Linda Gross, a resident of what she calls “the little oasis” of Dumbarton since 1975, takes a moment to consider what makes her community special.
Of course, there’s Dumbarton’s convenient location, close to “everything from schools to shopping to the Beltway to downtown,” she says, but it’s the neighborhood’s pastoral beauty that makes it shine.
“The neighborhood is like a park. People use the streets for walking and jogging. There’s a stream that runs towards Park Heights Avenue that empties into the Jones Falls,” she explained.
Then there’s the local flora and fauna.
“We have four to six deer in our backyard at any time! My grandchildren and daughter-in-law had a picnic in the backyard. There are pussywillow bushes that look like trees. They spread a blanket and the deer just came over and watched. There’s a menagerie of chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, even a red fox with its little babies. The deer are taking over, they ate up my garden!” she said.
Like Gross, Sonia Obstler is a long-time resident of Dumbarton, having raised four children in the neighborhood since she arrived in 1972.
“It’s a well-kept secret. We waited three years to find a home here. The schools and services are excellent. You feel like you’re living in the country, but you’re only five minutes from the Giant, the post office, everything that you need,” she said.
Local Realtor Carole Fradkin of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage agrees that “Dumbarton homes are rarely on the market. There is no more land there to build, so what’s there is prized. The homes are all different architecturally. Most of them are large, landscaped, with flowers, herb gardens and the streets [are] lined with big old trees,” Fradkin said.
Bobbi Gutman, a resident for nearly half a century, has contemplated writing the first history of Dumbarton.
“Dumbarton’s first house was designed by William D. Lamdin close to the time of his earliest association with the office of Edward L. Palmer Jr. (both noted architects). Some significant original homeowners included George B. Hess of Hess Shoes and Malcolm Hecht of The Hecht Company,” she said.
Dumbarton is bracketed by Old Court Road to the north, Seven Mile Lane to the east, Park Heights Avenue on the west and Slade Avenue toward the south. Now being considered for historical district designation, Dumbarton maintains “the quality of a bygone era — lush, quiet, private green,” Fradkin said.
