By Tina Barton
In 2025, this building (really two buildings) has a sign out front that says “Available.” In fact, it is for sale: https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/5721-Main-St-Elkridge-MD/36735496/.
I fear that if someone buys it, they would want to tear it down. It would be a tremendous shame to lose this structure. It is one of the oldest remaining buildings in the old Elk Ridge Landing village since the fire of 1825. While the inside is probably a complete gut, it is hoped that the facade can be saved and the streetscape preserved. However, it is feared that a new owner will want to raze it. It is zoned commercial so if they want to put up another business, there is very little the citizenry can say about it. But if they try to rezone it to residential, then we can make a case to the zoning board. Time will tell. In the meantime, we are capturing as much history on it as we can.
The architecture is described in HO-369 (which I could not find, so perhaps I wrote down the wrong one) and HO-370, but do not have any historical significance section.
Some pictures and videos were taken by Tina Barton in 2012 while Goody’s was open, and by Nikki Marlatt-Young in 2018 after the property was sold. They can be found at this link:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/SFMkn8QUgEMaAcPw7
The property was in the hands of the Zepp family from 1972 to 2018. Harold (“Goody”) and Anna Goodman lived there and sold original wood carvings and crafts for a few years in that timeframe. Goody was known to make Santas out of newel posts. Anna did most of the painting, and also sewing. She taught sewing classes as I recall. They also sold crocheted goods made by Anna’s mother Pat Zepp. According to a 2010 Elkridge Patch article, “Inside a crowded, historic building that has been home to Goody’s Folk Art for 12 years, Anna Goodman, her husband, Harold, and her mother, Pat Zepp, 92, hand carve and paint wooden decoys and Santa Claus figures that they sell at craft fairs and elsewhere. Harold does the carving, Anna does most of the painting and “Miss Pat” crochets garments and ornaments. They struggle a bit to make a living, but they love their lifestyle.”
The article continues:
“‘I worked in Baltimore factories as an electrician for 42 years,’ said Harold Goodman. ‘I retired in April and they gave me a plastic clock that said ‘Made in China’ on it. That’s exactly what’s wrong with America.’
“In a woodshop behind their store, Harold demonstrated a duplicating machine that he designed and built himself to speed up production. ‘I use it to rough out the stock and save time on labor.’
“Like many retailers, half of the annual sales at Goody’s Folk Art come in the four months from Sept. 1 through the end of December, so every day at this time of year is important to them. ‘People are still buying our things. Our customers don’t want to go to Kmart and buy stuff that came off a container ship,’ said Harold.
“To increase production and help with distribution, the Goodmans hired a part-time woodworker and an independent wholesaler.
“‘People constantly ask us how we can make a living in manufacturing. If you want to work hard, you can do it. We’re doing pretty well. We put food on the table and we’re happy. This is what America needs,’ said Harold.
“The Goodmans agree that their biggest concern is health insurance. ‘Luckily I was able to jump on COBRA when I retired. Otherwise we wouldn’t have any healthcare,’ said Harold.”
Here are some of the cheerful photos Tina took:
Here are Anna’s sewn goods:
Here was Harold’s workshop:
Here are some of the relevant deeds working backwards in time.
1972: deed book 613, page 511 (shorthand 613/511): Corbin and Elveretta Hammond to the Zepps (Charles & Lydia).
1943: 179/132: Murray and Catherine O’Malley to the Hammonds
1916: 101/215: Widow Sarah E Hobbs to the O’Malleys
1897: 67/64: George & Jane Rhoades to Sarah Hobbs
I could not find the deed on line where George and Jane Rhoades were granted the property, but I found the index which shows the following. In December 1887, deed 52/560 conveyed the property from
At this point, the property came from 3 deeds:
- 1882: 44/433 Matilda Pocock (widow of George H. Pocock) & her children, and John Lowman (who had been deeded George H. Pocock’s son George’s portion) conveyed the property to Pamelia Pocock Kirby.
1853; 13/322 Elizabeth McElhiney to George H. Pocock – See this relevant newspaper article from 1853:
1837; 22/196 John & Emily Butler & Elizabeth Blue to Gustavus and Elizabeth McElhiney. This apparently includes the Goody Property (South side of Main Street) which belonged to John Blue, and some property across the street owned by the Butlers.
1817: 5/26 Richard Hopkins to John Blue – mentions Norwood Ferry – This got confusing because the older deeds do not always have clear provenance.
- 1884: 48/117 John Lowman to Pamelia Kirby (daughter of Matilda and George Pocock)
1882: 45/48 George H. Pocock Heirs to John Lowman
1876: 36/222: George W. Pocock (son of George H. Pocock) conveyed his interest in ALL of his father’s estate for $1200 to John Lowman subject to the dower rights of his mother Matilda Pocock. His father died intestate. It’s confusing though because in 33/435, George W had already sold his interest to his Mom for $300. So there is a nother deed right after 36/222 which says something about that which I do not understand. I guess they needed money to keep the store going? But this is not just the Goody property, but some others George H had inherited as well.
