The first quarry located along Marriottsville Road Number 2 was opened by a small company in Carroll County in the 1850s. They sawed the soapstone into slabs and sold it to be used for bathtubs. But, the business did not do well and was closed in 1860. In 1885 the Maryland Soapstone Company began to operate the quarry, however, they were not able to make a profit this way. Therefore, they ground the stone and sold it to manufacturers of fire-proof and acid-proof paints. Some slabs were sold for fire-brick and hearthstones. This information was taken from Maryland: It's Resources, Industries, and Institutions dated 1893 via Google Books.
By 1910, the Steatite Corporation owned the Quarry and Mill located off Marriottsville Road Number 2, presumably having bought out the Maryland Soapstone Company. I am still researching to determine when all quarry operations on Marriottsville Road Number 2 ceased.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Henry DeVries - Marriottsville Slaveholder
Found online:
Slaves heading north passed through here
Conference: Events highlight role Maryland and Baltimore played in the antebellum Underground Railroad.
$100 REWARD -- Ran away from the subscriber on Saturday, 7th August [1858], a NEGRO WOMAN, called Emeline, aged about 31 years, dark color, 5 feet high. She took with her a female child aged 22 months. I will give the above reward if they are returned to me, or lodged in jail within the State so I can get them.
Henry Devries
Marriottsville, Carroll county, Md.
Henry Devries
Marriottsville, Carroll county, Md.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Paper Mills
According to an article originally published in August of 1895, and posted on the Carroll County Historical Society web page (http://hscc.carr.org/research/yesteryears/cct2001/011118htm.htm), Christian DeVries purchased an old flour mill, called Valley Mill, located on what is now Marriottsville Road Number 2 in the year 1809. He worked for three years to add new machinery and turned the mill into a flour mill as well as a paper mill. This was an ideal location for a mill, as this section of Marriottsville Road (between what is now Marriottsville Rd (#1) and Arrington Road, follows the Piney Run river.
Based on maps of the time, and one hand sketched map filed in the county land records, the paper mill was located just of what is now Arrington Road, where it intersects Marriottsville Road Number 2. From the direction of Ridge Road, make a right onto Marriottsville Road Number 2, then a right onto Arrington Road. Immediately after the bridge crossing the river, there is an area big enough to park your vehicle on the left, next to the guard rail. The paper mill was either located right there, or to the left of the guard rail. When you look over the guard rail, you will notice that there is a flat area that follows the path of the river. That used to be an road that followed the river for some time, then curved to the right and connected with what is now Henryton Road. It may have even been called Henryton Road. Off that road lived Henry DeVries and his wife. My son and I walked the length of that old road, which is now just grass, stones, and fallen trees, until it ended at a quarry blast site. When driving along Marriottsville Road Number 2, looking over the river, you can see where the old road stops at the quarry blast site, then picks up again on the other side of the blast site. We plan to follow the rest of the old road in the Spring, when it isn't so dangerous to navigate. It is also interesting to note that the Arrington Road bridge over the river was not always located in that spot. Rather, it was located further to the left. If you look closely, you can see concrete moorings of the older bridge. I think the current bridge was built in about 1957. In fact, if you look across the street, to where the old Soapstone Quarry is located, you can see concrete pilings in the woods, left there long ago.
As far as I can tell, it was the only paper mill in Carroll County. Fabricating paper at that time in history was very labor intensive. If you read the article, you will see what I mean. It gives you great appreciation for the ease in which we can make paper these days.
In 1827, Christian's son John B. DeVries built another paper mill "below that of his father...and in 1829 began operation as a hand mill," per the article. I interpret this as John built another paper mill located south of his father's mill and he managed most of the process by hand, with limited use of machinery. As advancements in machine technology were developed over the coming years, John DeVries bough into the new technology.
John's paper mill burned down in 1852 and was rebuilt again in the same year. His father, Christian, operated his flour/paper mill until the beginning of the Civil War and then he closed it down. In 1868, there was a great flood in the Patapsco Valley that destroyed the structures of both mills. John DeVries rebuilt his mill and cleaned and re-used the machinery that he salvaged from the original mill. His father's original mill was not rebuit, however. John's paper mill stood until 1884 when it was burned down. It was not rebuilt.
