Historical Sites
From “A Pictorial History of Howard County” by Joetta M. Cramm, 1987, 2004
The Mathews-Pindell Complex
“Little House” Including Kingsdene
Opposite Dependence, the former Pindell home in Glenwood, is “the little house by the side of the road,” a picturesque place restored by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Hennessy, former owners. Believed to have been standing when James B. Mathews purchased his land in 1822, and to have previously served as a tenant house of the Dorsey, Barnes, or Ridgely families, it became Mathew’s home during the building of the stone portion of Bloomsburg. Then a house consisting of four rooms and loft, it was used next as the home of an overseer until Alfred Griffith, son of James, and Sophia Hood, his bride, made it their home during the building of Hazeldene. Here their first two children, Hood Mathews and Mary Louise Mathews Nichols, were born. The house was also occupied by William Mathews while building Kingsdene, which stood to the rear of “Little House.” Although built by Mathews, Kingsdene is remembered primarily as the home of the Cotton family, who tragically lost a daughter in a fire that consumed the landmark. A new brick house, one of a few 20th –century houses standing in Glenwood, has since been erected on the site, When the Glenwood Institute was flourishing, “Little House” became the home of one of the faculty.
In 1964, while Mr. and Mrs. William Stinson III were occupying the house, a writer was told of a series of events concerning the property. Upon the death of James B. Mathews, William H. Stinson II purchased Bloomsburg, which quickly became know as the Old Stinson Homestead; “Little House” was not included in the purchase. Later, following the death of Mr. Stinson, Bloomsburg was sold to the Graddicks, and young William Stinson III and his wife Achsah moved to “Little House,” in the shadow of his former home, Mathews’s Great House, or Bloomsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Stinson remained in the smaller house until Mr. Stinson’s death, after which Mrs. Stinson left the area.
Today this smallest of all Mathews homes is serving as an office for the owners of the Glenwood Garden Center.
Read an article about the Little House
Mathews-Related Landmarks
Including Hazeldene (also know as the Donnhauser House) and Dependence (Also known as Wyndhurst and the Pindell House)
Of the Mathews-related landmarks in Glenwood, Union Chapel, the former “Pindell complex,” and “Little House” are the best known, despite the fact that Hazeldene is clearly marked, while Bloomsburg, the family home of the Mathews family looks down unobtrusively from it’s hilltop. Hazeldene, known for a time as the Donnhauser House, was originally the home of Alfred Mathews. The old Glenwood Country Club, which once adjoined the Glenwood Institute, also remains, although it has been abandoned for some 40 years. It is located across the road from the entrance of the Oak Grove Cemetery on ground once held by James B. Mathews, and in its day was considered one of the finest clubs on the Western Shore. Many of the prominent of Howard County were lifelong members.
The “Pindell complex”, which consisted of James B. Mathews' second store and Dependence, home of Dr. James Edward Mathews, was in the Pindell family since 1919, when Roland C. Pindell, son of Richard C. of Fulton, purchased the property from Mrs. William Snowden Hodges, who had changed the name to Wyndhurst. Built by Dr. Mathews in 1850 or thereabout, the house faces south. There is speculation that this original part of the present home may have been standing when James. B. bought his strip of land in 1822. The earliest deed held by William W. Pindell is dated 1883, the year Dr. and Mrs. Mathews sold the home to John D. Alcock, postmaster of Glenwood from December 1889 to December 1900. On 18 April 1900 Alcock sold the place to Emma Shepherd, from whom Mrs. Hodges purchased it in 1910.
In the early 1890’s, the Alcocks added several rooms on the north side of the house. They featured by windows and were topped with a mansard roof. The addition consists of a hallway and spiraling stairway from the ground floor to the attic, and a spacious room on each level. The interior of Dependence has seen some subtle changes, with Alcock’s living room converted into a first-floor bedroom and the original Mathews combination living and dining room serving as a living room only. A modern kitchen and bath were added by the Pindells. There are four fireplaces – one with Italian marble, three with wooden mantels. A pass-through cupboard from the present living room to the original kitchen, now serving as the dining room, is as convenient as it is unique. So, too, is the single hearth that serves the fireplaces in both rooms, needing but a single chimney. Two rooms in the newer wing have inside shutters. When occupied by the Pindells, the house was attractively furnished with family antiques of great beauty.
