Bentley Springs

Bentley Springs. . To look at Bentley Springs today it is difficult to imagine its past as a major destination from Baltimore along the Northern Central Railroad. This small village in upper Baltimore County is located just 4 miles below the Mason-Dixon line and 31 miles north of Baltimore City. The hillsides around this picturesque valley are dotted with springs “of the purest water.” In 1837, the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad obtained a right of way through the valley., Charles Bentley and his wife Anna purchased land in 1858 from the estate of James Calder and named it Bentley's Springs. Five different types of water “of great medicinal value” were found in the springs. In the 1930s, water from the springs was bottled here and shipped by rail to Washington and Philadelphia for use in office building coolers. Charles Bentley was an iron manufacturer in Baltimore who established the Baltimore Steam Boiler Works. , Apparently the Bentleys had no monetary concerns as they were able to launch a substantial building program. First a railroad station, a one story fieldstone building, was erected. Opposite the station, they built a mansion for themselves named “Sunnyside”. Next a beautiful hotel containing 40 rooms with lavish appointments and a marble courtyard named "Glenn House" was built. Bentley Springs soon became a popular summer resort with hundreds of visitors each summer arriving by train., Unfortunately the hotel burned on Nov. 7, 1868. Mr. Bentley then leased a site on the other side of the railroad to a company which built a 22 room mansion called "The Boarding House". This facility was later used as a retreat for disabled soldiers and finally was rented out as apartments until the 1950s when it was razed. , During the late 1800s Bentley Springs was quite prosperous. Farmers hauled lime, fertilizer, and produce to the railroad. Saw mills produced load after load of lumber and railroad ties. Paper and grist mills flourished in the area due to the abundance of water. , Even though most of the historic buildings of Bentley Springs have long since disappeared, as you look around, the area still exudes much of the healthy country atmosphere discovered by Charles Bentley so many years ago.