There was also a store that John DeVries owned in the same vicinity. Though it is not clear where it is located on the map. The below map is copied from the Carroll County Historical Society web page, see the url at the top of this post.
Based on maps of the time, and one hand sketched map filed in the county land records, the paper mill was located just of what is now Arrington Road, where it intersects Marriottsville Road Number 2. From the direction of Ridge Road, make a right onto Marriottsville Road Number 2, then a right onto Arrington Road. Immediately after the bridge crossing the river, there is an area big enough to park your vehicle on the left, next to the guard rail. The paper mill was either located right there, or to the left of the guard rail. When you look over the guard rail, you will notice that there is a flat area that follows the path of the river. That used to be an road that followed the river for some time, then curved to the right and connected with what is now Henryton Road. It may have even been called Henryton Road. Off that road lived Henry DeVries and his wife. My son and I walked the length of that old road, which is now just grass, stones, and fallen trees, until it ended at a quarry blast site. When driving along Marriottsville Road Number 2, looking over the river, you can see where the old road stops at the quarry blast site, then picks up again on the other side of the blast site. We plan to follow the rest of the old road in the Spring, when it isn't so dangerous to navigate. It is also interesting to note that the Arrington Road bridge over the river was not always located in that spot. Rather, it was located further to the left. If you look closely, you can see concrete moorings of the older bridge. I think the current bridge was built in about 1957. In fact, if you look across the street, to where the old Soapstone Quarry is located, you can see concrete pilings in the woods, left there long ago.
As far as I can tell, it was the only paper mill in Carroll County. Fabricating paper at that time in history was very labor intensive. If you read the article, you will see what I mean. It gives you great appreciation for the ease in which we can make paper these days.
In 1827, Christian's son John B. DeVries built another paper mill "below that of his father...and in 1829 began operation as a hand mill," per the article. I interpret this as John built another paper mill located south of his father's mill and he managed most of the process by hand, with limited use of machinery. As advancements in machine technology were developed over the coming years, John DeVries bough into the new technology.
John's paper mill burned down in 1852 and was rebuilt again in the same year. His father, Christian, operated his flour/paper mill until the beginning of the Civil War and then he closed it down. In 1868, there was a great flood in the Patapsco Valley that destroyed the structures of both mills. John DeVries rebuilt his mill and cleaned and re-used the machinery that he salvaged from the original mill. His father's original mill was not rebuit, however. John's paper mill stood until 1884 when it was burned down. It was not rebuilt.
There was also a store that John DeVries owned in the same vicinity. Though it is not clear where it is located on the map. The below map is copied from the Carroll County Historical Society web page, see the url at the top of this post.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Soapstone Quarry
According to a map of the Marriottsville area (Freedom District) dated 1877, there existed a soapstone quarry along Marriottsville Road Number 2, just by the sharp bend near the turn to Arrington Road. My husband, two boys, and I went out there last winter to have a look around. It was very dangerous going. We parked in a little area just off Arrington Road, and carefully made our way across the street.
The first thing we noticed was an old wooden structure, or what was left of it. Only a few main timbers still appear above the ground. Based on a Land Survey Plat Book kept by Carroll County, the shack could be the remnants of a Steam Boiler House used by the Maryland Soapstone Company to run this quarry. There are many bushes back in there, most of which are covered in sharp spiny thorns. We were not appropriately dressed for the thorns, and we each were assaulted horribly by a thorn that just wouldn't let go during the hike.
It was also unstable ground back there, due to the water flowing throughout the brush and the ground having ruts you can't see for the tall grass. We climbed on top of a hill just behind the shack and could see deeper into the quarry from that view point. It was amazing how far back it went at one section. It was like a letter "u" carved into the rock. I was not adventurous enough to go into the "u." When we got closer to one wall of the quarry, we could clearly see tool marks in the stone. And some drill holes were still clearly visible, where they must have drilled into the stone to place the dynamite. There was also a clean rectangular slab of stone broken off and laying on the ground...left behind when they closed up the quarry, it seems.
According to the same article, there was also a flour mill that was later converted a paper mill in 1811 by John DeVries. John was a son of Christian Saib DeVries who came to America from Holland in 1803. Christian DeVries had three other sons: Christian DeVries, Jr., Henry Octavius DeVries, and William T. DeVries.