Elizabeth Pindell, the wife of William, died on 14 May 1980; she was the daughter of Tilghman C. Thomas of Tuckahoe Neck on the Eastern Shore. In addition to being mistress of Dr. Mathews' old home, she was the postmistress of the Glenwood Post Office from January 1937, when it was housed in the old Mathews store, to December 1978, when it was moved to a trailer then located on the site of the present post office. Of the 10 people who served as postmaster over the years, all but two were members of the Mathews family or related to it through marriage.
In 1976 the combination store-post office, which the Pindells had owned for so many years, was converted into an antique shop. For the browser as well as the serious shopper, it was an interesting place to visit, with its original letter box still intact and its plank floors beautifully restored by the new occupants, Warren Boyer and Charles Peters. Ironically, where once everything from penny candy to ladies’ corsets – plus postage stamps – were sold, antiques reminiscent of the period when the store first came into existence more than a century ago were displayed for sale. Unfortunately the venture was short lived. When acquired by W.H. Boyer, Inc., in 1981, after 75 years in the Pindell family, the old landmark was moved across the road and became a part of the Glenwood Garden Center.
William Welling Pindell, husband of the late Elizabeth and “Bill” to half the county, has long been one of the community’s more civic-minded men. In the political arena he served as a member on the Board of Zoning Appeals for Howard County for four years, resigning in 1967 to become a member of the Board of Election Supervisors for three consecutive two-year terms. For years he has been an active and energetic member of the Glenwood Lions Club, serving as club president in 1951-52, and in 1968 he was the recipient of the Master Key Award. Mr. Pindell serves today as a trustee of Union Chapel and was in large measure the instigator of a program to restore the old landmark, one of Glenwood’s finest. Widely respected and liked, he enjoys the reputation of being a man who is always willing the help, whether the need be small or great.
 Union Chapel
On the hillside north of DEPENDENCE, the Pindell Home, is the small church known as Union Chapel. Built in 1833 on land donated by Charles D. Warfield, kin to Dr. Gustavus Warfield of Longwood, the building is of stone construction with a rough stucco covering painted a pastel yellow. Its restrained austerity of line resembles that of a Friends meeting house, such as one finds throughout portions of Maryland and Pennsylvania. It is said that the stone for the steps was dragged from the mill at Bowling Green, home of the Hood family who played a decisive role in the history of the church at the time of its founding. A description of the interior, written in 1933, suggests that the chapel was considered a proud relic of its Methodist days.
Union Chapel on the old Howard Circuit, now Poplar Springs, of the Maryland Conference … is one of the loveliest of the old churches of our denomination … spared the misfortune of modernization. Solid round columns support a quaint old fashioned gallery … In addition to the kerosene lamps in brackets on the walls there are two lamps of pure classic design on the pulpit that are gems.
Union Chapel cost $5,040 to build and was paid for by gifts, large and small. Among donors the following names appear again and again: Banks, Cook, Crapster, Dorsey, Gaither, Hobbs, Hood, Mathews, Owings, Peddicord, Ridgely, Shipley, Snowden, and Warfield. On 2 June 1833, at a meeting at the School House No. 39, the following men were unanimously elected trustees “for the meeting house now building”: Mortimer Dorsey, Philemon Dorsey, Benjamin Hood, Thomas Hood, Hezekiah Linthicum, Slingsby Linthicum, James B. Mathews, John Hood Owings, and Gustavus Warfield. Detailed accounts were kept and examined periodically from June 1833 until completion of the chapel and trimmings in September 1842, a practice that prevailed for well over a century.
Union Chapel was established for members of various denominations, though the majority were Methodist Protestant. The practice of opening the doors to people of all faiths was clearly defined on 9 July 1833 in the deed exercised by Charles D. Warfield, who as “Party of the First Part” did grant to trustees named above as “Parties of the Second Part”
A lot of land called Dependence situate on the Westminster and Georgetown Road … together with the improvements and appurtenances … to have and to hold … said lot in trust for the congregation who may meet from time to time to worship All Mighty God and for use and benefit of the neighborhood or people who may meet as a congregation of religious worshipers … for further use of the minister and members of the Methodist Protestant Church … also the said house shall be free for the use for any minister of the gospel … whenever said house shall not be occupied … by the Ministers of the Methodist Protestant Church.
