This area's historical significance is its connection with the largest invasion of the United States in history on the morning of September 12, 1814. The British had landed about seven thousand men near the site that later became Fort Howard, as a part of a campaign to capture and burn Baltimore. In coordination with their navy's bombardment of Fort McHenry, the British troops were to march up Patapsco Neck and capture Baltimore from the east. But the British advance was first demoralized when American sharpshooters Daniel Wells and Henry McComas killed their popular commanding general. The advance had been temporarily stalled by the Americans in the Battle of North Point, and finally stopped dead when the British perceived the strength of the American defenses at Patterson Park. Disheartened, they re-boarded their ships near North Point and sailed away- to another defeat, in the Battle of New Orleans.

Fort Howard was originally known as North Point, but was renamed in 1902 after Colonel John Eager Howard, a Baltimore philanthropist and distinguished soldier of the Maryland Continental Line during the Revolutionary War. In the 1700's, the site served as an important part of the transportation route between the Eastern Shore and the port of Baltimore. Known as the "Bulldog at Baltimore's Gate", Fort Howard was also created to protect the valued Baltimore Port. Many of the fort batteries, previously manned by Coast Artillery Corps, can still be seen, although they are now covered by dark ivy and bushes.

The hospital was built around 1940 on the post garrison area of the fort. The rehabilitation facility which had 154 hospital operating beds also provided rehabilitation medicine, geriatric medicine, substance abuse rehabilitation, subacute care, and outpatient services. It operated a 47 bed nursing home care unit that was closed in 1996 with the opening of the new nursing home in Baltimore. Many of the other services that were available here have been transfered elsewhere.

Of the many structures on site all of them are abandoned with the exception of the out-patient clinic, grounds crew building and the security building at the front gate. Plans are in the works to create a veterans retirement community on the old campus so it may not last much longer in its current condition before building/demolition begins.

109 files, last one added on Nov 04, 2006

Chip's Theatre has been around since the 1870s. The structure was originally known as the "Natatorium" meaning indoor swimming pool. It housed a subterranean spa with Turkish baths, steam rooms, and what was once the city's largest swimming pool. There is still evidence of the baths & steam rooms hidden away in the basement of the theatre. The structure would later be converted into a movie house and is now the oldest standing movie theatre in the city. The theatre closed up in the 1980s and sometime during the 1990s weather and neglect took their toll on the structure and the roof collapsed destroying most of the structure. I have no info on future use of this structure. The sealed up brick walls hide the rotting interior and will continue to probably until it is demolished.

80 files, last one added on Oct 01, 2006

This huge mill complex started out as a small paper mill in the late 1700s. The mill was the first in America to use an endless sheet machine which would later revolutionize the manufacture of paper. Plagued by fire and flood the mill was rebuilt time and time again until 1838 when the estate was sold. The property was purchased and converted into a cotton spinning mill and by 1930 was the largest cotton finishing works in the world. The mill housed various other mixed uses before closing down in 2003. Some of the buildings are currently being converted into condos while others are on a list to be demolished.

116 files, last one added on Sep 25, 2006

In the early 1700s flooding and waterborne disease was a big problem that slowed the growth of Baltimore city. To solve the problem engineers came up with a plan that would bury the area streams and rivers in underground storm drain systems. The Jones Falls Conduit is one of those systems. The Jones Falls watershed encompasses about 58 square miles of Baltimore County which drains to a stream that runs alongside the Jones Falls Expressway (I-83) until it goes underground near North Howard Street. Once underground the stream passes thru a massive concrete/brick conduit running in total darkness for about 1.7 miles before it outfalls into the Inner Harbor.

18 files, last one added on Sep 05, 2006

This page is made up to hold miscellaneous images. Random images from places where we maybe didn't get enough photos or the location was too small to justify its own page or maybe just spy shots from scouting out a location. Enjoy!

46 files, last one added on Sep 01, 2006

The Patuxent Mental Hospital opened its doors in 1925. During the early years this facility was known as a state-of-the-art treatment facility. With a good reputation this hospital set the standard for other states to follow.

