New Windsor, Maryland

History

New Windsor was platted in 1797 and originally named Sulphur Springs, for a local spring with water believed to have medicinal properties. It was given its current name in the early 19th century, possibly after its English namesake. The town was originally founded to service and profit from junctures of wagon trails in the area, but would later become a destination in and of itself because of the sulfur springs. To capitalize from the visitors to the springs, the town would become home to a bathhouse and numerous inns, including the 10,000+ square foot Dielman Inn.

New Windsor became home to Calvert College in 1850, to later become the New Windsor College in 1872, and then finally a campus of Blue Ridge College in 1912 until 1937. In the late 1800s, St. Thomas Catholic Church stood at Calvert College. Due to a high level of resentment toward Catholics during the time, the church was wiped from historical records, the church was razed and pieces of the church could be found in town as late as the 2000s. The altar was turned into a workbench and stained glass used for a garage. In the 1930s, then resident Walter Hoke on Springdale Avenue paid local boys to remove headstones of St. Thomas Catholic Church Cemetery. In the 2000s, then owner of 111 Springdale Avenue purchased the cemetery plot from the Roman Catholic Church.

From the History section of New Windsor, Maryland on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.