think of Honeygo as Twenty-First Century Perry Hall, with its tree-lined streets, fancy restaurants, and million-dollar homes. It’s the last part of Perry Hall to be built-out. But ironically, this “new” neighborhood is actually the oldest part of our community.
More than two centuries ago, northeastern Baltimore County was a wilderness. Investors built furnaces and forges along the Great Gunpowder Falls, which was then a raging river. These factories attracted workers and their families. By the 1770s, there was a primitive village along East Joppa Road, which was then an Indian trail.
These backcountry families endured a harsh life. They lived in cabins with dirt floors.
There were no schools, and people passed the time by holding cockfighting matches.
Conditions were ripe for the Great Awakening to touch this part of colonial America.
During the Great Awakening, Methodist missionaries crisscrossed the colonies, converting thousands of families to the young, dynamic religion. In 1776, Methodist missionary Robert Strawbridge converted the village along East Joppa Road. He provided the settlement with not just a new religious philosophy, but also a structure.
Between 1776 and 1807, there were countless “camp meetings” at the site. Frances Asbury, an early Methodist leader, preached there. Harry Dorsey Gough, the owner of the Perry Hall Mansion, frequented the services. In 1807, when the congregation decided to build a log church, Gough arranged to have the chapel constructed on his own – if the congregation used its funds to build a schoolhouse instead. That was the start of Camp Chapel Church.
Perry Hall is home to people of countless religious faiths, but much of the community’s history is intertwined with that of American Methodism. Harry Dorsey Gough sheltered Methodist leaders at the Perry Hall Mansion when their views were unpopular, which is why Perry Hall is often called “the cradle of American Methodism.”
Over the next few years, several events will occur to mark Perry Hall’s unique role in America’s early religious history. On Sunday, Oct. 12, Camp Chapel United Methodist Church celebrates its 200th anniversary. The church is raising money to erect a historical marker.
Baltimore County will open two parks, right across the street from Camp Chapel, that honor Gough and Asbury. And by the end of the decade, the county will hopefully finish the renovation of the Perry Hall Mansion.
Growing up, I can remember how the area near Camp Chapel was a rural oasis, untouched by the growth that changed other parts of Perry Hall. My wife and I got married at the church in 2000, right before Honeygo Boulevard sliced through the woods and ignited a wave of development.
But that development has been tempered by a degree of respect for the old church.
The shopping center is attractive, and the street names – thanks to a suggestion from the Perry Hall Improvement Association – reflect names from local history. Plans call for five recreation areas within a mile of the church, making Honeygo Boulevard a virtual parkway.
Many mistakes were made in developing Perry Hall so quickly. But by and large, Honeygo shows that progress and respect for our local history can go hand in hand.
David Marks is a longtime community activist and author of a book on the history of Perry Hall.