Self-Guided Visit
Visit the Patapsco Female Institute ruins
Walk the roofless stone ruins and grounds during posted weekend hours, May through mid-November. Daytime guided tours and programs are offered on site.
- Duration:
- 1 hr
Museum / Historical Site
Patapsco Female Institute (Historic Park ruins)
The roofless stone ruins of an 1837-1891 girls' school in Ellicott City, now a county historic park and the town's best-known haunted site.
3691 Sarahs Lane, Ellicott City, MD 21043
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Howard County historic park; admission for the ruins and grounds. Guided ghost walks that include the site charge a separate ticket fee.
Access
Limited Access
Hilltop park with the roofless stone ruins, lawns, and uneven historic ground above Old Ellicott City.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1837 · Opened 1837 as a Greek Revival girls' school with an academic curriculum · Led by educator Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps from about 1840 to 1856 · Closed in 1891, later a summer hotel, residence, hospital, and theater · Purchased by Howard County in 1966 and opened as a historic park · Individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978
The Patapsco Female Institute opened in 1837 on the hilltop above Ellicott City, a Greek Revival building raised by the mason Charles Timanus, who also built the nearby Mount Ida. From about 1840 to 1856 it was led by Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps, a pioneering educator who ran a serious academic program — botany, chemistry, languages, mathematics, and music — rather than the finishing-school curriculum the name suggests.
The school closed in 1891. Over the following decades the building was repurposed many times: as the Berg Alnwick summer hotel from 1891 to 1905, then as a private residence, a hospital during the World War I era, a theater, and a nursing home. Each use left the structure further altered, and it eventually fell into ruin.
Howard County purchased the property in 1966 for $17,500. The roofless stone ruins were stabilized and opened as the Patapsco Female Institute Historic Park, managed by Howard County Recreation and Parks with support from the Friends of the Patapsco Female Institute. The site was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 31, 1978.
Today the ruins draw daytime visitors during posted weekend hours and serve as the centerpiece of Ellicott City's guided ghost walks, where the school's history is told alongside its long-standing legends.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patapsco_Female_Institute
- https://midatlanticdaytrips.com/2021/06/what-haunts-the-patapsco-female-institute/
- https://www.visithowardcounty.com/listings/patapsco-female-institute/1259/
A weeping young woman reported wandering the grounds ('Annie')A man in a top hat reported in some accounts (thinly sourced)
The Patapsco Female Institute is the most famous haunted site in Ellicott City, and its central legend is a young woman usually called Annie Van Derlot. In the story she was a planter's daughter sent to the school against her will, who wrote of feeling imprisoned there, caught pneumonia, and died before her family could reach her. She is said to weep and wander the ruined grounds.
The legend is repeated across multiple independent ghost and travel sources, and on the guided Ellicott City walk it is the highlight stop. But the same sources are careful about its footing. MidAtlantic Daytrips notes plainly that there are no records of anyone named Annie having attended the school, and goes further to say there are no records of anyone dying on the property. 'Annie Van Derlot' is folklore attached to the ruins, not a documented historical person.
A secondary figure — a man in a top hat — appears in some paranormal retellings of the site but is more thinly sourced than the Annie legend and is not carried by the mainstream tour coverage. The lore comes from guided walks and travel writing rather than from formal investigation, and the institute's daytime weekend hours mean most visitors meet it as history first and legend second.
Notable Entities
'Annie Van Derlot' — folkloric student-ghost; no documentation she was ever enrolled
Plan Your Visit
2 ways to experience Walking Tour Booking Required
Mt. Misery ghost walk stop
The ruins are the centerpiece of Ellicott City's guided Mt. Misery ghost walk, which narrates the school's history and the long-running 'Annie' legend.
- Duration:
- 1.5 hr
Sources & Further Reading
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Patapsco Female Institute (Historic Park ruins) family-friendly?
Daytime visits to the ruins are family-friendly and educational. The grounds have uneven terrain, and the evening ghost walk covers a hilltop circuit; the central legend involves a young woman's death from illness. Overall family fit: Moderate.
How much does it cost to visit Patapsco Female Institute (Historic Park ruins)?
Howard County historic park; admission for the ruins and grounds. Guided ghost walks that include the site charge a separate ticket fee.
Do I need to book in advance?
No advance booking is required, but checking availability is recommended.
Is Patapsco Female Institute (Historic Park ruins) wheelchair accessible?
Patapsco Female Institute (Historic Park ruins) has limited wheelchair accessibility. Terrain: Hilltop park with the roofless stone ruins, lawns, and uneven historic ground above Old Ellicott City..