Around 1750, John Elder founded the community of Eldersburg after receiving a land grant from the King of England for as much land as he could stake out in 24 hours, and he marked an 800-acre farm called Perseverance on the stagecoach route between Baltimore and Frederick now known as Liberty Road. Soon afterward, the intersection now known as MD 32 and MD 26 became a commercial center with two taverns, a blacksmith shop, and two general stores, while the nearby intersection of MD 26 and Ridge Road included a trading post, court house, and turkey roost. After the Revolutionary War, the Village of Elders was renamed Freedom because purchasers of each lot received an adjoining free lot. By the early 1800's, the county's largest property was the 3,000 acre Springfield estate, laid out for William Patterson, one of the original directors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Patterson's daughter Elizabeth eloped with Jerome, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, but although they married, Napoleon later had the marriage annulled. In 1825, James Sykes bought 1,000 acres of land, rebuilt an existing saw and grist mill, and later built a cotton factory in the area that became Sykesville. During this period, Sykesville and the Freedom area experienced major growth and development, and in 1837 Carroll County was created from the western part of Baltimore County and the eastern part of Frederick County.