At the height of the Great Famine in 1847, some 1,500 Irish tenant farmers and their families were evicted from their land and made to walk 165 kilometers along the Royal Canal from County Roscommon to Dublin. Among them were 366 men, women, and children—mostly children, in fact—from the village of Ballykilcline, which was in the 13th year of a rent strike against the British Crown.

The Queen’s calvary and police “tumbled” their thatched homes, dispatching them en masse to Liverpool and then New York as part of a forced migration scheme to steal their farms. Officials had labeled the Ballykilcline families “troublemakers,” as neighboring tenants, many of whom had lost loved ones to starvation and famine disease, also began refusing to pay their rent.

Today, their sorrowful trek is marked by 30 pairs of bronze shoe sculptures on the National Famine Way walking trail from County Roscommon to Dublin. (The small bronze statues were cast from a child’s weathered shoes, later discovered by a farmer in a ruined 19th-century cottage.)

In a twist of fate, many of these Ballykilcline survivors would end up in Baltimore County, where they would establish an Irish community with the unlikely name of Texas around a promising quarry and the burgeoning North Central Railway line.

The crystalline, blue-white dolomite marble quarried by some of these Irish workers would eventually be used in the construction of the Washington Monument in D.C., the porticoes of the U.S. Capitol, City Hall, and, poignantly, the spires atop St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. If you live in a 100-year-old rowhouse, your marble stoop may have been quarried by these Ballykilcline refugees—or their descendants.

Similarly, Texas marble helped the Irish arrivals build the quarry adjacent St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church between 1850 and 1852. Some of their headstones, indicating the year of their birth in Roscommon County, can be found in the cemetery behind the still-thriving church.

How exactly the village, which has all but disappeared, like several other former industrial and mill towns in Baltimore County—including Ashland, Oregon, Gunpowder, and Warren—got the name Texas remains a question. The best guess is it originates from volunteers who left the nascent village in 1846—the year before the Ballykilcline migrants arrived—to fight in the Mexican War. When they returned, they named the town Texas, initially New Texas, because it apparently reminded them of the Lone Star State.

By 1895, the Irish were well established, with the formerly evicted families able to buy small plots of land and houses made affordable by ground rents.

“Everyone’s heard of the ‘No Irish Need Apply’ signs,” says Cassie Kilroy Thompson, a local public historian of Roscommon descent. “In Texas, it went the other way: ‘Only Irish Need Apply.’”

In March of that year, The Sun ran a detailed description of St. Patrick’s Day festivities in Baltimore County, including close-knit Texas, entitled “Ireland Forever!” (Éirinn go Brách in Irish). The 1940 Census listed Texas with a population of 494, including 111 dwellings, three farms, eights businesses, one school, two churches, one public building, two industrial plants, one cemetery, and one amusement park.

But by then, mechanization was reducing the need for quarry workers, and the land around the quarries became more valuable for commercial development. In 1951, the Texas post office closed, with mail going through increasingly sprawling Cockeysville, which eventually subsumed Texas entirely. Outside of the church, cemetery, and quarry—operated now by Martin Marietta—few markers remain. A notable exception is Padonia Road, named for Richard Padian, one of the Ballykilcline rent strike leaders and among the first to make his way to Baltimore County with his wife, Mary, and their four children.

The secular heart of Texas—McDermott’s “Don’t Worry About It” Tavern, down the street from St. Joseph’s on Church Lane—held on until 1991. That’s when former quarryman, professional boxer, and longtime owner of the legendary tavern, James McDermott, finally  sold his bar to make way for the Light Rail. Known as the “Unofficial Mayor of Texas,” he once said the reason he didn’t sell the place and retire earlier was that, as a lifelong bachelor who lived above the bar, he never had to worry about being lonely.

“All I have to do is walk down the steps,” he said in an interview, “and I’m with all my friends.”

Interestingly, St. Joseph’s, like many Catholic churches, again has a large immigrant congregation—with numerous Mexican and Central American families among its 7,000 members.

Even so, those congregations (including those founded by Irish refugees) occasionally need a reminder of the Christian principle of “welcoming the stranger.”

“We try to make the connection this has always been an immigrant church,” says Msgr. Richard Hilgartner. “The marble for the new sanctuary arch is coming from the old quarry.”

ue and Thom Rinker, age 74 and 75 respectively, were feeling very isolated in their condo in Baltimore County. “We were ready for a change,” says Sue.
“My mother had lived at a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) for 20 years and some of our friends had moved to that type of community. We really liked what a CCRC offered.”

