Towson Presbyterian Church

A BRIEF HISTORY OF BEE TREE

by Logan LaBerge

Few churches are as lucky as Towson Presbyterian Church is to own such a beautiful retreat for its congregation. Bee Tree is a 258 acre track of land that is located in upper Baltimore County. It is currently used for Bee Tree Bible days, a biblical camp for the children of the congregation; numerous Boy Scout activities, and a rest stop for the weary bikers since it is off the NCR biking trail. Bee Tree came together not as a whole but as a jigsaw of eight parcels of land, as well as history.

In the 1960’s, a group of ten families from the church started to look into buying a piece of land in upper Baltimore County. These families included Mr. and Mrs. Paul F. Davis, Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Galloway, Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Gray, Mr. and Mrs. James A. Griffin Jr. , Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hurt, Mr. and Mrs. John L. Kittle, Mr. and Mrs. G. Taylor Lyon Jr. , Mr. and Mrs. William A. Rowe Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Hubert I. Snyder, and Mr. and Mrs. Donald W. Clem. Together these ten families set off to purchase this land with intent for it to be a scouting and retreat area for the Church. They found this task to be quite challenging as they searched high and low for deeds to certain areas. The area close to the old NCR railroad line was owned by the railroad company to prevent lawsuits from farmers for brushfires caused by broken down engines. It just so happened that there was a man at Church who happened to be in charge of the real estate office of the railroad. He was able to cut a fine deal with the members and Bee Tree had begun. Over the following months the members began to assemble different pieces of land together. But, they came across a keystone shaped, 40 acre plot of land that they could not find the deed to. After much digging in the County archives, they found that it belonged to a Rev. Harry Branch. Rev. Branch’s children did not know of its existence and, when informed, agreed to sell at a remarkable price. So finally, Bee Tree was created and was given to the Church to use.

Bee Tree is not without its history through the years. In the 1600’s, colonists started using the area for its resources. By the 1800’s, a railroad had been constructed that permitted train transportation to the northern states from Baltimore. During the Civil War, a group of federal troops was stationed at Bee Tree to prevent tampering of the railway by the confederates. Though they saw no action but a soldier did die there of natural causes. His grave is marked by a carved stone that still exists at Bee Tree today. It turned out that the keystone shaped property, which was owned by Rev. Branch, had a little more history than it seemed. The property was given to Rev. Branch by another Reverend by the name of Cross. Rev. Cross was a traveling Minister that road on horseback to many cities. One of his most important sites was an amphitheater built on the keystone shaped plot. Here he preached to all that would come and hear the stories of God. When looking back on this history, it almost seems that God’s work was meant to be done on this land.

Bee Tree is now a beautiful site, with two pavilions, a cemetery and many connecting paths. One of the pavilions is named the Paul Davis, Jr. Memorial Pavilion, in honor of Paul Davis who was maybe the biggest contributor to Bee Tree. He surveyed the property so he might know the property line. It was once said by Henry (Hickey) Hurt that “Paul was the guy that really did [all the work] to get it… Paul did the physical work.” Some people are called to do God’s will; Paul definitely heard and was the instrument of God for Bee Tree.

My group and I did work on reinforcing one of the paths in Bee Tree. The path was being eroded by the rain waters of the years, so we put down new dirt to make the trail safe for hikers. While there, we were struck by the beauty of Bee Tree. Its magnificent landscape is second only to the magnificent efforts of Paul Davis and the other ten families. God must have wanted Bee Tree, for he allowed small miracles to happen so that we might obtain the land for it. At Bee Tree you see that one part of the Lord’s Prayer is true, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

June, 2003

INFORMATION FOR GROUPS USING TPC'S BEE TREE PROPERTY

Linked below is the form for the use of the Bee Tree property. Please print and fill out two copies of the form and sign them. Send the forms to Elsie Hurt at the Church (telephone 410-823-6500) so that she may sign them. In return, she will send you your copy and keep one copy for the Church office files. Keep your copy with you at all times while at Bee Tree.

Bee Tree is located approximately 25 minutes from Towson Presbyterian Church (located near the center of Towson).

Take I-83 north from the Baltimore Beltway toward Harrisburg 17.8 miles. Exit I-83 at Exit 33 marked "Parkton MD 45". At the top of the exit ramp, turn left and proceed 1.3 miles. Turn l eft onto Kaufman Road, proceed 1.3 miles to Bee Tree. At the Five-Forks stop sign, take the road directly in front of you. Signs designate a road on the left entering Bee Tree Cemetery and farther along, another leading to the Davis Pavilion.