The Rossborough Inn on the Campus of the University of Maryland

This study of the Rossborough Inn was undertaken under the aegis of the University of Maryland’s Office of Facilities Management. The goal of the project has been to trace the history and determine the significance of the Rossborough Inn and to use those findings in critically assessing options for its future role in the evolving campus. The Rossborough Inn was constructed circa 1803, and in 1858 it was sold by the Calvert family to the newly established Maryland Agricultural College.  In 1938-39 the vacant structure was restored under the direction of the Works Progress Administration. The decades of the 1930s-1940s were a pivotal period for the University of Maryland, and the Rossborough Inn played a crucial role in transforming the image of the university from its agricultural roots to that of a major academic institution. The Rossborough Inn is significant as the center piece of the ceremonial campus entrance, which is largely intact and deserves to be recognized and preserved as a designed historic landscape. We believe that there are opportunities to preserve and enhance the Rossborough Inn and the historic landscape as prominent features of the university, while respecting the character and the contributions of the oldest building on the campus.