Courtney Speed, a longtime Turners Station resident and activist, remembers the first time she visited the historic waterfront community that became her home almost 45 years ago.
"I was struck with awe," Speed said of the mostly African-American neighborhood next to Dundalk and across Bear Creek from Bethlehem Steel Corp. "The ambiance of the community was really superb."
Although Speed did not see it during its heyday in the 1940s and 1950s, she later became impassioned with the neighborhood's rich history.
So much so that she launched the Turner Station Heritage Foundation to help preserve its past and motivate residents.
And now, with efforts by Baltimore County to revitalize older neighborhoods and enhance the waterfront, Speed said there is a renewed energy in a community that has struggled for decades after the loss of jobs from local industry.
"Things are ecstatic here," Speed said.
The neighborhood is close-knit, something that comes from its bustling businesses, homeownership and strong family and religious ties.
It claims many notable former residents, including Kweisi Mfume, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Kevin Clash, the voice of Sesame Street's Elmo; Calvin Hill, a former Dallas Cowboys football star and father of basketball player Grant Hill; and astronaut Robert L. Curbeam Jr.
Residents breathed easier after community activists in Turners Station and nearby Dundalk steered plans by a Florida company to build a maximum-security federal prison away from their doorsteps.
The main obstacle to revitalizing the neighborhood, community leaders agree, is the lack of young homeowners.
"It's like many of the other inner suburban neighborhoods. It has not been able to hold young people," said community leader Dunbar Brooks, who moved to the neighborhood 27 years ago. "We have to start to think about what would draw them back."
The neighborhood is a historically overlooked resource, said Brooks, who is on the board of the Turner Station Development Corp.
"We are one of only a few African-American communities in this state that is sitting by the water," he said. "That's a unique opportunity for us. We can sit and wait for something to happen to us, or we can be a part of something good happening."
"The neighborhood has some very specific problems," said Jane Willeboordse, executive director of the Dundalk Renaissance Corp. "The community conservation plan is really the first step in tackling what they are going to do to turn around the decline of their neighborhood.
"It's a very strong community as far as faith and community support. You absolutely fall in love with it when you meet the people there," she said.
Jerome Watson, a member of the Turner Station Heritage Foundation who wrote two books on the history of the community, said the area south of Dundalk at the entrance between Main Street and Dundalk Avenue was originally called the "Meadow."
A small group of families settled there in the late 1800s. In 1888, the Baltimore and Sparrows Point Railroad Co. purchased property owned by a local businessman, Joshua J. Turner. The freight and passenger station built on that site was called Turners Station.
World War I and II created a demand for steel. As many African-Americans migrated to the area for well-paying manufacturing jobs, Turners Station grew into a well-established neighborhood.
"The community development mirrored the growth of Bethlehem Steel," said Watson, who grew up in Turners Station.
Neighborhood ties
Four schools and at least eight churches served the community. Watson said he is most struck by the longevity of the pastors and educators there.
"The ministers were there for very lengthy periods of time," Watson said. "Turner Elementary School had only two principals during its 40-year history. The community was very safe, stable and self-sufficient."
But as the steel mill declined, so did the community. Between 1950 and 1970, the population of Turners Station was reduced by almost half. The current population is 3,300.
A recent survey found that 63 percent of the residents view their quality of life in the community as either fair or poor.
Community leaders are hoping to put that part of its history behind them.
Mary Harvey, director of the Baltimore County Office of Community Conservation, said, "Folks there are preparing themselves for change. We have a lot of work to do, but we are on the road to seeing something happen there. People want to come back."
The neighborhood already has two waterfront recreation areas. Fleming Community Center and Park sits on 20 acres and includes a pavilion, picnic area, ball fields, basketball courts and a playground. Turner Station Park, about 5 acres, is also on the water and has a popular boat ramp, a picnic area and pavilion.
Plans for the future
A two-mile walking trail from Fleming Park is in the planning stages.
Two newly renovated buildings in the Day Village housing complex opened last month for low-income seniors.
Financing for the 20 one-bedroom, handicapped-accessible units came through a partnership between the county and the property's owner and manager, New York-based Day Village Limited Partnership.
"This was a way to reach out to the elderly population there, to provide them with affordable, safe housing," said Allison Lloyds, managing director of Day Village, whose grandfather, Milton Ehrlich, built the complex in the 1940s.
More redevelopment of the complex is expected, said Lloyds, including beautification of the street that leads to Day Village.
"Some very exciting stuff is going to be happening there. We have a thousand ideas, but we have not committed them to paper yet," Lloyds said. "We are very enthusiastic. There's a lot of opportunity for Turners Station."
