Prospect Hill Cemetery restoration honors Baltimore's 1814 defenders

Among the bustling build-up in the center of Towson, where bigger and brighter seems to take the lead in the development of multiplex cinemas and popular restaurants, a quiet but significant restoration is happening in an unlikely place Prospect Hill Cemetery.

The area surrounding the graves was recently given a complete makeover, with boxwoods and sedge planting framing the perimeter, the knotty grass replaced with bluestone dust, and bollards with a link chain provide additional protection.

Just to the left of the narrow, winding road that circles the 6-acre cemetery, with Towson City Center looming nearby, are the five headstones of the Hillens, a family entrenched in Towson's history, including brothers John Hillen and Solomon Hillen III, who helped defend Baltimore.

The restoration is timely as Baltimore gets ready to celebrate the bicentennial anniversary of its defense at North Point against the British on Sept. 12, 1814. And to that end, Prospect Hill will hold an open house on Sept. 12.

"Few people realize the historical significance of our local residents buried right here at Prospect Hill," said Carolyn Parker Knott, president of Prospect Hill's board.

In addition to the brothers, their father, Solomon Hillen Jr., is buried with wives Martha Wheeler and Martha Clements.

John Hillen took part in the American Revolution, then served as a lieutenant in the fifth Maryland militia in the War of 1812.

Solomon Hillen III served as a private in Capt. Richard Magruder's company of American Artillerists, battled with the Maryland Fifth Regiment at Bladensburg on Aug. 24, 1814, and then participated in the Battle of North Point three weeks later on Sept. 12.

"The Hillen plot contains the oldest grave monuments in Prospect Hill. The bicentennial of the War of 1812, plus their extremely fragile condition, made them the priority area to protect," Knott said. "Their physical location also makes them vulnerable to damage, and once those markers are gone, we will have lost a piece of early Towson history."

In addition to their service in defending Baltimore in 1814, the Hillens have ties to other area history. Loch Raven was named in honor of the mother of Solomon Jr., Elizabeth Raven, the family helped establish the Baltimore Basilica downtown and their son was the 15th mayor of Baltimore and a member of Congress.

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Prospect Hill Cemetery restoration honors Baltimore's 1814 defenders