Johnnycake Town, also called Journeycake Town, is a settlement settled in the 18th century. Currently unnamed, it is located in what is now Catonsville, Maryland.[1][2][3]
The village was settled by Europeans and was named after its tavern, popular for baking and selling johnnycakes to travelers every morning.[4][2] It was known for being a stopping place for travelers, where they would rest their horses.[5] In Real stories from Baltimore County history, Isobel Davidson states:
About e'ghty years ago, Mr. James Lee kept a tavern on the road now called Johnny Cake Road. It was about one-half mile from the place where the Belmont School now stands. In those days all the region from Baltimore to Frederick was called by this funny name. This tavern was the favorite stopping place of travelers between the above named points. Here they would stop and rest their horses. This picture shows the old well where the travelers watered their horses. It is said that one of the ladies of long ago who served the teamsters and other travelers gave them delicious Johnny cake so often for breakfast that the fame of the inn spread throughout the countryside and they decided to name it Johnny Cake.
— Isobel Davidson, Real stories from Baltimore County history (1917)
Although Johnnycake Town is currently unnamed and does not appear on maps, its main road, Johnnycake Road, still exists.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Catonsville at the Turn of the 20th Century - Baltimore County Public Library". collections.digitalmaryland.org. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ a b "History of Catonsville, Maryland". U-s-history.com. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ "Catonsville". Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ^ Kenny, Hamill (1989). The Place Names of Maryland: Their Origin and Meaning. Maryland Historical Society, 1989. p. 130. ISBN 9780938420293.
- ^ Davidson, Isobel (1917). Real stories from Baltimore County history. Baltimore, Warwick & York., inc. pp. 33, 163, 166. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
- ^ Bond, Allen Kerr (1926). Guide to Baltimore and Environs. Norman, Remington Company, 1926. p. 167.
39°18′07″N 76°44′42″W / 39.302°N 76.745°W