In Laurel, Md., seven houses developed on builder’s former home

When Richard Cole was a child growing up in his grandparents’ house in Laurel, Maryland, decades ago, gardens of tomatoes, corn, raspberries and pole beans stretched across fields behind houses owned by his extended family. Horses and cows grazed on the land. Rows of strawberries grew in the area where children now splash at the West Laurel Swim Club, the largest members-only pool in Prince George’s County.