The extension of light rail service through Linthicum to the airport also has been a mixed blessing, bringing convenience but also crime.
"We are cognizant of the fact that the town [is] now surrounded by the Beltway and the airport and the Baltimore-Washington business corridor," Nowell said.
Nowell began to rally residents to protect their way of life after reading a 1980s newspaper article suggesting Linthicum might become like Crystal City, Va., the steel-and-glass collection of offices and malls that developed near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. She spent much of the next decade leading the effort to have Linthicum designated a historic place, tracing its history and writing a nominating essay.
The community has grown in its 100 years, numbering about 7,500 residents as of the 2000 census. But many in Linthicum say their home has retained its character.
"Well, it's always had a small-town feel," Booth said, adding, "Being nestled between the airport and the Beltway, it serves as a little island of sanity."
Many residents, including Booth and Nowell's husband, Lawrence Nowell, are part of families that have been in Linthicum for generations.
The Linthicums also maintain a community presence.
Verena Linthicum lives a few houses away from the ancestral family property on Turkey Hill, where her son Robert Linthicum lives today.
"There is such a continuity of family, there are many of the children and grandchildren that have come back to raise their own families," she said.
The designation as a National Historic Place may provide some federal protection against development, but residents say the main value is in its reaffirmation of their sense of place.
"It goes to reinforce and amplify the pride that we have in our community," Booth said.
david.zenlea@baltsun.com
