Friends of Sherwood HouseCome out to visit the Arthur Sherwood Nature Library, located in the Sherwood House. You can check out books, or spend a quiet afternoon sitting in a window seat reading about your favorite plants or animals. We have books for all ages! Call the Park Office at 410.887.2503 for hours.While you’re here, view the artwork and note cards displayed in the pantry showcase. They are all produced by local artists connected with CVP. Many of these items are for sale and would make a very special gift. The Friends of Sherwood benefit by each item that is sold. We thank you for supporting our efforts to maintain this Park treasure. Do you have any suggestions to enhance the Sherwood House? We invite you to our next meeting. Please call the Park office for more details about our next volunteer activity. 
Friends of Sherwood's mission is to preserve and maintain the beauty and character of this unique baltimore county treasure. We invite you
to browse and check out books from the shelves of the Arthur W. Sherwood Reading Room. Located in the Sherwood House, the library
offers books on natural history, gardening, plants, insects, biology and ecology for both children and adults. Call the Park Office at
410-887-2503 for hours. Mission Statement
About the Sherwood House The unique Sherwood House was constructed in 1935 for Mr. Donald Henry Sherwood (1898-1989) and his wife, Frances Wellington Sherwood (1899-1992), at an approximate cost of $37,000. The English manor style mansion was built by Palmer and Lambdin builders and has 27 rooms, including five bedroom suites, eight bathrooms, five fireplaces, and living quarters for up to four servants. The 108.5 x 94.5 foot house has stone walls that are 18.5" thick. There are 28 windows on the first floor and 34 on the second. The push button on the wall in each of the rooms in the living quarters was used to summon the servants. The house was heated with a boiler to service the radiant heating system. About Mr. Sherwood Donald Sherwood went to work at an early age for his brother-in-law, Arthur Gregg Wellington, president and founder of the Maryland Car Wheel Company, a manufacturer of railroad car wheels. The company principally supplied the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad with wheels until Mr. Sherwood liquidated the company following WWII, investing as majority stockholder in Ellicott Machine Company. A worldwide supplier of dredges and dredge machinery, Ellicott Machine Company, and its subsidiary, McCauway-Failey, a manufacturer of railroad coupling and other parts, are still in business as of 1995. In his later years, Donald Sherwood and his neighbor to the East, Robert Merrick, planned a residential development to be located on the adjoining farms. The New Nature Reading Room Come and visit the new Arthur W. Sherwood Nature Reading Room! It was dedicated on Sunday, April 13th, 2003, and offers an extensive collection of books on natural history, gardening, plants, insects, biology, ecology, and of course, books about the Chesapeake Bay. It is our sincere hope that the Arthur W. Sherwood Nature Reading Room will continue to inspire and educate the citizens of Baltimore, just as Arthur inspired so many people to become stewards of the environment. Our thanks to the Friends of Sherwood, who worked so hard to make everything just right: Sandy and Pat Dolan, Nadia Farace, Darlene Jones, and Kay Ruppersberger. Leo Rebetsky and Susan Dorsey also deserve thanks for all their help getting ready for the dedication ceremony. Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger was the Master of Ceremonies. He thanked the Family Support Foundation for their generous grant to make the Reading Room a reality. He also thanked Mr. Jim Fish, Director of Baltimore County Public Libraries, for coordinating the acquisition of books; and artist Henry Coe, whose artwork now hangs in the Sherwood Room. Mrs. Arthur (Sue) Sherwood was guest of honor and spoke about her late husband's vision for a Nature Reading Room, and of his work in founding the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. We were very pleased to be joined by so many distinguished guests. |