What's in a Name?Lake Elkhorn

Lake Elkhorn was formed by the damming of the Elk Horn Branch of the Little Patuxent River in 1973.1 The Elkhorn Branch was in the original 1694 land patent of Crosses Forrest, which is where the current schools as well as Lake Elkhorn reside, mentions that the land is in Elk Ridge near the Patuxent River as well as smaller branches running into Ridgely’s Great Branch2 and Elkhorn Branch.3 

Lake Elkhorn Middle School Naming

 At the May 14, 1975 HoCo School Board meeting, the school now known as Lake Elkhorn Middle School was recommended and approved to be called the Owen Brown Middle School which was located in the Village of Owen Brown.4 For the 2003-2004 school year, the Board of Education tried an experiment to see if a PreK-8 school would yield more positive results than maintaining a separate elementary school and middle school.  Dasher Green ES and Owen Brown MS were merged into the Cradlerock School but it was decided that the experiment did not yield as many positive results as had been desired. In June 2010, the Board approved returning Cradlerock to two separate elementary and middle schools, effective July 1, 2011.5

During the January 13, 2011 BoE meeting, a discussion ensued about the “Renaming of Cradlerock School Charter” and a committee was development to study recommendations.  It was stated that “a variety of geographical names have been submitted for renaming the schools.”  The Board hoped that they could make a decision on a school name the same night of the public hearing on April 14, 2011.6

At the public hearing for the BoE on April 14th the top three school names for consideration based on ballots provided to students, staff and parents of the affected school were: Cradlerock Middle, Lake Elkhorn Middle, and Owen Brown Middle School.  The top choice was the Lake Elkhorn Middle School with Cradlerock Middle School a close second.  The Board decided on Lake Elkhorn Middle School as the new name.7,8 

Sources:

1 1972 January 31. Legal Notices 93. - 1. Construct a dam on Elkhorn Branch of the Little Patuxent River. The Baltimore Sun. Monday, page 31. Accessed 7-10-2021.

2 1694 June 13. Certificate and Patent to John Cross for Crosses Forrest. 357 acres. Liber C.D. Folio 31.  Maryland State Archives Land Patent Record Index. SE23.   http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/stagsere/se1/se23/000000/000038/pdf/mdsa_se23_38.pdf

3 Ridgely’s Great Branch was also known as Ridgely’s Run or Dorsey’s Branch and most recently known as Dorsey’s Run.  See 1860 Martenet Map, 1878 Hopkins Atlas (showing Ridgley’s Run being Dorsey’s Branch), and any recent topographic map.

4 1975, May 14. Howard County School Board Meeting.  https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/hcpssmd/Board.nsf/Public

5 2010, June 10. Howard County Board of Education Meeting. https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/hcpssmd/Board.nsf/files/867ND45F5DCE/$file/06+10+10+Cradlerock+BR.pdf

6 2011, January 14.  Howard County Board of Education Meeting. https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/hcpssmd/Board.nsf/files/8LHH9N476259/$file/01%2013%202011%20Reg%20Mtg%20Min%20Approved.pdf

7 2011, April 14. Howard County Board of Education Meeting Public Hearing.   https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/hcpssmd/Board.nsf/files/8FFN6Y5E78A1/$file/04%2014%202011%20Renaming%20of%20Cradlerock%20School%20BR.pdf

8 2011, August 31.  New school names bring 'a sense of pride'. Columbia Flier. Patuxent Publishing. Accessed 7-10-2021.