Fairfield Farm

Fairfield Farm is a historic farm located near Ellicott City, now Columbia in Howard County, Maryland, United States.

Fairfield Farm
Location of Fairfield Farm in Maryland
Nearest city	Columbia, Maryland
Coordinates	39°13′52″N 76°51′35″W
Architectural style(s)	Stone

Fairfield farm was a 200 acre farm at the crossroads community of Columbia. The main house on Clarksville Pike (Route 108) was a three story Victorian with wraparound porches and a Mansard roof. In the 1920s it was the home to Mr. and Mrs. John Lawrence Clark (1853-1924) who also operated a supply store in Ellicott City, becoming the hub of social activity in Howard County.[1] John Clark was on the board for the Ellicott City and Clarksville Turnpike Company, which operated and maintained a road that fronted Fairfield.[2] Their son James Clark, born and married on the farm, would become a prominent Circuit Court Judge, and their grandson James Clark, Jr., became a prominent state senator.[3]

During World War II, the farm was managed by George and Corinne (Clark) Bayless. A tower was installed where the Columbia Presbyterian Church resides today and manned in four hour shifts to look for enemy aircraft.[4] After the war, George Bayless agreed to manage the family farm for life in exchange for on half share of the estate, but rented it out to his brother in-law to farm.[5] A day prior to the death of his mother, the terms were changed sparking a legal battle over percentage of ownership. In 1958, a court of appeals ordered the farm sold, delayed to 1961 in appeals ending Fairfield Farm's existence as a farm.[6][7] The farm was subdivided by the Rouse Company, becoming a key property in the Running Brook subdivision.