Nancy Smith

A civil trial that could determine the future of 300 undeveloped acres in the heart of Columbia has been postponed until December.The trial was scheduled for July 27, but a Howard County Circuit Court judge recused himself last month. Another judge took over the case and rescheduled it.A foundation created by a friend of Elizabeth C. "Nancy" Smith, who owned Blandair farm, is suing to prevent the county from building a park on the site. The chairman of that foundation says that Smith promised to give her farm to the foundation, which would preserve the land.

If Elizabeth C. "Nancy" Smith -- longtime owner of the 300-acre Smith farm, the "crown jewel" of Columbia -- had lived to see the intruders filing yesterday past the orange "KEEP OUT" signs posted prominently around her Howard County property, she would have had strict orders for her caretaker."

If Elizabeth C. "Nancy" Smith -- longtime owner of the 300-acre Smith farm, the "crown jewel" of Columbia -- had lived to see the intruders filing yesterday past the orange "KEEP OUT" signs posted prominently around her Howard County property, she would have had strict orders for her caretaker."

Though the chances of winning may be slim, a private foundation has filed a lawsuit to halt the sale of the 300-acre Smith farm, the last swath of rural land in Columbia.The suit, filed Monday in Howard Circuit Court, states that Elizabeth C. "Nancy" Smith, an eccentric who died in 1997, wanted to "preserve her land" forever and had no intention to sell the property to private developers or Howard County.County officials, who have been negotiating with Smith's heirs to buy the farm, have expressed interest in creating an athletic complex there.

COLUMBIA -- To the governor's advance team, it seemed the perfect spot for a photo op. For a February press conference where he would announce plans to help preserve the most important piece of undeveloped land in this burgeoning suburb, Gov. Parris N. Glendening would take his stand on a small corner of the land itself. With stubby cornstalks and a rolling hill behind them, the governor's team installed a portable stage, podium and microphone. They set up a 4-foot-high map, the better for Glendening to illustrate how the $4 million in state funds he was pledging would help save these nearly 300 pristine acres from subdivision builders.

Howard County Executive Charles I. Ecker said yesterday the county is close to a deal to buy the 300-acre Smith farm, but it may cost more than the initial $8 million estimate."

Relatives of Elizabeth C. "Nancy" Smith are suing a Baltimore bank, alleging that someone forged almost $20,000 worth of checks drawn on her account.Baltimore attorney Frederick Steinmann filed the suit this week in Howard County Circuit Court on behalf of Smith's two heirs -- Jane P. Nes and Ruth B. McClees, both of Baltimore -- against First National Bank of Maryland.Smith died last February without a will, leaving the fate of her 300 acres in the middle of Columbia up in the air. The land is worth an estimated $8 million.

For all practical purposes, Howard County has $8 million in hand to buy the 300-acre Smith Farm in Columbia. The problem is that no one knows how much the land is worth, or even if it is for sale.Yesterday, Gov. Parris N. Glendening announced the commitment of $4 million in state money to purchase the farm along Route 175. The state's money will come from program open space funds. The money will be matched by $4 million that County Executive Charles I. Ecker has said the county will pay for buying the land and turning it into a park.

NANCY SMITH was not the most cooperative person in the world. Stories abound about her aloofness, once refusing to let even Howard County Executive Chuck Ecker beyond her screen door to talk. A different spirit must be evoked if all the parties involved are to agree on the future of 300 acres of prime real estate Ms. Smith left behind when she died without a will in February.It is clear that Ms. Smith did not want the farmland developed for residences or businesses. She never forgave the state and county governments for taking part of the property to build Route 175. And she once told neighbors that the land would never be developed.

The Columbia Association's governing board has formed j jTC small task force aimed at turning the coveted Smith farm in east Columbia into a large regional park.Made up of Wanda Hurt of Owen Brown village, Cecilia Januszkiewicz of Long Reach village and Alex Hekimian of Oakland Mills village, the task force will try to figure out how to turn the undeveloped tract into a park.The farm of Elizabeth C. "Nancy" Smith -- almost 300 acres in the middle of Columbia along Route 175 -- is worth almost $8 million, according to a recent appraisal.