02-15-2024 Howard - Flipbook - Page 18
COMMUNITIES & HOUSING
The Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge, now a pedestrian bridge, crosses the Little Patuxent River adjacent to the Savage Mill shops. PHOTO BY JERRY JACKSON
SAVAGE
AT A GLANCE
Typical home value:
$542,753
Population: 7,841
Founded: 1816
Source: datausa.io, Zillow
18
| Winter 2024 | howardmagazine.com
Savage has always been a
company town — and in this
case, the “Company” is historic
Savage Mill, once a busy textile
manufacturing plant and now
a thriving complex of shops,
galleries and restaurants.
When the three-story rockand-mortar cotton mill was
completed in 1816, it needed
workers to tend the massive
wheel powered by the conjoined
forces of the Little and Middle
Patuxent Rivers — and those
workers needed a place to
live. The Savage Mill primarily manufactured canvas, used
for everything from the sails
billowing from 19th-century
clipper ships to cannon covers to
backdrops for Hollywood silent
movies.
The mill has operated as a
mix of antique stores, shops and
restaurants since 1985.
Today, the mill’s adventurous
customers can ride a zip line
over the treetops and above the
historic Bollman Truss Railroad
Bridge, an all-metal suspension
truss bridge that’s beloved by
railroad buffs. Those who prefer
to keep their feet firmly on
the ground can hike along the
serene Wincopin Trails. A newly
cleared area over a bluff that
overlooks the juncture of two
rivers is especially breathtaking.