Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737–1832) was a signer of the
Declaration of Independence for Maryland. One of the wealthiest men in the
Americas at that time and a newly elected delegate to the
Second Continental Congress and the only
Catholic to vote on independence and sign the document, Carroll staked his fortune on the
American Revolution. After the Revolution, Carroll became president of the
Maryland Senate in the
General Assembly and divided his time between the family mansion and estate
Doughoregan Manor in western
Anne Arundel County (later
Howard County), near
Ellicott Mills on the upper
Patapsco River, and
Annapolis. One of his most important tasks he said was when he helped lay the "first stone" for the new technology of transportation, the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on
Independence Day, July 4, 1828, west of the city near modern
Halethorpe. At his death in 1832, he was the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence and was laid to rest with other Carrolls in the crypt at the family chapel at Doughoregan. In 1784, Charles bought Marys Lott, a farm from Jacob Burgoon, a Catholic immigrant from
Alsace-Lorraine, France, who came to America in about 1745 and settled in
Elkridge, Maryland. Jacob and his wife Elizabeth were
indentured servants, Jacob working as a cordwainer (shoemaker). They had bought Marys Lott in 1762. They had eight children, and after selling Marys Lott they moved to a farm in what is now
Carroll County, Maryland. Marys Lott became part of the land later given for St. Charles College.
Ambrose Maréchal (1764–1828), the future third
Archbishop of Baltimore, and other
Sulpician priests were frequent guests at
Doughoregan, saying
Mass there often and gaining the ear of the Charles Carroll. During subsequent years a request of land was made for a
minor seminary. Carroll, however, denied the request because he felt he could not break up or donate any part of his patrimony. In 1830, Emily Caton MacTavish, favorite granddaughter of the
Signer and sister of the "Three American Graces", convinced Carroll to give to the
Sulpician Fathers for the erection of a
minor seminary — Saint Charles. She accomplished this by suggesting he donate land that he had bought during his lifetime. Included was Mary's Lott, aptly named for a gift to the Church, thought Carroll at the time. The college was incorporated on February 3, 1830, with the name "St. Charles" chosen for its benefactor, Charles Carroll. Construction started on the college building in 1831. The building would reach a size of in length, with ceilings using gas lighting and radiant heat. The first building of Saint Charles College (
minor seminary) was completed in 1848, and the college opened on October 31 with two faculty: the president, Father Oliver Jenkins; a
deacon, Edward Caton; and four students. Two wings were added in 1859 and blessed by
Francis Patrick Kenrick,
Archbishop of the
Archdiocese of Baltimore. "Our Lady of the Angels Chapel" was started at this time, but completion was delayed by the
Civil War until 1866. An imitation of the
Sainte-Chapelle in
Paris, the building was long, wide and high. It was lavishly decorated mainly through the generosity of its first rector and president, Father Oliver Jenkins. Two additional wings were added to the building in 1878 for a 190-person enrollment. In 1898 a vastly enlarged Saint Charles College celebrated its 50th anniversary. The park-like grounds of St. Charles looked southeast towards the
Frederick Road, later the eastern end of the historic
National Road, the first federally sponsored interstate route begun in the early 1800s from Baltimore to
Cumberland and on to the western states finally ending near the
Mississippi River in
Vandalia, Illinois, then the territorial capital of the
Territory of Illinois. In later years the college would overlook
Wilkens Avenue, which also runs southwestward out of the city near the intersection of Maiden Choice Lane. On March 16, 1911, disaster struck: the college was completely destroyed by a fire that began in the chapel cellar. None of the 200+ faculty and students were killed or injured. Sacred vessels and vestments, along with thousands of priceless manuscripts and books were 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 were standing ruins of the 1906 Recreation Hall. After the fire, the heirs of the Carroll family requested that the 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. The area was purchased by
Howard County Planning Board member William Phillip Brendel, who ran Brendel Manor Park opening in 1942. Brendel's Manor Park (also known as Gospel Park) hosted the first Howard County Fair onsite in 1946 and 1950, with prison labor used to build structures. 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 storm water retention pond.() (also
Archbishop of Baltimore) and
Désiré-Joseph Mercier, the
Primate of
Belgium, visit St. Charles College on September 12, 1919, eight years after the great fire, with only the lower level of the center section completed In 1969, St. Charles' High School Department with boarding school was closed and the junior college merged with the upper college of
St. Mary's Seminary and University now on Roland Avenue and Belvedere Avenue/Northern Parkway in the
Roland Park neighborhood of north Baltimore (having moved there from North Paca Street by St. Mary's Street in the old
Seton Hill neighborhood to new landmark buildings of
Beaux Arts/Classical Revival style architecture on a new expansive park-like campus in 1929). The old St. Charles second campus was renamed "St. Mary's Seminary College" and continued its educational programs, now opened up to ecumenical participation. In 1977, the college closed and the property was sold to
Erickson Retirement Communities, Inc.; it is presently known as Charlestown Retirement Community. ==St. Charles College Historic District==