1853: 13/322 – part of the same deed mentioned above
- 1887 (Oct 19): John Lowman to Pamelia Kirby. I cannot find this deed. In 101/215 – this deed is indicated as a bordering property so although I can’t go any further on it, maybe it was subdivided out and doesn’t matter for our story.
Here are some other interesting notes from genealogy and maps.
In 1837, Gustavus McElhiney was appointed postmaster for Elk Ridge Landing. Here is his naturalization record:
Gustavus is in the 1840 census for AACo District 4, but it doesn’t say what his occupation was.
In 1850, George H. Pocock was appointed postmaster for Elk Ridge Landing. In the 1860 census, George H.Pocock is listed as a merchant. In the 1860 Martenet map and the 1878 Hopkins Map of Elk Ridge Landing, George H. Pocock is listed as the store-owner of the property though he died in 1871. His son George W. Pocock took up the reins. It was certainly still in his family at least until 1887, since Pamelia Kirby is his daughter.
George H. Pocock was of some importance to the community. He was a trustee of the building where the Howard Lodge met. We have this copy of a document in our archives. At the time, the Howard Lodge met in the “Temperance Hall,” a large red brick building on the other side of the tracks, near the Elkridge Pharmacy building.
His daughter Pamelia was married to Louis Kirby and she ended up getting the property consolidated under her name in the 1880s. In 1870 Pamelia/Permilia and Louis Kirby/Curby are living with the Pococks, George having died in 1871. Pamelia is living with Matilda in 1880. Louis is staying with his brother in Harrisburg PA. He’s a nail worker. He may have served in the Civil War.
Note that when Dr. Richard Hopkins of Elk Ridge Landing married Hannah Hammond, she inhertited a strip of the Hanover tract that we believe went from the Patapsco River to Hanover Rd. Richard Hopkins sold 11 acres on the north side of Main Street. He also apparently sold the part mentioned above to John Blue, a white farmer who enslaved one person, and had 3 free black people working for him. Blue bought 1.75 acres near the Ferry in 1822 from the abovementioned 11 acres. So it all goes back to Hannah Hammond, her husband Richard Hopkins, and their daughter Richarda, who was deeded a sizeable tract. Richarda’s tract (AAco Deed 10/66) was on the Goody side of Main Street, and also included the Brumbaugh House property, incidentally. But it didn’t include properties already sold, without making note of said sold properties! So some of those deeds I’m missing may go back to either Richard or Richarda.
The Butlers are interesting because they also owned the Brumbaugh House property, and seemed to be investors. They ended up in Columbus Ohio. It turns out that Emily Blue married John Butler in 1825 in Maryland, so no doubt Emily is the daugher of John and Elizabeth Blue. John Blue bought property on the other side of the road in Deed 9/545 in 1822. It appears Emily inherited it. Then Emily, her husband and her mother joined together to sell both lots to the McElhineys.
It’s overwhelming to think of going through all the deeds for all the properties on Main Street, but it should be done.
Case in point: George Pocock Sr. (father of George H.) left a will, recorded in the Howard County Will Book #1, page 19, wherein he left two houses to his son George H. Pocock (the one who bought Goody’s from Gustavus’s widow), and five properties to his daughter Matilda Hobbs. The fact that George Sr. had a daughter named Matilda, and that George H. married a Matilda did cause some confusion. In reviewing the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties, one claim is that George Pocock Sr. bought the property from Dr. Richard Hopkins in 1817. This is born out by AACo deed 5/221. So that is how all that land came to be owned by the Pococks. That is a story for a different document, in progress. It has no bearing on the Goody property. But the interesting thing about the deed is that it DOES mention that this property adjoins the property of John Blue.
Side note: George Sr.’s will also mentions Gustavus as Dr. Gustavus McElhaney. So he was yet another doctor (of some kind) in Elk Ridge Landing. Perhaps “McElhaney” is a rather more elegant spelling than “McElhiney.”
As for who built the red brick Goody structures, we don’t really know. Elk Ridge Landing burnt down in 1825, so speculation is that it was rebuilt after that in brick to protect it from future fires. Or it could have been built before then and survived the fire. The news articles say “9 of 10 buildings were destroyed.” Or the foundation could have been reused as is speculated in the video found in the link near the beginning of this treatise. Could it have been built by the Butlers as speculation? Could it have been built by Dr. Gustavus in 1837? Could it have been an agricultural building first, built by the Blues before the fire? There is a story about the Goody shop having been a carriage house and that a horse groomer lived above the horses. Some of the deeds mention brick buildings so we need to go back in and see how far back the bricks are mentioned.
In any case, these are old buildings and help define the streetscape of Lower Elkridge.