According to seniorliving.org, a CCRC (also known as a Life Plan Community) delivers independent living and an amenity-rich lifestyle with access to onsite, higher-level care should a resident’s medical needs progress. The levels of care usually include independent, assisted, memory care, and skilled nursing as well as rehabilitation therapy on the campus. This continuum of care ensures residents that they have the comfort of remaining in the place they call home and the peace of mind that comes from knowing their future care is figured out.

“We wanted a CCRC so our two children who live in the area wouldn’t be burdened with our future healthcare,” Sue continues. “But for now, we are healthy and wanted lots of great amenities.” The Rinkers, who live at Blakehurst in Towson, say that it’s like living at a five-star resort.

Robin Somers, CEO of Broadmead, a Life Plan Community in Cockeysville, says, “Today we are seeing many of our residents coming in younger. Rather than in their 80s, they come in their 70s.”

Elizabeth O’Conner, director of marketing and sales at Blakehurst, adds that not only are residents younger, “they are very active.”

Without the drudgery of home maintenance, doing daily chores like cleaning and meal planning, and even trying to get the COVID-19 vaccine booster, there’s time for residents to be physically active and explore myriad intellectual and cultural opportunities. But for those who prefer to spend time alone or with a few friends, there’s that too.

A fitness center ranks high on must-have lists for incoming residents. In many CCRCs, residents will find state-of-the-art equipment, classes including yoga, tai chi, and aerobics, and a heated pool. Sometimes there’s even a juice bar and a spa for manicures, pedicures, and massages. Parker Williamson, 81, is an avid sailor who lives at BayWoods of Annapolis, a waterfront community. He says, “I exercise every other day, but don’t like group classes, so the personal trainer worked up a routine just for me.”

“Today’s residents want individualization,” remarks Somers.

Sharon Krulak, 79, is a new resident at Blakehurst. She’s also an artist who works in mixed-media. When the Krulaks were looking at Blakehurst, she told O’Connor, “I need a room to do my art. And they made it happen.”

At Broadmead, two residents who were trained and experienced beekeepers had a conversation with the Broadmead executive director, and the Broadmead Apiary was established in 2013. Today, there is a group of six residents who are involved. Throughout the year they inspect the beehives, feed the bees sugar syrup, and harvest the honey into jars for sale.

Usually, CCRCs have councils, committees, and their own governing body where residents can make things happen. “At Blakehurst we have 43 residential-run committees,” says Sue Rinker. “Thom is on the residents’ board and I’m on the refurbishing and jigsaw committees.”

CCRCs have concerts, guest speakers, and some arrange continuing education through Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (university-based education specifically for people 50 and older) or nearby universities. At Broadmead, they recognize artists within their community and in the greater Baltimore vicinity by having exhibits, programs, and educational outreach. This April, the Broadmead Art Council will host an exhibit of the works of Herman Maril, a Baltimore native known for painting seascapes, interiors, and landscapes. These exhibits and lectures will be open to the greater community.

Other amenities usually include endless clubs, beautiful walking trails, gardens where residents can plant vegetables and flowers, a movie theater, a library, woodworking, a beauty salon and barber shop, card and poker rooms, billiards, bocce, and a resident computer and business center. Some communities have a croquet court, a putting green, and pickleball. As most CCRCs welcome your four-legged family members, there are even dog parks. And in keeping with making life effortless, some places will deliver your incoming packages right to your door. The list of concierge services goes on, including scheduled transportation to grocery stores, shops and more. At Edenwald, a CCRC in Towson, a bus transports residents to cultural events and attractions like the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the Meyerhoff, a string quartet at Shriver Hall, and plays.

Cuisine plays an important part in daily life. The number of dining venues depends on the CCRC and so do the plans they offer. Many have a grill, café, bar, and outdoor dining. CCRCs pride themselves on having an excellent chef, offering plenty of choices on the menu, high quality ingredients, and dining experiences resembling a great restaurant.

In this area, all CCRCs are close to vibrant cities—Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. As Parker Williamson, resident at BayWoods, says with a laugh, “What’s great is we can visit Baltimore and D.C. and take advantage of all they have to offer, but we don’t have to live there.”

