Woodwardville, Maryland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Woodwardville, Maryland
Unincorporated community
Woodwardville, Maryland Location in Maryland
Country	United States
State	Maryland
County	Anne Arundel
Elevation	157 ft (48 m)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	21113
Area code(s)	410

Woodwardville is a small, historic place in western Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It's called an unincorporated community, which means it doesn't have its own local government like a city or town.

This community has 27 buildings, and 16 of them are very old and important. These historic buildings are part of the Woodwardville Historic District. This district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, which means it's officially recognized for its historical value.

Most of the buildings are along Patuxent Road, which goes right through the middle of Woodwardville. On the north side, there's a small street called 5th Avenue. It runs west from Patuxent Road and goes under the train tracks. Before Fort George G. Meade was built in 1917, this road used to go all the way to Laurel. Three of the seven buildings on 5th Avenue are historic.

Woodwardville is known for its old houses, mostly from the late 1800s and early 1900s. You can see different styles like Bungalow and Foursquare homes. There are also older, simpler house types. Some newer buildings were added after World War II.

The community also has a church, an old schoolhouse (now in ruins), and the remains of a store. Many of Woodwardville's older buildings started to decline after World War II. But recently, because it's close to train services, Woodwardville has become a "bedroom community." This means people who work in Washington and Baltimore live here and travel to work. New residents have helped restore and fix up many of the old buildings. Even with new growth nearby, Woodwardville still feels like a special, historic place.

A Look Back: Woodwardville's History

How the Railroad Shaped the Town

Woodwardville grew because of the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad. This train line was started in 1867 and finished in 1872. It later became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system and is now used by Amtrak.

In 1872, a train station called Patuxent was built here. Three years later, in 1875, the area got its name, Woodwardville. This happened when a post office opened inside the general store owned by Abram G. Woodward.

The Woodward Family's Role

Abram Woodward was from a well-known family in Maryland. He worked as a tobacco inspector and a property assessor. He was also the postmaster for Woodwardville from 1875 until he passed away in 1906.

Later, the Riden family bought a lot of land in Woodwardville from the Woodward family. They built several homes in the town. The Riden family also gave land for the Trinity Church and its cemetery. Some members of this family still live in Woodwardville today, on their original property.

Growing as a Village

The village grew along Patuxent Road, right next to the railroad tracks. The train station, the general store, and the Methodist Church were at the center of the community. By 1878, about 50 people lived in Woodwardville.

Records from that time show that the town had many different workers. There was a machinist (someone who works with machines), a shoemaker, a blacksmith (who works with metal), a wheelwright (who builds and repairs wheels), a miller (who grinds grain), an attorney (a lawyer), and a physician (a doctor). Abram G. Woodward was still the postmaster and sold general goods.

In 1879, Public School #8 was built near Patuxent Station. William T. Anderson was the first schoolteacher. Even though the school building is now in ruins, it can still be seen on the east side of Patuxent Road.

Important Buildings and Businesses

In 1882, the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church South was dedicated. Today, it's known as the Trinity United Methodist Church and is still a very important building in the village.

The original general store, unfortunately, no longer exists because of a fire. It was on the west side of the road, just south of where 5th Avenue goes under the railroad tracks. The empty building of the A.D. Riden Hardware Store and Office still stands at the north end of town. This building was made of molded concrete blocks in the 1920s. The A.D. Riden Hardware Store was a family business. Trains would even drop off lumber and other supplies right in Woodwardville for the store.

Changes and New Names

In 1917, Fort George G. Meade was built west of Odenton. This meant that farmland owned by many Woodwardville residents was taken over for the fort. Also, the fort's location blocked the area between Woodwardville and Laurel. Because of this, the Pennsylvania Railroad eventually closed Patuxent Station.

In 1927, the Woodwardville Post Office closed. After that, the town became known as Patuxent. However, in the 1980s, local residents asked for the town's name to be changed back to Woodwardville.

Happyland and Camp Patuxent

From the 1920s to the 1950s, the Salvation Army ran a summer camp near Woodwardville. This camp was called Happyland. It was a "fresh air" camp for women and children from low-income families in Washington, D.C. The camp was located north of the Little Patuxent River, between Patuxent Road and the railroad tracks.

Happyland had many permanent wooden buildings, including places for sleeping, a recreation hall, and a cafeteria. Children and their mothers could escape the crowded, hot city and enjoy the woods by the river. They had healthy food and could play outside. The camp offered a swimming pool, playground, baseball field, and other games. In the late 1920s, groups of 75 to 90 girls, boys, and their mothers would arrive by train. They enjoyed a free, 10-day vacation. The Salvation Army hoped these camps would help them feel "rebuilt in body and spirit."

During the Great Depression, there was less money for charity, so Happyland did not open in 1933. But it reopened the next year. By the late 1930s, only children came to Happyland. Groups of 100 boys and girls arrived by bus and stayed for one month.

After World War II, the Salvation Army had two fresh air camps in the Washington area. A new Camp Happyland opened in rural Virginia for white children. The property in Woodwardville was renamed Camp Patuxent and served African-American children. In 1952, the two camps were combined, and all children went to the Virginia location.

Woodwardville Today

The buildings and layout of Woodwardville still give a strong sense of what rural villages were like in Anne Arundel County in the late 1800s. Woodwardville, along with Davidsonville and Owensville, are the only three crossroads communities in the county that still keep a lot of their original look and history.