Over the years the various denominations obtained their own buildings, and in 1842 Union Chapel was officially designated a Methodist Protestant Church of the old Howard Circuit. In 1939, it was included in the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the Methodist Church, but by 1955 membership had declined to about 50 and the church was forced to close its doors.
In 1960, after the chapel had stood abandoned for five years, friends of the old chapel requested that the building be turned over to them for restoration and preservation. Their newly organized board of trustees included Lynn W. Abendroth, William B. Brendel, Carville L. Collins, Mrs. H. P. House, Mehrle Picket, William W. Pindell, C. Winfield Robb, Warren G. Sargent, and Edwin Warfield III. In 1982 the beautiful little chapel again opeed its doors for services and occasional public meetings. St. Andrews Mission, an extension of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church of Ellicott City, used the chapel almost regularly. The Howard County Historical Society chose to take advantage of its ideal setting on a special occasion. Although full restoration of the structure had not yet been achieved, the National Trust for Historic Preservation saw fit to designate Union Chapel a National Historic Landmark as of June 1975.
As of December 1981, Mrs Elsie H. Davis and James Pfferkorn, had been added to the Union Chapel’s original board of trustees. Mrs. Warren G. Sargent was appointed historian. With still more work to be completed, primarily by residents of Glenwood and other active members of the restoration movement, additional funds were needed to purchase both materials as well as the assistance of professional craftsmen, whose skills were needed to do justice to the historic site. The painstaking restoration, now completed, will long be appreciated by a grateful posterity.
Oak Grove Cemetery
Beyond Union Chapel (to the west) is Oak Grove Cemetery. It was laid out in 1869-70 at a cost of $293.75 for the land, all of which was cleared within a year. Because of the predominant use of family burial plots on early homesteads of Upper Arundel, most 18th century graves are to be found on residential property; yet at Oak Grove one can observe the final resting place of many prominent Howard countians of successive generations. Stones bearing the Dorsey, Hammond, Ridgely, and Warfield names are numerous, as are those marking the graves of the Crapster, Mathews, and Riggs families. Here, lying side by side, are the descendants of Richard Warfield, progenitor of the Warfields of Maryland, Col. William Burgess of South River, and the Dorseys of Hockley-in-the-Hole. Here, too, James B. Mathews of Glenwood lies at rest along with his wife and members of his family, while the graves of Dr. Augustus Riggs, Sr. and Jr., are within sight of that of Alfred P. Warfield, former mayor of Westport, Missouri.
And here, too, lie the mortal remains of a man of simple tastes but varied experiences, a man who not only witnessed the opening of the Cherokee Strip in 1893 (now the State of Oklahoma), but who in his travels is also said to have looked upon the face of the dreaded Pancho Villa, that most prominent of Mexican bandits. This man, Nicholas R. Henderson II, lies beside his father, Nicholas R. Henderson of Oakley Farm, a progressive farmer in the Lisbon area, owner of one of the finest farms in the western part of the county, the last of Warfield’s Forest to remain in the family. The remains of many other men and women who contributed so much to the progress of the county also rest within the confines of the peaceful hillside cemetery.
While Oak Grove Cemetery was never considered the exclusive burial ground for members of Union Chapel, it is being cared for today by the same group of men and women who are dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the former meeting house.
Glenwood Country Club
A glance across the road from the entrance to Oak Grove Cemetery reveals an old frame building, once the gathering place of the elite, the Glenwood Country Club, whose grounds bordered on those of the Glenwood Institute. Now almost beyond hope of restoration, it was formerly the scene of some of the county’s most spectacular social events. Founded well before the turn of this century (1900), the names on its register read like a “Who’s Who” of Howard County. Yet the sons of the founding fathers enjoyed and participated in sports and entertainment almost identical to those of the members of the more modest Howard County Farmers Club, who met at Woodbine for the annual events. They are not known to have owned a club house.