The Guide to Regional Continuing Care Facilities & Senior Resources

ASBURY METHODIST VILLAGE
201 Russell Ave.
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
(301) 216-4001
asbury.org/asbury-methodist-village

ASBURY-SOLOMONS ISLAND
11100 Asbury Circle
Solomons, MD 20688
(410) 394-3000
asbury.org/asbury-solomons

BAYLEIGH CHASE
501 Dutchmans Lane
Easton, MD 21601
(410) 657-4900
actsretirement.org/communities/maryland/bayleigh-chase-easton

BAYWOODS OF ANNAPOLIS
7101 Bay Front Drive
Annapolis, MD 21403
(410) 268-9222
baywoodsofannapolis.com

BEDFORD COURT
3701 International Drive
Silver Spring, MD 20906
(301) 598-2900
sunriseseniorliving.com/communities/bedford

BLAKEHURST
1055 W. Joppa Road
Towson, MD 21204
(410) 296-2900
blakehurstlcs.com

BRIGHTVIEW SENIOR LIVING
Multiple locations
(888) 566-8854
brightviewseniorliving.com

BROADMEAD
13801 York Road
Cockeysville, MD 21030
(410) 527-1900
www.broadmead.org

BROOKE GROVE
18100 Slade School Road
Sandy Spring, MD 20860
(301) 924-2811
www.bgf.org

BUCKINGHAM’S CHOICE
3200 Baker Circle
Adamstown, MD 21710
(301) 804-2159
actsretirement.org/communities/maryland/buckinghams-choice-adamstown

CARROLL LUTHERAN VILLAGE
300 St. Luke Circle
Westminster, MD 21158
(410) 848-0090
clvillage.org

CHARLESTOWN RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
715 Maiden Choice Lane
Catonsville, MD 21228
(410) 405-7683
ericksonseniorliving.com/charlestown

COLLINGTON EPISCOPAL LIFE CARE COMMUNITY
10450 Lottsford Road
Mitchellville, MD 20721
(301) 925-9610
collington.kendal.org

EDENWALD
800 Southerly Road
Towson, MD 21286
(410) 339-6000
edenwald.org

ELIZABETH COONEY CARE NETWORK
1107 Kenilworth Drive, Ste. 200
Towson, MD 21204
(410) 323-1700
Elizabethcooneyagency.com

FAHRNEY-KEEDY
8507 Mapleville Road
Boonsboro, MD 21713-1818
(301) 733-6284
fkhv.org

FAIRHAVEN
7200 Third Ave.
Sykesville, MD 21784
(410) 892-1946
actsretirement.org/communities/maryland/fairhaven-sykesville

FRIENDS HOUSE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
17340 Quaker Lane
Sandy Spring, MD 20860
(301) 924-5100
friendshouse.com

GINGER COVE ANNAPOLIS LIFE CARE
4000 River Crescent Drive
Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 266-7300
gingercove.com

GLEN MEADOWS RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
11630 Glen Arm Road
Glen Arm, MD 21057
(410) 592-5310
presbyterianseniorliving.org/glen-meadows-retirement-community

GOODWILL RETIREMENT VILLAGE
891 Dorsey Hotel Road
Grantsville, MD 21536
(301) 895-5194
goodwillhome.org

HARMONY AT WALDORF
11239 Berry Road
Waldorf, MD 20603
(240) 270-2759
harmonyseniorservices.com/senior-living/md/waldorf/berry-road

HERON POINT OF CHESTERTOWN
501 Campus Ave.
Chestertown, MD 21620
(443) 214-3605
actsretirement.org/communities/maryland/heron-point-of-chestertown

HOMEWOOD AT FREDERICK
7407 Willow Road
Frederick, MD 21702
(301) 644-5600
homewoodfrederick.com

HOMEWOOD AT WILLIAMSPORT
16505 Virginia Ave.
Williamsport, MD 21795
(301) 582-1472
homewoodwilliamsport.com

INGLESIDE AT KING FARM
701 King Farm Blvd.
Rockville, Maryland 20850
(240) 557-8791
inglesideonline.org/ingleside-king-farm

LEISURE CARE: THE LANDING OF SILVER SPRINGS
13908 New Hampshire Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20904
(301) 388-7700
leisurecare.com/our-communities/landing-of-silver-spring

