St. Mary's College Ruins Ilchester

"Ruins of the St. Charles Seminary established by Charles Carroll the Signer of the Declaration of Independence who lived in nearby Doughoregan Manor. Another interesting historical connection to this property is that it was at this location that John Surratt Jr. met Louis Weichmann as they were both attending the seminary. John Surratt was the only Lincoln Conspirator to not be punished for his role in the assassination. Meanwhile, Weichmann’s testimony during the Lincoln Conspirator Trial played a key role in condemning Surratt’s mother, Mary Surratt, to the gallows. Kudos to Howard County for maintaining this historic site!!"

Ilka Knüppel

"What a fantastic idea! Keeping these historical ruins immortalizes the memory of the seminary as well as provides a unique location for community events drawing neighbors together in a quint setting: On March 16, 1911, disaster struck: the college was completely destroyed by fire started in the cellar under the chapel. Miraculously, none of the 200+ faculty and students were killed or injured. Sacred vessels and vestments, along with thousands of priceless manuscripts and books were all lost. The burned-out shell was pulled down, and the salvageable building materials were transported to Catonsville, where the college was quickly rebuilt. All that remained standing were the ruins of the 1906 Recreation Hall.[6][Note 1]

After the fire, the heirs of the Carroll family requested that the 250 acres (100 ha) of land be returned, since it was not then used as a college, by selling off the land and dividing the profits among the family.[7] The area was purchased by Howard County Planning Board member William Phillip Brendel, who ran Brendel Manor Park opening in 1942.[8] Brendel's Manor Park (also known as Gospel Park) hosted the first Howard County Fair onsite for a single year in 1946 and 1950 with prison labor used to build structures.[9] In the early 1970s, it was the home of Robert G. Millar's Christian Identity community. It has since been upzoned and developed into a suburban housing community. The property was subdivided several times, with Robert J. Lanceolott and Synergy Development Corp. developing over the historic ruins of the first college buildings in 1991 to build the "Terra Maria Community". The ruins of the old minor seminary's recreation hall and laundry are now located in the middle of Terra Maria Way circle with the grotto removed for a stormwater retention pond."

Pete Long

"Interesting Ruins, pleasant neighborhood walk and fun Geocache site. Be respectful of the folks who live there, especially since they are the ones that maintain the ruins."

Ormandy De Coo