The first thing we noticed was an old wooden structure, or what was left of it. Only a few main timbers still appear above the ground. Based on a Land Survey Plat Book kept by Carroll County, the shack could be the remnants of a Steam Boiler House used by the Maryland Soapstone Company to run this quarry. There are many bushes back in there, most of which are covered in sharp spiny thorns. We were not appropriately dressed for the thorns, and we each were assaulted horribly by a thorn that just wouldn't let go during the hike.
It was also unstable ground back there, due to the water flowing throughout the brush and the ground having ruts you can't see for the tall grass. We climbed on top of a hill just behind the shack and could see deeper into the quarry from that view point. It was amazing how far back it went at one section. It was like a letter "u" carved into the rock. I was not adventurous enough to go into the "u." When we got closer to one wall of the quarry, we could clearly see tool marks in the stone. And some drill holes were still clearly visible, where they must have drilled into the stone to place the dynamite. There was also a clean rectangular slab of stone broken off and laying on the ground...left behind when they closed up the quarry, it seems.
According to the same article, there was also a flour mill that was later converted a paper mill in 1811 by John DeVries. John was a son of Christian Saib DeVries who came to America from Holland in 1803. Christian DeVries had three other sons: Christian DeVries, Jr., Henry Octavius DeVries, and William T. DeVries.
 |
| Remnants of wooden building or shack. |
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| The "U" where the Quarry goes further back than we could walk. |
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| Rock face that had been blasted to free Soapstone slabs |
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Why So Interested?
We moved to Marriottsville about eight years ago when we were looking for a nice community with good schools for our boys. After doing extensive research on the Carroll County school system, we took a drive up here from Anne Arundel County and we fell in love with the trees and the hills. The drive from work was still a concern, but we have found that once we get off Interstate 70 onto Marriottsville Road, it is a peaceful and relaxing way to leave the office behind and focus energy back to what matters...family.
I am a history buff and I enjoy any chance to do research on the past. Finding information on Marriottsville's past has been slow going. I have learned a lot looking at old maps of the area, and lately I have gotten a little more savvy on keyword searches using Google. I am amazed at what can be found on the internet. But, I am sure I will need to visit the courthouse and interview community members to get the best information.
I learned that Marriottsville is named after the Marriott Plantation owned by General William Hammond Marriott as far back as 1811. The Marriott Plantation land was located in the Howard County side of Marriottsville. General Marriott was the son of Richard Davis Marriott and Sarah Hammond Marriott. The General was a direct descendant of John Marriott, one of the founding fathers of Howard County, Maryland, who lived in the Howard County area as far back as 1861. General William Marriott was the Commanding Officer of the Anne Arundel County Militia in the War of 1812. Later in life, he was the Speaker of the House for the Maryland House of Representatives.
Marriottsville Road is home to at least three active Stone Quarries. The Vinci Stone Company is located in the heart of Marriottsville, located just down from where the road crosses over the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad tracks. Further North on Marriottsville Road is the LaFarge Quarry, and just across a little further is another smaller Quarry, that I believe is privately owned.
I am a history buff and I enjoy any chance to do research on the past. Finding information on Marriottsville's past has been slow going. I have learned a lot looking at old maps of the area, and lately I have gotten a little more savvy on keyword searches using Google. I am amazed at what can be found on the internet. But, I am sure I will need to visit the courthouse and interview community members to get the best information.
I learned that Marriottsville is named after the Marriott Plantation owned by General William Hammond Marriott as far back as 1811. The Marriott Plantation land was located in the Howard County side of Marriottsville. General Marriott was the son of Richard Davis Marriott and Sarah Hammond Marriott. The General was a direct descendant of John Marriott, one of the founding fathers of Howard County, Maryland, who lived in the Howard County area as far back as 1861. General William Marriott was the Commanding Officer of the Anne Arundel County Militia in the War of 1812. Later in life, he was the Speaker of the House for the Maryland House of Representatives.
Marriottsville Road is home to at least three active Stone Quarries. The Vinci Stone Company is located in the heart of Marriottsville, located just down from where the road crosses over the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad tracks. Further North on Marriottsville Road is the LaFarge Quarry, and just across a little further is another smaller Quarry, that I believe is privately owned.
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