Fun Facts

We think you will be surprised, impressed and even amazed by some of the people who have passed through Towson, events which have occurred in our town and facts or points of interest in and around our community.
 
Did you know…

That the world’s foremost toolmaker, Black & Decker, corporate headquarters is in Towson.

That a recent national survey listed the Towson Public Library as the busiest suburban library in the United States.
 
That York Road which is the main artery running through the heart of our community was originally a horse and wagon toll road stretching from York, Pennsylvania to the Baltimore Harbor and that Towson was named after Ezkiel Towson who owned a tavern at what is now the Towson Circle retail complex.
 
That one of this country’s most respected and acclaimed sports announcer, Jim McKay, went to high school at Loyola Blakefield in Towson.
 
That John F. Kennedy held a political rally at Towson Plaza (now Towson Town Center) in the fall of 1960, just prior to being elected President of the United States.
 
That Spiro T. Agnew, Vice President of the United States during the Nixon administration and former Governor of the State of Maryland, lived in Towson while serving as County Executive of Baltimore County.
 
That film maker, John Waters, a graduate of Calvert Hall College High School used Towson High School as the backdrop for the filming of his 1994 movie “Serial Mom”, starring Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterson and Ricki Lake.
 
That the movie"Runaway Bride" starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts was filmed in Towson.
 
That the 2000 Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps, youngest athlete ever to win a gold medal is a student at Towson High School.
 
That the actress, Dorothy Lamore, who starred in “The Road” films with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby was a long-time resident of Towson.
 
That Towson Plaza Shopping Center, which opened in 1959, was one of, if not the first multi-level shopping center built in the United States.
 
That Frank Cashen, former general manager of the New York Mets and assistant to Commissioner Bowie Kuehn lived in Towson and attended Loyola High School.
 
That George Young, former general manager of the football New York Giants, a senior vice president of operations for the NFL lived in Towson and attended Calvert Hall College High School.
 
That Hall of Fame members of the Baltimore Colts, Johnny Unitas, Don Shula, Art Donovan, Gino Marchetti and Raymond Berry lived in Towson.
 
That baseball greats and Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer and Earl Weaver lived in Towson.
 
That the award winning writer, Tom Clancy, author of “The Hunt for Red October”, “Clear and Present Danger” and many others, graduated from Loyola High School in Towson.
 
That the current President and CEO of IBM, Sam Palmisano, graduated from Calvert Hall College High School in Towson.
 
That former NBA player and coach Gene Shue, graduated from Towson Catholic High School.
 
That author F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in Towson with his wife Zelda who was a patient at the Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital.
 
That Francis X. Bushman, one of the leading actors of the silent film era who starred along with Charlie Chaplin lived in Towson.
 
That Calvert Hall College High School, located in Towson and founded in 1845 is the oldest Christian Brothers school in the United States.
 
That Towson University which was Towson State University which was Towson State Teachers College which was Towson Normal School is now the second largest university in the State of Maryland (with an enrollment of 18,000), second only the University of Maryland, College Park.
 
That Loch Raven Reservoir, located at the northern end of Towson contains 39 miles of shoreline, and 2,400 acres of fishing, boating and picnic grounds and is the main source of water for Baltimore City.
 
That the Hampton Mansion located in Towson is on the National Historic Register and has been restored and maintained by the National Park Service as a museum depicting a slave supported southern plantation.
 
That the annual Towson Town Spring Festival is one of the largest in the United States boasting a weekend attendance in excess of 200,000.
 
That the annual Towson 4th of July Parade which has been held for as long as anyone can remember attracts marching bands from all over the East Coast and Canada.
 
That the world famous Johns Hopkins University, Peabody Institute has operated The Peabody Conservatory of Music in Towson since 1959.
 
That the 287 acre campus of Goucher College and the 242 acre campus of Towson University are both located in Towson less than a mile apart.
 
That there is over 4.7 million square feet of office space and 2.5 million square feet of retail shops and restaurants in Towson.
 
That Towson is the largest unincorporated county seat in the continental United States.
 
That Hall of Fame golfer and past president of the LGPA, Carol Mann Lived in Towson.
 
That Hall of Fame golfer, Nancy Lopez, won her first LGPA Tournament, The Greater Baltimore Classic in 1978 at Pine Ridge Golf Course in Towson.
 
That current LGPA golfer, Lisolette Neuman, won her first tournament in 1978, The US Open at Five Farms Golf Club, Just outside Towson.
 
That the Carmelite Monestary in Towson, home to a Catholic order of nuns, is the oldest Carmelite community in the United States.