LUTHERAN VILLAGE AT MILLER’S GRANT
9000 Fathers Legacy
Ellicott City, MD 21042
(410) 465-2005
millersgrant.org

MAPLEWOOD PARK PLACE
9707 Old Georgetown Road
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 571-7444
maplewoodparkplace.com

MARYLAND MASONIC HOMES
300 International Circle
Cockeysville, MD 21030
(410) 527-1111
mdmasonichomes.com

MERCY RIDGE
2525 Pot Spring Road
Timonium, MD 21093
(410) 561-0200
mercyridge.com

NORTH OAKS
725 Mount Wilson Lane
Pikesville, MD 21208
(410) 484-7300
northoaksseniorliving.com

RIDERWOOD VILLAGE
3140 Gracefield Road
Silver Spring, MD 20904
(301) 701-4076
ericksonseniorliving.com/riderwood

ROLAND PARK PLACE
830 W. 40th St.
Baltimore, MD 21211
(410) 243-5700
rolandparkplace.org

THE RESIDENCES AT VANTAGE POINT
5400 Vantage Point Road
Columbia, MD 21044
(410) 964-5454
vantagepointresidences.org

OAK CREST VILLAGE
8800 Walther Blvd.
Parkville, MD 21234
(410) 405-7419
ericksonseniorliving.com/oak-crest

ORTHOPAEDIC ASSOCIATES OF CENTRAL MARYLAND
Six locations in the area
(410) 644-1880
mdbonedocs.com

RECORD STREET HOME–HOME OF THE AGED
115 Record St.
Frederick, MD 21701
(301) 663-6822
recordstreethome.org

THE VILLAGE AT AUGSBURG
6811 Campfield Road
Baltimore, MD 21207
(410) 834-4143
thevillageataugsburg.org

THE VILLAGE AT ROCKVILLE
9701 Veirs Drive
Rockville, MD 20850
(301) 424-9560
thevillageatrockville.org

WECARE
1852 Reisterstown Road
Pikesville, MD 21208
(410) 602-3993
wecarepds.com

WILLOW VALLEY
600 Willow Valley Sq.
Lancaster, PA 17602
(717) 464-6800
willowvalleycommunities.org

As was the case in the Regency Gallery antiques store on Howard Street’s antique row that Mark Klatsky ran for years, his new venture, called Classic Imports & Design, has loads of the pieces reflecting the European aesthetic of 200 years ago. In the new business’ Cockeysville warehouse, there are the massive dining tables with ornately carved legs, Grecian statues, and richly upholstered sofas, all lit by all sparkling crystal chandeliers.

But there’s something else going on, too. A vignette of furniture, for instance, features a glass coffee table standing on slim tapered silver legs with a matching deco-style chest of drawers. The stark, clean lines and gleaming surfaces of the pieces might seem a bit out of place in this warehouse of gilt, inlaid mahogany, and marble. But on closer examination, it’s clear this grouping isn’t the only contemporary furniture in the 5,000-square-foot showroom. Note, for example, a pair of black tufted Mies van der Rohe-style Barcelona chairs. It’s all part of Klatsky’s measured steps as he moves from sumptuous to streamlined.

Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s lost his love for fine things that drip with 18th-century European style. “The store was always busy,” he recalls of Regency, which transitioned to the new business two years ago. “I couldn’t leave it for even five minutes.”

But now he doesn’t always have to be there: His current business depends largely on online sales. “I’ve been on cruises with my family, and have sold things from the boat.”

And he uses his residence as a sort of online photo backdrop for his pieces: The spacious Harbor East condo showcases the furniture in his inventory, like the shimmering ecru silk upholstery stretched taut on the mahogany-framed sofas and the tigerwood-veneer coffee table, lustrous under its thick polyurethane finish. The living room rug, a woven silk blend with muted gray and beige streaks resembling an impending storm, tells a story: “Years ago, all my clients wanted Persian carpets. Now people want something cleaner, easier on the eye,” Klatsky says.

Much of the contemporary furniture for sale in Klatsky’s condominium comes from companies such as Caracole, John-Richard, and Maitland-Smith—pricey, but not out of reach. Some pieces have burnished silver finishes, while others also salute an earlier age: a gold-painted Greek key design in an otherwise dark wood chair frame, or the fragile bowl of a torchiere lamp resting atop three gold pillars on a marble base.

