Carroll Visits: Hampstead A Slow Ride Through the Quintessential American Small Town

Written By Richard Daub

For many commuters who don’t live there but have to pass through town every day, Hampstead is merely a traffic headache on the way to and from work.

Some may have even reached the point at which they no longer recognize that there is actually a town located along the particular two-mile stretch of Route 30 in northwest Carroll County, because all they notice is the brake lights of the vehicle in front of them.
Yet, serving as the backdrop for this congested and controversial thoroughfare is, as described on the town’s website, “The Quintessential American Small Town.”

Those who live there don’t care much for the traffic either, but the road that cuts through town is the main reason that Hampstead evolved from a small farming village known as Spring Garden, home to only a few families, into a town that now has more than 5,000 residents.

In 1737, the Baltimore County Court commissioned Robert Owings to clear a trail between what is now Hanover to Baltimore County. After it was completed, Spring Garden grew into a stop along the route. The trail was later improved into a road suitable for stagecoaches and eventually evolved into what is now Route 30.

In 1786, the town that was now known as Hampstead was laid out by Christopher Vaughn. Like most towns in the area at the time, it was considered by those who didn’t live there as just a stop along the way to somewhere else. Hospitality for horses and humans was the main source of income, while farming remained an important part of the local economy, as it is today.

For the next 100 years, Hampstead did not experience much change, other than becoming a part of the newly created Carroll County, which was formed in 1837 from land previously belonging to Frederick and Baltimore counties.

In 1879, however, the Western Maryland Railway came to town and made Hampstead a stop on “The Hanover Subdivision” (nicknamed “The Dutch Line” because it broke off from the main line at Emory Grove and headed north through Hampstead, Hanover, and Pennsylvania Dutch country before continuing west through Gettysburg and reconnecting with the main line at Hagerstown). Suddenly the identity of Hampstead changed to that of a railroad town and grew so rapidly that in 1888 it was officially incorporated.

The new identity, however, was short lived. As the popularity of automobiles increased in the 1920s and Ô30s, the popularity of rail
travel steadily declined. In 1943 the last scheduled passenger train rolled through Hampstead, and since then the tracks that flank the west side of downtown have been used exclusively by freights.

But the town has sought to retain its former identity by depicting on its town logo the railroad depot on Gill Avenue, which was built in 1912 and is currently being refurbished by local volunteers as a museum.

After the passenger trains stopped running through town, Hampstead was once again known as a stop along the road, only now travelers weren’t stopping so much as just slowing down.

Traffic is usually good for business, but as more people moved to the area, Route 30 became so congested that residents developed an aversion to downtown, and those just passing through found it too difficult to find a place to park. And, of course, after finishing their business, they had to squeeze back into the line of traffic; another annoyance.

In the late 1950s, there was talk of building a bypass to ease the traffic flow through downtown, and ever since it has been the hot-button issue in Hampstead. Local shop owners feared that it would take away from their business, and residents argued that the traffic was holding their town hostage.

As the area has grown over the last two decades, however, many business owners now welcome the idea of a bypass. They feel it would make Main Street more appealing for local residents and may even attract out-of-towners who might otherwise avoid Hampstead altogether because of the traffic.

“It’s kind of counterintuitive that [the bypass] would help the business community,” said Mayor Haven N. Shoemaker Jr. , “but in our case I think it will, because if you get a lot of the commuter traffic off of Main Street, local patrons will be more inclined to visit the local businesses.”

“Without the bypass, it’s just heavy, heavy traffic,” said Gail Terzano of Timeless Creations flower shop. “People don’t even want to come to town to shop here because they can’t find a parking place.”

“I think it’s definitely needed,” said Kathy Smith of Shipley’s Fine Jewelry. “Right now people have a really difficult time trying to get across the street and even out of their cars because of the traffic.”

Finally, after countless delays, including the discovery of a habitat of bog turtles protected under the Endangered Species Act, the bypass is now funded and construction is scheduled to start this coming month (April).

The new 4.5-mile stretch of road will originate south of town near Wolf Hill drive and swing around the west side before reconnecting with Hanover Pike just north of Brodbeck Road, and construction is expected to take two-and-a-half to three years to complete.

As for the bog turtles, extensive studies conducted by the Maryland State Highway Administration in conjunction with state and federal environmental agencies have found that the bypass will not harm their habitat, and the town of Hampstead has agreed to manage 200 acres of it.

Now, for the first time in its history, Hampstead is poised to become an actual destination, rather than just a stop along the way. The identity of the town is about to change once more, but now it will be determined by the people who live there, not by those just passing through.

In the meantime, visitors still have three more years to experience Hampstead in the era that may become known to future generations as Before the Bypass. There are plenty of things to see and do in Hampstead, and, despite the reputation, the traffic isn’t always bad. Morning and evening rush hours are the heaviest times, and although Route 30 does sometimes get a little backed up on Saturdays, it is not nearly as bad as weekday rush hours.

Driving up Route 30 south of town, emerging from the cornfields that make Hampstead feel a world away from Baltimore, motorists are greeted by a large wooden sign displaying the town logo and a slogan that reads, “Hampstead: Through the Years.” Pictured beneath are three symbols that recall the cultural heritage of the area: a Native American arrowhead, a mill, and a steam locomotive.

Beyond the sign, Hanover Pike (Route 30) temporarily becomes known as Main Street, and the nearly two-mile stretch of downtown Hampstead begins. Both sides of the road are lined with old but well-maintained houses, most with prominent front porches that look as if they were originally intended for residents to sit upon and greet incoming travelers.

The south end of town is the location of two of the more popular eateries in town, Dean’s Restaurant and New York
J & P Pizza.

“Dean’s is a country style restaurant,” said Mayor Shoemaker. “They serve American fare. And New York J & P is Italian–that’s a very popular place. Some nights it’s so crowded you can’t even get into it. On the north end of town we have Greenmount Station, and they have an assortment of food, including a
lot of seafood.”

Proceeding north on Main and making a left on Gill Avenue, the town logo comes to life in the form of the old Hampstead train depot. The interior is still being refurbished, but the exterior is finished and probably looks nearly as good as it did when it was built in 1912. A peek in the windows reveals the impressive renovation underway–new hardwood floors, new walls, new lights–and perhaps a glimpse of what the spirit of the new Hampstead will be like after the bypass is completed.

Back on Main Street north of Gill are some of the more interesting attractions in town, such as The Hampstead Movie House Mall, the town’s old movie house that has been converted into a variety store, and the war veterans’ memorial across the street. Behind the memorial is a tiny Shakespearean park complete with covered stage facing several rows of benches and a few large trees that provide ample shade during
summer months.

A few blocks north, Route 482 (Hampstead Mexico Road) plugs into Main Street from the west. Turning left here and heading west, past the water tower and North Carroll High School (Home of the Panthers), Hampstead suddenly becomes very rural.

If the visitor makes a right on Snydersburg Road about a mile and a half ahead, then weaves about another three quarters of a mile along the narrow two-lane ribbon between the cornfields, cow pastures, and woods, he will see a weathered wooden sign. It marks the turnoff to Cascade Lake, a small water park open for business during the summer months. Across the street from this sign is one of Hampstead’s best kept secrets–The Simmons Store–where you can get some of the best homemade ice cream in all of Carroll County. You will have to settle for whatever flavors they have available at the time, but that’s okay–they’re all good. A single-scoop cone will set you back $1.25, and stepping inside this rustic country store will take you back to another era in small town America.

“Our website calls it ÔThe Quintessential American Small Town’,” says Mayor Shoemaker. “I think that’s what it is.”