Towson University

Towson University, often referred to as TU or simply Towson for short, is a public university located in Towson in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a part of the University System of Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University has evolved into a 4-year degree-granting institution consisting of 8 colleges with over 20,000 students enrolled. Towson is one of the largest public universities in Maryland and still produces the most teachers of any university in the state.

The U.S. News & World Report ranked Towson University 8th in the Public Universities-Master’s (North) category for its 2010 America's Best Colleges issue. Forbes included Towson University in its 2009 list of the top 100 public colleges and universities in the United States. Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine named Towson University one of the top 100 best values in public colleges for the 2008-2009 academic year.

History

Maryland State Normal School

Towson, Maryland

Towson (/ˈtaʊsən/) is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland. The population was 55,197 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populated unincorporated county seat in the United States (after Ellicott City, Maryland in nearby Howard County).

History

1600s

The first inhabitants of the future Towson and central Baltimore County region were the "Susquehannock" Indians who hunted in the area. Their region included all of Baltimore County, though their primary settlement was farther northeast along the Susquehanna River.

1700s

Towson was settled in 1752 when two Pennsylvania brothers, William and Thomas Towson, began farming an area of Sater's Hill, northeast of the present-day York and Joppa Roads. William's son, Ezekiel, opened the Towson Hotel to serve the increasing traffic of farmers bringing their produce and livestock to the port of Baltimore. Towson located the hotel at current-day Shealy Avenue and York Road, near the area's main crossroads. The village became known as "Towsontown".