High on the agenda for both clubs was jousting, a sport that flourished in the Middle Ages. When a tournament got under way, a band would usually usher the participants onto the field. Riders could range in number from a dozen to a hundred, and an honored guest, usually someone of prominence in either political or social life, delivered the “Charge of the Knights,” which never failed to mention the “ladyes fayre” who were on hand for the grand occasion. Participants in the tournament included a marshal and his assistant, two heralds (who raced down the line on each side and declared the winners), and knights. With riders galloping at the swift rate 80 to 100 yards in 10 seconds to spear suspended rings, which were reduced in size for each of the three jousts, both participants and spectators found much to shout about. There were awards to be won, to say nothing of the prestige enjoyed by the winners, and the crowning of the Queen of Love and Beauty with a wreath of flowers by the top winner. The Queen’s ladies-in-waiting were selected by the next three highest-scoring knights. On occasion the tournament would be followed by a picnic or dinner, then a ball where the first dance with the queen was reserved for the winning knight. Such events lasted the entire day, starting early and continuing well into the night. Hence the state’s official sport, with all its pageantry, was kept alive for many years, at least in Howard County.
As of the 1960s jousting was still very much in evidence, notably at Woodbine. Unfortunately the Glenwood Country Club was forced to close. Its members became overburdened with the considerable expense of maintaining the club house and grounds, the jousting grounds located on old Route 40 west of Cooksville, and the large staff required to serve meals and provide for other services. In addition, with the gradual demise of the club’s older members, there were fewer of the succeeding generations who chose to participate in its program. Athletic preferences had changed, and although one younger group took up the sport in the 1970s, jousting was not to be revived as it had been during the heyday of the original Glenwood Country Club.
While use might have been found for the old club house, according to one source it could never be sold “because of entails in the estates of all the members.” Consequently the building was abandoned. It is in ways such as this that much of the county’s heritage threatens to be lost. As for the club itself, at least its history has been recorded for future generations, and one can hope for its revival at some future date by caring hands.
 Longwood Chapel
Back from the chapel is “Longwood,” named in honor of Napoleon’s exile home. It was built by Dr. Gustavus Warfield, son of Major Charles Alexander, of “Bushy Park,” in 1820. When nearly ready for occupancy it was consumed by fire. Mrs. Dr. Warfield at that time was visiting her father, Mr. William Evan Thomas, near Philadelphia. Upon the very night of the fire, in her dreams she saw the house on fire and her husband consumed in it. Without waiting for confirmation, she started next morning for home. Dr. Warfield also started that same morning to convey the news to her in person. Reaching his destination and finding her gone he returned immediately. She had reached the tollgate opposite General Thomas Hood’s home without learning anything to allay her fears. There General Hood met her carriage and assured her of her husband’s safety and his departure for Philadelphia to meet her.
Taking her to his home and directing the gatekeeper to send the doctor to her upon his return, they there met in reunion after many hours of suspense.
Glenwood Farmers' Club
When Professor J.D. Warfield, the Principal of Glenwood Institute, had met the young, progressive farmers of that section he said to them:
“I was one of the organizers of “Vansville Farmers’ Club,” which proved to be a success. Now, I want you young men to come to the Institute and organize.”
His proposition was accepted, and there, around the supper table, was instituted a club that has never had a break in its yearly work.
Out of it has grown a yearly picnic, sometimes agricultural and often running into a tournament and dance.
The Glenwood Farmers’ Picnic is the meeting place for almost all of Western Maryland. The members of the Club are Mr. Gustavus Warfield, President; Mr. William Stinson, Governor Edwin Warfield, Marshall T. Warfield, Charles Hammond, Thomas C. Stewart, Samuel Musgrove, T. Musgrove, Harry Peddicord, RowlandPeddicord, Thomas Clarke, Hon. Humphrey D. Wolfe, Shepherd Dorsey, Daniel Gather, all large, progressive, intelligent farmers, who in one of the most cultivated sections of Maryland, in a garden spot of natural beauty, are continuing on in the good work organized at Glenwood Institute some ten years ago. (1895~)
From Glenwood, also, was written “Historic Spots near Glenwood,” which doubled the circulation of the “Ellicott City Times.”
 Glenwood Institute
The description that follows is from the Howard County 150th Anniversary Publication published in 2001.
Following the war, Professor Matthews returned to Glenwood and opened his first school named Phrenakosmian Hall, which advertised as “A Select School for Boys and Girls”. It attracted 48 boys and 25 girls! Later the school’s name was changed to the Howard Institute…
The 1878 Maryland Directory placed the population of Glenwood at 40. The town and the surrounding area were reported to be the garden spot of Howard County.
