The Perry Hall Improvement Association (PHIA) is the oldest and largest civic organization in northeastern Baltimore County. Few other civic groups in Maryland have such an accomplished history.

An early version of the PHIA operated during the Second World War, when Perry Hall residents organized a Health Committee to help veterans purchase wheelchairs, crutches, and other equipment. After the war ended, many of these leaders decided to create a permanent organization, calling the first meeting of the Perry Hall Improvement Association for July 31, 1945.

Perry Hall was changing. Where there were once forests, farms, and nurseries, new development was starting to transform Perry Hall into a bedroom community. In its early days, the PHIA tackled zoning controversies that seem far different than today’s hearings on housing developments. In the 1940s and 1950s, the PHIA defeated plans for a cemetery on the Soth Farm, a racetrack on Forge Road, and a drive-in movie theater near St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church. The PHIA was also proactive, lobbying for street lights along Joppa, Forge, and Cross Roads and Schroeder and Bauer Avenues. The PHIA started a Community Christmas Party in 1946 and a Halloween Parade in 1949. The picture on the left shows an early Halloween Parade as children walk down Ebenezer Road.

The development that began in the 1950s intensified in the 1960s. The PHIA pressured Baltimore County officials to fund road improvements and build new schools. When Perry Hall High School opened in 1963, the PHIA raised funds to buy books for the school library. Five years later, after prodding from the PHIA, Baltimore County built a separate complex further down Ebenezer Road to serve as a new high school. Baltimore County opened the existing building as a middle school.

The PHIA established a Northeast Library Association to lobby for a new public library. A crowning achievement came on September 8, 1963, when Baltimore County Executive Spiro Agnew and other officials dedicated the new branch on Belair Road. This scene is shown on the right.

In the 1960s, most new development occurred in the area between Belair and Silver Spring Roads. In the 1970s, plans were developed for the sprawling Seven Courts area, built on the Berg dairy farm. Still, even as Perry Hall grew, it retained a small town feeling. A highlight of the 1970s came when the community celebrated the nation’s Bicentennial in 1976. The PHIA helped form a Bicentennial Committee that hosted events at the old Perry Hall School.

The 1980s were challenging times for the PHIA. Community leaders worked hard to deal with a wave of growth brought on by the development of the White Marsh Town Center. The most symbolic loss for the community was the development of Lassahn Field, long used for soccer games, carnivals, and Easter egg hunts. There were, however, some victories. By the early 1990s, the community celebrated the opening of the Seven Oaks Senior Center and two new elementary schools. In 1994, the PHIA provided critical local support for the Honeygo Plan, a blueprint for developing Perry Hall’s rural northeast.

As the century turned and the community celebrated its 225th birthday, there was a renewed sense of optimism about Perry Hall’s future. The PHIA worked with other groups to restart the Halloween Parade and begin a summer concert series. In November of 2001, community leaders announced plans to purchase the Perry Hall Mansion. Meanwhile, the Perry Hall Improvement Association’s membership reached a historic high. The PHIA began its 61st year in 2006 as a proud organization, strongly rooted in its past and hopeful of its future.