With declining conditions decades later many patients filed lawsuits against the hospital for reasons of abuse, neglect, poor living conditions... even medical testing. A small morgue was all that stood between the patients and a cemetery on site where graves have been repeatedly uncovered by erosion.

Little activity can be found on the site after its closure in 1991. Now over 20 buildings sit abandoned and decaying lost in the woods of Maryland. There is little evidence of future plans for the site.

118 files, last one added on Aug 31, 2006

Located in western Maryland this power plant has been closed down for a long time but not totally inactive. Vandalism and graffiti are signs of heavy traffic from the local kids and the power plant is also inhabited by a homeless man. Other than news reports of a fire in Feb. 2005 I have been unable to find any history or future plans for this place.

139 files, last one added on Aug 23, 2006

What is now a giant parking lot for imported cars from Mercedes was once Kurt Iron & Metal. The company specialized in ripping apart ships and selling the scrap metal and parts. They handled everything from small boats to large aircraft carriers. Even though Mercedes has done a good job cleaning up the grounds which included removing buried bombs which were left from navy ships the harbor is still littered with scraps, burned piers and a few ships. One of the ships shown below is an old ferry which had a big enclosed ballroom, a bar, many entertainment areas, a kitchen, etc... The other was some kind of maintenance boat of which the only purpose I could come up with was “tank cleaning”. The ships will probably remain here until they completely rust away.

66 files, last one added on Aug 23, 2006

Once used as passenger trains in Long Island New York these cars now sit unused at sites in Waldorf and White Planes, MD. The original plan was to convert them to be used as a dinner train but nothing ever developed from the idea and the cars have been rusting ever since.

33 files, last one added on Aug 23, 2006

This facility was built by the Navy and used for radio astronomy. The 2 giant dishes were used to study radiation from the sun and moon and to pinpoint optically invisible phenomena in space such as black holes. The site is located in the middle of nowhere MD. Isolation was required to prevent any radio interference. In the early 80s funding was cut back as bigger and better telescopes were built around the world. The telescopes have not been used since 1994, when astronomers relied on them to study the collision of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter, the first observed collision of two solar system bodies. The Navy passed the site over to the Bureau of Land Management which plans to tear down the dishes. Future plans for the site are unknown.

55 files, last one added on Aug 23, 2006

The Dogwood State Hospital Center is the Nation’s second oldest Psychiatric Hospital. What started out in 1797 as a single hospital building is now a vast complex of buildings with different functions. Located in the center of the active campus is a building once known as “Psychopathic Building”. Built in 1914 with federal funding this building’s first patients were psychiatrically ill World War I serviceman. The World War I patients were treated here up until 1925 when they were transferred to a newly built veterans hospital in Perry Point, MD. It was at this point that the federal government transferred use of the building to the Dogwood State hospital. Mentally ill patients were treated here up until 1979 when the building was closed down. The building has been abandoned since and despite years of weathering the building is in very good shape compared to many I have seen of its age. I was unable to find any future plans for this building.

78 files, last one added on Aug 23, 2006

The John Wesley United Methodist Church is located along Philadelphia road in Abingdon, MD. The church was given to the blacks by the Quakers around 1868. Along with religious services the church was also used as a school before a newer building was built nearby. Also located on the property is an old parsonage, a cemetery with some pretty old headstones and an old wooden outhouse. Since our visit the roof has fallen in and the entire structure has become very unstable.

16 files, last one added on Aug 23, 2006

Built in the early 1900s Phillips Packing Company was the largest employer in Cambridge, MD. Phillips was big into the vegetable canning business. So big that they did even more canning than the well known Campbell’s company. After closing in the 50s the complex of factories and warehouses stood abandoned until some of them were converted to be used as a large antique shop. The still abandoned portions of the site include a power building, warehouses and other miscellaneous structures and equipment.

