Owen Brown History

Owen Brown is one of ten villages in the planned community of Columbia, MD. Organized in 1972, the village welcomed its first residents in July of 1973 and became the 5th village developed in Columbia. Since then, the village has grown to over 3,300 residences with a population over 10,000, making it the third largest village in Columbia.

The village name was derived from the land grant name of a former landowner, postmaster and store owner in the area. Mr. Owen Brown operated a store on what is now the intersection of Route 108 and Manor Lane. The name was initially just a working title for the development but the name stuck, according to a book by Missy Burke, Robin Emirch and Barbara Kellner, titled "Oh You Must Live Columbia! The origins of place names in Columbia, Maryland."

The street names in Owen Brown, like all of Columbia, are derived from the works of various authors and poets. Below are the names of the authors used for each neighborhood.

Owen Brown Neighborhoods and Street Names

Dasher Green

This Neighborhood is named for the Dasher Family. George and Irvin Dasher owned close to 700 acres along Oakland Mills Road. In 1963 the Dashers sold 670 acres to the Rouse Company but retained enough land to continue their beef and grain operation. The farm continued until the late 1970's. Dasher Green street names are take from the works of John Greenleaf Whittier.

Elkhorn

Dasher Green

This neighborhood name comes from the Elkhorn Branch of Little Patuxent River. The river was dammed in 1973 to create Lake Elkhorn, Columbia's third and largest lake. Elkhorn street names are taken from works by Paul Dunbar.

Hopewell

Dasher Green

Hopewell

Laswell's Hopewell was an original land grant patented to Thomas Davis, Sr. in 1728 for 200 acres. The street names come from the works of Vachel Lindsay.