The success of Howard Institute was so great that Professor Matthews built a large Victorian style house that he named Glenwood Institute. Well-known teachers were attracted including Howard County’s own Professor J.D. Warfield, who enjoyed quite a reputation for preparing students for colleges as well as for the Naval Academy and West Point.
For several years military classes were also included at Glenwood Institute with the students being required to wear uniforms and perform drills.
It is not known when Glenwood Institute closed but Professor Matthews died in 1885 at the age of 57. In 1898 records show that the house was owned by Miss Louisa V. Warfield of Longwood. She rented it to her nephew’s wife, Mrs. Charles D. Warfield of Woodlawn who circulated the following advertisement:
GLENWOOD INSTITUTE
HOWARD COUNTY, MD
Will Reopen June 1st, 1898 for Summer Boarders
Situation High and Healthy, Terms Moderate
Accommodations for Horses and Vehicles
LETTERS OF INQUIRY
CHEERFULLY ACCEPTED
Address: Mrs Charles D. Warfield
Glenwood, MD
Across the road from the entrance to Oak Grove Cemetery once stood the Glenwood Country Club whose grounds bordered on those of the Glenwood Institute. It was the scene of some of the county’s most spectacular social events. In addition to extravagant parties and dances, every year the club would host a jousting tournament at the jousting grounds they maintained on Frederick Road just west of Cooksville. Jousting was and still is the “official” Maryland state sport.
Trusted Information Systems, Inc.
The book from which this information was copied was published in 1987. Since then there have been many changes to Glenwood and to the properties identified in this report. Please consider this a partial update to the information that has been so carefully gathered by Celia M. Holland.
In 1992-3, Trusted Information Systems, Inc., my company, was growing rapidly and looking for local office space of which there is very little. We had a small staff located in a converted home just east of Lisbon on Rt 144. I had heard that the Howards had purchased the Pindell house at 2960 Roxbury Mills Road in Glenwood. They were planning to move to Illinois and their property was up for sale.
I called the Howards and asked for a walk-thru. Mrs. Howard gave me a full tour; one aspect of which stood out particularly strongly. As we came around a corner in the front of the house, she told me that the main stairway of the house was one of three “free standing stairways” in the State of Maryland. At first glance I told her that I knew where one of the other two were – in my house at 3100 Roxbury Mills Rd, just next door.
Apparently, sometime in the 1870-80s, the Mathews, who owned both Bloomsburg and Dependence, arranged for a very similar stairway to be build between the first – second – and third floors of both homes. The stairs, railings, posts and the “free standing” connections were exactly the same. The only difference I could observe was that the hand rails at the Bloomsburg house were ½ to3/4 inches thicker than those at Dependence. Obviously the same person(s) built both stairways at approximately the same time.
When we had Billy Hood do one of his early renovations in 1985, he installed small iron braces to ensure the stairs did not shift. Those are to my knowledge the only differences between the two stairs.
In 1993, Trusted Information System (TIS) purchased the “Pindell” house from the Howards. We did extensive modifications to the utilities of the house so that we could have enough power and air conditioning to support a crew of computer programmers. But we kept both the inside and outside of the house just as it had been. By 1997, the exterior of the house had deteriorated significantly and was impossible to paint. We replaced it with vinyl siding and put on a new roof, still keeping both the inside and outside looking just as it had for so many years.
As we began remodeling in 1993, we were told we only needed one water sprinkler at the main entrance to the house. One sprinkler head could be driven but the existing well. Just before we moved into the house, the building inspector told us we would have to sprinklers through out the house. At this time I became much more friendly with Dick Story, the President of the Howard County Economic Authority. Eventually we were able to occupy the house.
In April, 1998, TIS was sold to Network Associates and I purchased the Glenwood Office Building and Dependence from them as part of the deal.
My new company, Steve Walker & Associates, an early stage technology investment firm, started in 1998 in the old Pindell mansion but moved back into the TIS building within the first year. In early 2005, we sold the Pindell house to a local resident.
Learn more about Steve Walker
Read the Wikipedia entry about Trusted Information Systems
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