HoCo's First Public Library Building

The community hall built and organized by Carroll Baldwin Memorial Institute, Inc. celebrated their 100th anniversary in 2022. It was not only a remarkable gift to the community, it was also HoCo’s first public library building. The June 23, 1922 charter for the corporation included that “the nature of the business and the objects and purposes to be transacted, are education, moral, literary and benevolent…for the exclusive benefit and advantage of the community…for a Public Library, and/or for a Community Hall….”

   At the dedication of the hall to the community, it was described as having “a meeting room, library, kitchens, bowling alleys and a radio receiving apparatus for the pleasure of the people of the community.”[ii] As further indication of the importance of this new library, Rignal Baldwin was appointed to the Maryland Public Library Advisory Commission the same month. 

Savage was the location for a free public library as early as October 1920 sponsored by the Carroll Baldwin Memorial Library Association with support from the Maryland Public Library Commission. This location would have been in the former community hall as it seems the building of the existing Carroll Baldwin Memorial Hall did not start until May 1921. In January 1922 the library moved into its new location, presumably the new Hall. In June of 1922, the SMC turned over the Carroll Baldwin Hall Memorial Library Association to the “Community Hall” which was already operating a public library along with a bowling alley. This public library was still operating in 1927 with Eloise M. Oliver as librarian.

The Maryland Public Library Commission visited several locations in HoCo in 1912 and reported community interest in libraries for Ellicott City and Elkridge. In fact, they stated that library in Elkridge was opened in May 14, 1913 in the residence of Miss Lina T. Stintz, the librarian. The Elkridge and Savage libraries were the only two HoCo libraries reported operating in 1921-1922 with both Ms. Stintz and Ms. Oliver as the librarians, respectfully.  For the 1924-1925 fiscal year, a library in Ellicott City was listed as operating since 1922 and Savage since 1920 neither of which used public funds but were free to the public.

On February 29, 1956, the Carroll Baldwin Memorial Institute became the 10th “library station” of the HoCo Public Library system. It is unknown at this time how long the community hall was a library station but there was desire to make it a branch within the county library system as the growth of the area became inevitable. In July of 1966, a three year lease was signed, with an option for 3 more years, for the Carroll Baldwin Memorial Library Branch and the library opened in September as part of the county system.

Book circulation was low and this location eventually became a reading center in the 1970s. But there were still big plans for a library location in Savage. In the 1980s there was a plan for a new library and community center and one of the suggested locations would have been part of the Patuxent Valley-Bollman Bridge school area off Vollmerhausen Road. Apparently the school system did not have enough space to also include a library on the property and the eventual location for the new library was chosen in 1991, where it currently sits, off Gorman Road and Knights Bridge Road. In 2014 the library was enlarged and renovated becoming a STEM center. Carroll Baldwin Memorial Hall played a long and important role in the HoCo Public Library System leading to Savage having one of the six successful library branches today.

Note: Source is from Hidden History of Howard County (2023, Arcadia Press)