Little Baker Chapel-Western Maryland College Historic District - Westminster MD - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

Included in the district is Little Baker Chapel.

National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form

Western Maryland College was established under the auspices of the Maryland Annual Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church and chartered by an act of the Maryland Legislature in 1864. Consideration was first given to a site in the Baltimore City area but this was later changed to its present site in Westminster. The original 8-acre campus was acquired by the college's state-appointed Board of Directors in 1864 utilizing private monies. The site, although privately owned, was one that for many years was used by the citizens of Westminster as a meeting and picnicing area. Commonly referred to at that time as the "Old Commons," it was the scene of annual Fourth-of-July celebrations, political rallies, and during the Civil War was utilized by the Army of the Potomac to bivouac troops and for the placement of guns to protect the daily arrival of artillery on the nearby Western Maryland Railroad. The first building to be constructed, combining classrooms and dormitories, was known as the Main Building. Combining brick and stone, a regionally common building material, it was initially constructed in 1866, added to in 1871, 1887, and 1890, and demolished in 1956. About 14 other buildings were constructed on the 8-acre site between 1866 and 1900; but with the exception of those included in this nomination, all have been razed and other buildings erected on their sites. The structures nominated as an historic district are the oldest surviving architectural links with the 19th century beginnings of the college.

Little Baker Chapel-Nomination Form Page 3

Little Baker Chapel, dedicated in 1875, is a small building with a central octagonal space incorporated in a Greek Cross plan. There are some Richardson forms present such as the massive semi-circular stone arches over the western entrance and other first floor openings. At the entrance there is a double leafed door with a semi-circular stained glass transom above. A bulky, frame, two story tower with a pyramid roof was later added to the roof of the pediment over the west entrance. On each of the four exterior walls of the central octagonal space are large windows with rounded heads projecting above the cornice line and enclosed with pedimented gables. Pictorial scenes of stained glass in these windows are the work of the Baltimore firm of H.T. Gernhardt and Co. and were installed in 1920.

Name of Historic District (as listed on the NRHP): Western Maryland College Historic District Link to nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com page with the Historic District: [Web Link] Address: West Main and College Streets, Westminster MD How did you determine the building to be a contributing structure?: Narrative found on the internet (Link provided below) Optional link to narrative or database: [Web Link] NRHP Historic District Waymark (Optional): Not listed

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