Do you remember the once-booming mill town of Daniels, Maryland? Don’t feel bad if you don’t, especially if you weren’t living in or around Howard County prior to the Hurricane Agnes era. Today Daniels, Maryland stands as nothing more than an abandoned ghost town with scattered remnants dating back to the days when it encompassed a thriving community, complete with homes, churches, commerce, a post office, etc. And before it was Daniels, it went by two other town names—Elysville and Alberton.
For this Flashback Friday Feature, I’m going to recount the remarkable history behind this now-abandoned town, hidden away in the shadows of Patapsco Valley State Park. I will highlight the developments that took place onsite here for well over a century before detailing its eminent decline by the late 1960s/1970s.
Early Years of Elysville
The land that would first be named Elysville was settled in 1810 by Thomas Ely and his four brothers. Together, they established a textile mill along the Patapsco River. By the end of the 1820s, Elysville Manufacturing Company was incorporated to produce cotton and other textile goods. This led to the additional construction of a dam, millrace, and stone factory on location as well. Further expansions into the 1830s even saw the extension of track lines for the B&O Railroad being laid to run through, making this one of the earliest railroad communities in the nation.
As the area continued to grow, a regular community started to thrive here. Among the additional developments were houses for mill workers and their families, an area school, a general store, and even a post office. Throughout the decades various houses of worship also started to emerge here.
A Shift in Ownership
By 1854 ownership of the community shifted to James Gary, who moved here in 1839 from Connecticut. The town was renamed Alberton in honor of Gary’s son James Albert Gary and remained in his family for three generations.
Under Gary’s direction, the bustling mill village was shaped and developed even further to become an all-out prospering model community. The following years brought the addition of many more houses and other buildings being erected onsite as well. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. The mill even suffered serious damage following extreme area flooding in 1866 and 1868. But things kept moving along prosperously throughout the end of the 19th century. James Albert Gary took over the mill in 1870, followed by his son in 1885.
Daniels, Maryland
Things took a financial turn for the worse during the Great Depression years, which unfortunately resulted in the Gary family losing ownership of the mill and town. Both were sold at auction at the end of the 1930s and acquired by the highest bidder—the C.R. Daniels Company of New York—in 1940. They reportedly bought the entire site for $65,000.
As the new owners, the C.R. Daniels Company renamed the existing town Daniels. In the three decades that followed, commerce and plant production increased dramatically and they were selling even more products that didn’t just cater solely to textiles. Community life, living, and livelihood were also at an all-time high throughout this area, and at its peak, the community was even once home to as many as 800 residents.
However, due to financial constraints in the mid-1960s, the Daniels Company made the difficult decision to start phasing out residential employee housing in the community and even remove some of the older buildings onsite. Over 90 families still called Daniels home in the late 1960s, and the call to clear out was not a favorable one to make. But in hindsight, it just may have saved hundreds of lives.
When Hurricane Agnes wreaked epic havoc and destruction on the region in 1972, massive flooding all but destroyed the vast majority of buildings and a large portion of the remaining mill site. Then, to add insult to injury, a fire broke out in 1977—destroying the remainder of the mill and sealing the deal as the final nail in the coffin of the dead and buried town of Daniels, Maryland.
What’s Left Today
Following the devastation to the site, C.R. Daniels relocated all manufacturing to a newer Ellicott City-based facility, where it currently remains in full operation today. As for the former Daniels Mill, it was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Visitors happening near the site today will even find placards and signage denoting the many historic callouts and milestones throughout the town’s overall developmental history. And then there are all those ever-present, stagnant reminders lacing the now-desolate grounds. From an old abandoned vehicle stuck on a one-way road to the past to the crumbling and decaying buildings overburdened by vines, a stroll through this long-lost mill town—hindered in the wilds of the Patapsco Valley State Park—makes for a truly enthralling experience that both historians and ghost town buffs can rightfully appreciate.
Prospective visitors to Daniels, Maryland may arrive by searching routes from their specific points of origin to the public site address at 2090 Daniels Road, Ellicott City, MD 21043. GPS coordinates are 39313665 76.81557. Daniels is open from 9 a.m. to sunset daily. For more information, call Patapsco Valley State Park’s official Daniels Trailhead number at 410-461-5005.