Clifton Park, Baltimore
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Clifton Park
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"Clifton Mansion", original home of Capt. Henry Thompson, (1774-1837), later purchased 1838 by Johns Hopkins, (1795-1873), renovated/redesigned around 1858 by architectural team of Niernsee and Neilson, photo taken August 2011
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| Location | Bounded by Hartford Rd., Erdman Ave., Clifton Park Terrace, the Baltimore Belt RR and Sinclair Ln., Baltimore, Maryland |
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| Coordinates | 39°19′15″N 76°34′58″W / 39.32083°N 76.58278°WCoordinates: 39°19′15″N 76°34′58″W / 39.32083°N 76.58278°W |
| Area | 266.7 acres (107.9 ha) |
| Built | 1801 |
| Architect | Niersee & Neilson; Wyatt and Nolting; Olmsted Brothers; Thomas, Frederick |
| Architectural style | Italian Villa, Gothic Revival, Late 19th & 20th C. Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 07000941 |
| Added to NRHP | September 12, 2007 |
Clifton Park is a public urban park and national historic district located between the Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello and Waverly neighborhoods to the west and the Belair-Edison, Lauraville, Hamilton communities to the north in the northeast section of Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.. It is roughly bordered by Erdman Avenue (Md. Rt. 151) to the northeast, Sinclair Lane to the south, Harford Road (Md. Rt. 147) to the northwest and Belair Road (U.S. Route 1) to the southeast. The eighteen-hole Clifton Park Golf Course, which is the site of the annual Clifton Park Golf Tournament, occupies the north side of the park.
The land on which Clifton Park sits was once farmland. Built around 1803, the home was originally the summer residence of Capt. Henry Thompson, (1774-1837). Born in Sheffield, England, he came to Baltimore around 1794, and soon became a prominent figure in the newly-emerging City and its history. Became a well-known merchant, financier and company director, he also was a very public-spirited citizen and used his knowledge of horses in military matters. Serving as a cavalry officer in the Maryland Militia, of which a part was the "Baltimore Light Dragoons" which he joined in 1809 and elected captain. Later organized in 1813, the "First Baltimore Horse Artillery" who defended Baltimore from the British attack during the War of 1812 at the Battle of Baltimore with its Bombardment of Fort McHenry, the Battle of North Point in the southeastern reaches of surrounding, then rural Baltimore County on the Patapsco Neck peninsula, and the stand-off at Loudenschlager's Hill/Hampstead Hill (now Patterson Park) in East Baltimore, on September 12-13-14, 1814, celebrated later in the city/county/state as an official holiday as "Defenders' Day". He was assigned by Brig. Gen. John Stricker, commander of the Third Brigade (also known as the Baltimore City Brigade) of the Maryland State Militia, to carry messages between Bladensburg, Maryland (in Prince George's County) and the nearby national capital of Washington, D.C. during the first phase of the British attack and the tragic collapse at the Battle of Bladensburg, which resulted in the unfortunate Burning of Washington during the Chesapeake Bay campaign in August 1814. Later he and his mounted unit served as the personal bodyguard of Maj. Gen. Samuel Smith, overall commander of the State Militia under the then Governor of Maryland, Levin Winder, and the various militia forces from surrounding counties and states, including several Regular United States Army and Navy units and detachments defending Baltimore in September 1814. Along with the former Georgian/Federal style mansion of "Surrey" of Col. Joseph Sterrett, (1773-1821), commander of the 5th Maryland Regiment, (later famously known as the "Dandy Fifth"), further east of the Town, (now greatly changed/gutted/damaged/renovated and used as a community center in Armistead Gardens, off Erdman Avenue (Md. Rt. 151) and Federal Street), it is considered the only two structures besides the 1793 Flag House & Star-Spangled Banner Museum of Mary Pickersgill at East Pratt and Albemarle Streets, in Jonestown/Old Town and the Old St. Paul's Church Rectory on West Saratoga Street to be a residence still extant from the famous attack which inspired the writing of our National Anthem, "Star Spangled Banner".
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