The Courtyard at Savage Mill serves as both the main entry for the popular "Rams Head Restaurant" and as access to the lower level of Savage Mill Shops. After this painting was finished, the courtyard was remodeled to include an outdoor dining area for the adjacent French Bakery/Restaurant, enhanced landscaping and made a more conducive venue for open air markets and festivals.

A bit of historical background of Savage Mill:

In 1820, the Williams brothers founded a textile mill on the banks of the Little Patuxent River just north of Laurel, Maryland. Funding for the mill was provided by William Savage,a friend of theirs, who both the mill and the surrounding mill town was named after.

Savage Mill primarily produced cotton canvas from 1822 to 1947 from raw cotton delivered by train across the river over the now historic Bollman Bridge. Canvas woven at the mill was used for making sails for clipper ships sailing out of Baltimore Harbor along with tents and cannon covers during the Civil War. From 1890-1900, canvas from Savage Mill was used for painted backdrops for Hollywood's first silent movies and later for canvas cots, truck covers and transport bags used by soldiers in both WWI and WWII.

After the mill closed in 1947, it was remodeled as a Christmas Display Village where they manufactured Christmas ornaments and had a one ring circus with a miniature B&O Railroad train to bring in visitors.

In 1950, the Winer family bought the old mill and in 1974 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1985 after another major renovation, Savage Mill became what it is today, 175,000 square feet of specialty shops, antiques, art studios and restaurants making it one of Howard County's most interesting tourist destinations.

"Mill Courtyard" 18" x 24" oil on canvas