Baltimore Manual Labor School

A portion of the property on which UMBC is built previously was owned by the Baltimore Manual Labor School. Also known as the Farm School, it operated from 1839 to 1922 with the purpose of instructing and supporting poor or orphaned boys from Baltimore City. Support for the school came from wealthy Baltimoreans including Johns Hopkins and Gustav W. Lurman, Jr. Shown in the photograph is a Stabler family member in a carriage on the farm road from Maiden Choice Lane, now called Shelbourne Road.
 
In addition to moral and religious teachings, the Baltimore Manual Labor School resident boys were taught how to read and were instructed in agriculture or other useful occupations in preparation to earn a living. Under staff supervision they tended the orchards and vegetables grown on the farm.