Harper's Choice, Columbia, Maryland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harper's Choice
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Village
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Hobbit's Glen, a community within Harper's Choice.
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| Country | United States |
| State | Maryland |
| City | Columbia |
| Established | 1967 |
| Named for | Robert Goodloe Harper |
Harper's Choice is one of the ten villages that make up Columbia, Maryland, in the United States. It's located in the northwest part of Columbia. This village includes three main neighborhoods: Longfellow, Swansfield, and Hobbit's Glen. Back in December 1998, about 8,695 people lived here.
Where Did the Name Come From?
Harper's Choice is named after Robert Goodloe Harper. He was a representative from South Carolina who later moved to Baltimore to work as a lawyer. Harper also served in the War of 1812, the Maryland State Senate, and the United States Senate.
The Longfellow community got its name from the American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The street names there are inspired by his poems. Hobbit's Glen was named after the books by English author J. R. R. Tolkien, and its street names also come from his famous stories. Swansfield's name was inspired by an etching called The Swan by James McNeill Whistler. The street names in Swansfield are taken from the works of Winslow Homer, a famous American painter.
A Look at History
Most of Harper's Choice was built on land that was once a large farm. The Harper family owned a farm called "Jericho" on part of this land. They sold their farm to the Rouse Company between 1962 and 1964, even before the big Columbia project was announced. Other families, like the Basslers, also sold parts of their farms to the Rouse Company.
Howard Research and Development, which was part of the Rouse Company, sold land to larger homebuilders. For example, Levitt & Sons, famous for building Levittown, New York, bought land to build many homes. However, they stopped building some homes in 1970 because of construction issues. In August 1971, the Harper's Choice Village Center opened. It had shops with homes built above them.
By the 1990s, the shops in the village center faced challenges. In 2007, a study looked at the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area of the Patuxent River. It found that the river's health was not good in some parts due to water runoff from development in the Hobbit's Glen area. A group called the Middle Patuxent Environmental Foundation was created in 2015 to study this problem and help protect the river.
Community Services
The Harper's Choice Village Center is a busy place. It has a grocery store, banks, restaurants, and other shops. The community center, Kahler Hall, was named in 1971 after the William C. Kahler family. They sold part of their farm to help create the village.
The Florence Bain Senior Center is located in the Swansfield neighborhood. It opened in 1983 and was updated in 2005. This center is named after Florence Bain, who was very active in the community. She helped start a local chapter of AARP and was the first leader of Howard County's Commission on Aging. Next to the Senior Center is Winter Growth/Ruth Keeton House, which helps older adults with daily living. It is named after Ruth U. Keeton, a former council member.
Sports and Fun
Harper's Choice has great places for sports and activities. The Athletic Club, one of Columbia's three main sports facilities, is in Swansfield. There's also an 18-hole golf course in Hobbit's Glen, which also has tennis courts and a swimming pool. This golf course was originally going to be named "Jericho," but the Harper family asked the Rouse Company not to use their family farm's name.
The Columbia SportsPark is located in the Harper's Choice village center. It has an 18-hole miniature golf course, batting cages where you can practice hitting baseballs, and a skate park for skateboarding.
There's also a big network of walking and biking trails that connect all the neighborhoods in Harper's Choice.