“The older generation is downsizing, and the younger generation isn’t interested in antiques,” he points out. It’s a familiar saw: Your kids don’t want your brown furniture. “They’ll buy big houses, but they get their furniture at regular stores,” he laments, not mentioning the Swedish I-word or online sites like Wayfair that do a brisk business in Marie Kondo-inspired aspirations of austerity.

Klatsky thinks he’s found the sweet spot. “I try to mix in antiques with more contemporary things,” he says. In the trade, “transitional” refers to décor that blends the old and the new. It’s a straight-backed sofa that you can actually comfortably sit on, draperies that waft in the breeze rather than pooling heavily on the f loor, maybe a gilt-framed oil painting sharing a wall with modernist floating shelves. “It used to be people wanted one or the other, all antique or all modern,” he says. But he now encourages people to try a little of both.

A few bites into my first meal at Smoke, the latest restaurant to stick its snout into Baltimore’s barbecue renaissance, I was struck by a somewhat radical thought: Josh White’s new Cockeysville barbecue joint might be the area’s most innovative.

My epiphany was sparked by what I was savoring at the time: a bacon-wrapped stuffed date, one of Smoke’s signature items. Slabs of thick, house-cured bacon engulf the fruit and blue cheese, then are drizzled with honey and slid onto wooden skewers, from which I removed them as quickly as possible to pop into my mouth. They are among the best things I’ve eaten in recent memory. After the initial bite, each one seemed to almost caramelize, releasing a subtly sweet flavor that makes them ideal as a snack (the category in which they’re listed on the menu, $8 for two skewers of four) or even dessert.

Turns out I wasn’t overreacting—the rest of our meal was equally original and tasty. Tossed in house-made hot sauce, the plump chicken wings ($9 for eight) are hickory-smoked then charred. With its combination of aged sharp cheddar, mild cheddar, and smoked gouda, the mac and cheese lives perilously close to—but does not cross—the line of too rich. That’s exactly where the dish should reside.

Smoke offers seven sandwiches, including smoked-then-fried bologna ($8) and a fried green BLT ($9) you’d be hard-pressed to find on other menus. We tried the Boss Dawg ($14), a heaping helping of pulled pork, bacon, crispy onions, pickles (made in-house), cheddar cheese, jalapeño-bacon glaze, and coleslaw somehow stuffed between a grilled bun. White doesn’t serve most of his ’cue slopped with sauce, so we ate half of the sandwich dry, then slathered on some of his house-made jalapeño-pineapple barbecue sauce. Both versions were crunchy, smoky, meaty, and messy—in other words, delicious.

Platters come with a small helping of slaw, plus either mac and cheese or smoked beans. The Lazy Yardbird ($14) is a massive half chicken brined with sweet tea then covered with a magnificent rub. The skin pops with crunch while the meat explodes with juiciness. Dryness can be an issue when smoking chicken, but not at Smoke. Smoke is a small but sleek fast-casual restaurant. So grab your sweetie, your bestie, your buddy, your honey, or go it alone and head to Smoke.

THE PLANNING STAGE: I decided to build the treehouse in the spring of 2009, my oldest would have been 10 and my [twins] would have been five. [My wife and I] had three straggly trees in our front yard and thought we’d get rid of them. I found a book on building treehouses and it suggested building one in a stand of trees, so I thought I’d give it a shot.

DIY: It took about three to five weekends during the summer. Some of the engineering things I picked up from books, like using bolts instead of nails, or not having it attached on all four sides. Other things I just worked out. I figured as long as the wind can blow through it, it doesn’t have to be engineered in a way that needs to be weather-tight. It has held up in heavy snowfalls.

RURAL SOCIETY: I think it was mimicked on more of rural architecture—it’s got the basic shed roof and the materials are very simple and sort of eclectic, using repurposed things.

THE FINDS: A lot of the materials were leftovers from other projects. Like the slats that are on the exterior were used in an exhibit at our Spur Gallery where we hung the art. The baby’s head is a mold that was used to make doll heads. I think I purchased that at an antique shop on the Eastern Shore. The window boxes are an Ikea find, and things like the tin ceiling were found at Second Chance.

CABIN IN THE WOODS: For a couple of years now, my son has asked for a cabin that he can sleep in. I will probably build a kid’s cabin some place in the backyard with a similar aesthetic, using only salvaged materials, and have the kids help me paint it.