Among the many interesting and old thorofares still jutting across the Baltimore Metropolitan area is Windsor Mill Road, an ancient artery dating to the mid-19th Century.  Despite its existence for many decades, the road is not too much changed from its earier days, an especially remarkable feat when one considers the many examples of development and sprawl that have sprung up around the roadway.  The road is still a mostly 2-lane/2-way artery for its length, the most notable exception to be seen between Forest Park Avenue and Gwynn Oak Avenue, where the road opens up to a third "parking lane" on its North Side, quite possibly the result of swallowing up the right of way of the old Baltimore and Calverton Railway's horsecar line that paralleled it, but was abandoned about a century ago.

Ironically, the road displays among its most rural stretches upon reaching the city, and the stretch traversing Leakin Park, where the roadway shows virtually no sign of development, and aside from its modern paving , likely looks much the same as it did nearly a century ago.

However, few commuters on the city portion of Windsor Mill travel further inward than Gwynns Falls Parkway, where the majority of the traffic is shunted off, and Windsor Mill is left to run its last few blocks as a leisurely neighborhood street through the Walbrook Community before dead ending just shy of the Walbrook Junction itself.  However, twas not always the case.

Prior to about 1970, Windsor Mill did indeed connect with the Walbrook "Junction" of Clfton Avenue, Denison Street, and Garrison Boulevard.  Even earlier, it proceeded far beyond the Junction.  In fact, in its earliest glory, there was barely a junction at this spot at all, as Windsor Mill and its earlier connection with the Liberty Turnpike were the only roads in the area serving this now heavily traveled area.

Faint Green Line shows path of Windsor Mill Road inward from the junction.  Blue Lines show major modern streets.

East of today's junction, Windsor Mill followed the path of today's Clifton Avenue and Bloomingdale Road for about a half a mile (Garrison and Bloomingdale were connected late in the 19th century and called the "New Liberty Road").  At today's Bloomingdale Road and Baker Street, where once would stand a toll house, Windsor Mill Road diverged from the later Liberty/Bloomingdale to take a winding route Eastward, travelling a winding course that tagged present day Baker Street before terminating at Pennsylvania Avenue just above Fremont.

Illustrated 1869 map shows the parh of Windsor Mill Road, labeled as Liberty Road, from about Monroe Street to Pennsylvania Avenue.

Today's School Street, running from Gilmor Street Eastward to terminate at Pennsylvania and Fremont, travels along the path of old Windsor Mill, and as such, is the innermost remnant of the old Windsor Mill Road, though no naming has existed for about a century to link it with its outer cousin.

Despite the School Street remant, there stands an even more remarkable stretch of the disconnected Windsor Mill that persists to this day, a stretch that was likely intended to be obliterated amidst the efficiency of the modern grid.

The map at the top of the page shows the area just Southwest of the intersection of Baker Street and Braddish Avenue in West Baltimore.  Clearly visible is the old right of way of Windsor Mill, enhanced by the diagonal property line to the South.  A visit to the site confirms the very survival of this short, obscure stretch of Windsor Mill just West of the Western Maryland Railway (now CSX) bridge over Baker Street.  Other small tidbits may survive just Northeast of this bridge, but evidence has yet to be discovered.  Meanwhile, another small stretch had previously survived heading Northwest from near Payson and Baker until the 1950's, when it was finally obscured by the construction of an Elementary School on the site.

In looking at the significant amount of development that has occurred in the Monumental City over the past 100 years, it seems particularly amazing that a winding old country road could persist in part, amidst a dense urban gridwork that has swallowed up so many other vestiges of the past.  The reason for this is not precisely clear, but for the artifact fan among us, it is certainly cherished.

School Street at Pennsylvania Avenue was the terminus of old Windsor Mill Road.  From here, the road journeyed Westward to Walbrook and beyond.	The small section of original Windsor Mill Road represented by the map at the top can be easily spotted from Braddish Avenue looking West, just South of Baker Street.  Note the very slight diagonal path of the fence marking off the right of way.
Looking East on the alley south of Baker from Ashburton Street towards the tiny remnant of Slingluff Street that remains below Baker.  One suspects that at least a portion of this alley follows the path of Old Windsor Mill.  Note the curve in the distance.	Looking in the distance, it appears that the right of way becomes the Northern basis for a parking lot, before becoming obscured again until it reaches the pavement of Bloomingdale Road North of Baker Street

BY THE MAPS... A LOOK AT THE DISMANTLING OF A STREET...

A 1890 map of the city shows the path of Windsor Mill Road largely intact within Walbrook Junction, with most of the grid shown merely a plan.  School Street is shown as Chappell Street.

By 1901, a panned out image shows the street truncated East of Fulton, but still intact West of there.  The planned grid is not shown on this map.

A 1914 map of the inner portion shows the grid making inroads on old Windsor, with only fragment left East of the Western Maryland Railroad...

...though an outer portion map of the same era shows the road trying to coexist with the grid.

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