67 files, last one added on Aug 23, 2006

In the late 1800s the Hubner Psychiatric Hospital came about as the “Second Hospital for the Insane of Maryland”. What started out as a small collection of converted farmhouses became a large complex of buildings which treated over 3,000 patients. Now over 100 years later the site is still very active but scattered around the area you will find plenty of buildings that have served their time and now sit lifeless as they slowly deteriorate by the hands of nature.

48 files, last one added on Aug 23, 2006

Built in 1907 the Hilltop State Hospital was the first state funded tuberculosis sanatorium in the state of Maryland. The remaining administration building once had 8 detached patient wings which were designed to isolate patients in an environment with maximum ventilation in all weather conditions. The wings were demolished when tuberculosis was no longer a threat in the area. At this point the use of the hospital was converted from medical to educational when it became a private school and juvenile treatment facility. Construction of a new detention center housed 209 beds and also included a 16-bed transitional living program which closed in 2002. The state plans to re-open the site with a new program but until then the only activity this site will see is from the grounds crew which still maintains the site.

78 files, last one added on Aug 23, 2006

Built in the early 1900s the Sydenham Hospital was originally used to treat chronic diseases such as diphtheria, measles, scarlet fever, smallpox and chicken pox. After closing in 1949 the property was used by the Montebello State Chronic Disease Hospital which later became the Montebello Rehabilitation Center. I am unsure what the current use of the facility is.

37 files, last one added on Aug 23, 2006

The first Fort Washington was completed in 1809 and guarded the Nation’s Capital until it was destroyed by its own garrison in 1814. Extensive remodeling was performed in the 1840s and the first guns were mounted in 1846. The masonry fort was occupied by soldiers from the First, Third and Fourth U.S. Artillery during its early history. In 1872 the garrison was removed and additional property purchased to construct a new defense system. Funds for the project were withdrawn and the post was abandoned for the next twenty years. A new defense system, consisting of rifled steel guns in concrete emplacements was authorized in 1886 and work began at Fort Washington in 1891. The next year ground was broken for Battery B, later named Battery Decatur and the guns were mounted in 1896. Eventually eight concrete batteries at Fort Washington and four at Fort Hunt made up the Potomac Defense Command. The guns soon became useless for defense and were removed. The fort was then used for training until turned over to the Department of the Interior which now owns and maintains the fort as a public park.

87 files, last one added on Aug 23, 2006

Once a very active tuberculosis hospital, the now abandoned Glenn Dale hospital is the most vandalized and neglected place I have ever been. Police live in a security trailer onsite yet the property is easily accessible by pretty much anyone. I don’t know much about the history of Glenn Dale but I can tell you there is really nothing much left resembling what was there years ago.

91 files, last one added on Aug 23, 2006

The National Park Seminary is also currently known as The Seminary at Forest Glen. The campus history dates way back to the 1800s when an Inn was built in 1887. At the time the area was not easy to access from DC and the hotel suffered financially. In an effort to revive the Inn it was converted into a casino with gambling and bars but the idea did not work. In 1894 the property was leased and the casino was converted into a finishing school for girls. Hard times during the depression hurt enrollment and the primary focus of the school was changed from training the rich elite to a college that all could benefit from emphasizing on academics and practical trade skills that improved employability. Soon after the United States entered WW2 and the property was taken by the Army to use for treatment and recovery of wounded soldiers returning to the states. The property was known as the Walter Reed Army Medical Center during this era. In 2004 ownership of the property was transferred to developers. The developers plan to add to, convert and reuse the existing buildings for residential use including 130 condos, 66 rental units, 13 single family homes and 98 brand new townhouses. Housing is expected to be available in 2007.

123 files, last one added on Aug 23, 2006

Built around 1910 the House of Refuge was created in an effort to separate children from adult criminals. The complex cared for and treated some 300 delinquent boys and young men, ages 15-17, serving as a detention center for youth awaiting trial and as a training school for youth committed by the court. As facility conditions and “quality of life” deteriorated the governor announced that the House of Refuge be closed in 2005. The future of this beautiful piece of land is currently unclear but there is talk of making much of it state park land.

54 files, last one added on Aug 23, 2006