A quintessential shot of late autumn in Baltimore and the coming of standard time, taken this afternoon by a Brew reader.

Located just north of the city-county border, Lake Roland was built to contain the waters of Roland Run and provide drinking water for the burgeoning city of Baltimore.

It was opened – not without controversy – in 1861, the same year that Abraham Lincoln became president and 10 southern states seceded from the union. (The above image, in fact, would fit squarely into the Hudson River School of Art that flourished just before Lincoln’s time.)

The controversy involved a contractual dispute between the Baltimore Water Co. and city officials. It came to naught when Lake Roland slowly silted up. The dam’s pumping station was abandoned in 1915. It still stands alongside the stone dam in its rugged Greek Revival splendor.

The lake and surrounding property are now in the hands of the Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks, which has added many amenities, including a dog park, children’s play area, new trails and a 2,600-square-foot nature center that opened its doors to the public on October 27.