Dickeyville

Location

North - Purnell Road
South - Windsor Mill Road
East - Forest Park Avenue, Pickwick Road. Sekots Road,
Tucker Lane, And Wetherdsville Road
West - County Line
Zip Code: 21230

Description

The village of Dickeyville, a National Register Historic Preservation District on the western edge of Baltimore City, Maryland, grew up along the banks of the Gwynn's Falls from the early 19th century. Today, Dickeyville is a model historic village of some 138 homes and public buildings. The Dickeyville Garden Club oversees the beautification of public landscaping projects and encourages residents to maintain yards and gardens to a high standard.

History

The Franklin Paper Mill built in 1808, gave the village its first name, Franklinville. In 1829, three enterprising brothers, John, George, and Charles Wethered, converted the Franklin Paper Mill to the manufacture of woolen cloth. The brothers also built the Ashland Mill on the east side of the village, in addition to some 30 stone houses for workers, a church and a school, and named the village 'Wetheredsville'. In 1871, the Wethereds sold the property to William J. Dickey. He paid $82,000 for 300 acres, three mills and many of the houses in the village. Under Dickey, the village prospered and expanded. On his death in 1896, the name of the village was changed from Wetheredsville to Dickeyville. The Dickey family sold out to the Glasgow Mills in 1909, but with the decline of the textile business, the Mills eventually closed and the formerly prosperous Dickeyville became a shanty town with a reputation for crime and low life. In 1934, the Dickey properties, which included much of the village of 81 homes, three mills and the Wethered-Dickey mansion on Forest Park Avenue (since demolished) was sold at auction for $42,000. A local development company embarked upon the restoration of the properties. The buildings that remained were redesigned and modernized but in such a way as to preserve their historic character. The vision and foresight of the developers ensured the preservation of the village. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1968, and is maintained by its residents with enormous care and pride.