Elkridge Pleased by Belmont Decision

County Executive Ken Ulman said this week the county  in Elkridge from Howard Community College and operate it as a history and nature park.

Howard County's Department of Recreation and Parks will manage the property and nonprofit organizations will handle programming, said Ulman.

Citizens, including those representing nonprofits, said they were pleased with the decision.

“There is nobody better than Howard County Recreation and Parks to manage this property,” John Slater, president of Patapsco Valley Heritage Greenway, told Patch. "They have the experience to do it."

Slater cited the parks department's management of the Waverly mansion, an 18th-century home in Marriottsville.

Belmont, located near the Montgomery Road bridge in Elkridge, was built in 1738 by Caleb Dorsey, a leader in the iron industry, and is considered an historic plantation.

"This was my playground—the woods and the barns," said Lawyers Hill resident Cathy Hudson. She recalled riding horses around Belmont and swimming in the pool on the property.

In the second half of the 20th century, the estate—which includes several houses and a barn—passed from private ownership into the hands of the Smithsonian and then the American Chemical Society. They operated it as a conference center.

Hudson's first job, at age 16, was working as an assistant to the cook in the kitchen at Belmont, where she served guests staying there.

It was not the last time she would work for Belmont. In 2007, she founded the Save Belmont Coalition to prevent Howard Community College, which had plans other than preservation, from developing the property.

"The responsibility of a group going against something is trying to come up with a solution," Hudson said, touring the house with others at the news conference on Wednesday. "I think Ken Ulman also saw the potential and that he could be part of the solution."

Jean Malkmus, who told Patch she lives in the home closest to the Belmont property, attended the county executive's visit on Wednesday. "I'm so happy," she said of the new ownership.

Councilwoman Courtney Watson, (D-Elkridge/Ellicott City), said, "Those that have come before us have gotten us to this point, and we must get us to the future so that future generations can enjoy this property. I want to thank the Patapsco Heritage Greenway, history buffs and environmentalists that have been here to help save Belmont."

What do you want for Belmont's future? Tell us in the comments.