Chestertown Armory
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The Sergeant First Class John H. Newnam Armory, also known as the Chestertown Armory, is a former
National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...
armory built in 1931 and located in Chestertown, Kent County,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
, United States. From 1932 until 2005 it housed various formations from the Maryland Army National Guard. It also was the home of sporting and community events. After the
115th Infantry Regiment The 115th Infantry Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. It traced its roots back to the American Revolutionary War, although its official U.S. Army lineage begins in 1881. The units to whic ...
was merged into the 175th Infantry Regiment in 2005, the armory was declared to be surplus by the state of Maryland. The building was transferred to
Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...
in 2013. In 2024, the Chestertown Historic District Commission approved the college's plan to partly demolish the armory. Chestertown Armory is to be replaced by a hotel and conference center.


Architecture

It is a two-story brick structure with a full basement that emulates a medieval fortification. The front facade features an entryway flanked by simple two-story towers, which are topped by small square stone panels.


Planning and construction

On June 19, 1920, a 22-member "sanitary unit" was recruited in
Chestertown, Maryland Chestertown is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,532 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Kent County, the oldest county in Maryland. History Founded in 1706, Chestertown ...
by Henry A. Mitchel with Frank B. Hines as the commanding officer. A group of local businessmen lobbied Maryland to build an armory to house the unit starting in 1927. Their efforts were fruitful; the
Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives, and the lower ...
appropriated $50,000 () of bond money for the construction of the armory in 1929, and the
Maryland Military Department The Maryland Military Department (MMD) is a department of the State of Maryland directed by the adjutant general of Maryland. The Maryland Military Department consists of the: *State Operations section, which manages fiscal and administrative ...
purchased a lot along the
Chester River The Chester River is a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula. It is about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 and its waters ...
in 1930. Construction of the armory did not start in 1930 due to a "delay in securing plans". On August 16, 1931, Maryland announced that Carl Schmidt won the contract to erect the structure with a bid of $47,000 (). The contract specified that the building needed to be built of brick and finished in 90 working days. Construction finished in April 1932 with the dedication in May. The ceremony featured speeches from Milton Reckord, Adjutant General of Maryland, D. John Markey, commander of the First Maryland Infantry, and Hines. Afterwards, the unit held an "exhibition drill", a concert and a community dance in their new armory.


National Guard use

From 1932 until 2005, The Chestertown Armory was home to various formations from the Maryland Army National Guard. In addition to its military uses, the armory became a hub for Chestertown and
Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...
. From 1934 until the 1950s, it was the
home court In sports, home is the place and sport venue, venue identified with a sports team. Most professional teams are named for, and marketed to, particular metropolitan areas; amateur teams may be drawn from a particular region, or from institutio ...
for the Washington College Men's Basketball team. It also hosted concerts and community events. The armory was accepted in February 1932, and it became the home of the Chestertown Medical Detachment of the First Maryland Infantry Regiment. They remained stationed at the armory until 1941 when the First Maryland Infantry Regiment and Fifth Maryland Infantry Regiment were merged to create the
115th Infantry Regiment The 115th Infantry Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. It traced its roots back to the American Revolutionary War, although its official U.S. Army lineage begins in 1881. The units to whic ...
. In 1947, Company G of the 115th Infantry Regiment was raised at armory. It would remain the unit stationed at the armory until 1968 when the 29th Infantry Division was deactivated and the armory was transferred to the 175th Infantry Regiment. When the 29th Infantry Division was resurrected in 1984, the armory was slated to receive a $500,000 () renovation to become the headquarters of the 2nd Battalion of the
115th Infantry Regiment The 115th Infantry Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. It traced its roots back to the American Revolutionary War, although its official U.S. Army lineage begins in 1881. The units to whic ...
. Instead, it received a addition costing $1 million (). The next year, The Chestertown Armory was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
On August 11, 1999, the building was renamed in honor of John H. Newnam, a Chestertown resident who landed on
Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors of the amphibious assault component of Operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies of World War II, Allies invaded German military administration in occupied Fra ...
on
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
. Due to consolidation, the armory was closed and declared surplus in 2005 when the 115th Infantry Regiment was merged into the 175th Infantry Regiment.


Transfer and Washington College ownership

After the departure of the Maryland National Guard from the armory, there was much discussion over what should be done with the building. In 2007, two proposals emerged: one by Washington College and the other by the local homeless shelter. By the end of the year, a consortium of local businesses and the college put forth a proposal to pay the costs of Kent County buying the site. In 2013, the Chestertown Armory was transferred to Washington College. The structure continues to sit vacant. In 2019, ''What's Up? Magazine'' reported that the college was investigating the possibility of turning it into a bed and breakfast. In 2022, two firms conducted environmental studies of the building showing extensive mold in the building that would make remediation unfeasible. Based on the studies, the college petitioned to demolish the armory and build a hotel and conference center in its place. The Chestertown Council and the Historic District Commission approved the application in October. A month later, permission was revoked because the 25 day public review period was skipped. Washington College resubmitted their application to partially raise the armory, and it was approved by the Historic District Commission on May 1, 2024. A lawsuit by 3 historic district residents to block the demolition was dismissed on September 5 due to lack of standing. ''
Preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...
'' listed the Chestertown Armory as a "Threatened" in its Winter 2024 issue.


References


External links

*, including photo from 1980, at Maryland Historical Trust * {{National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Armories on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Military installations established in 1931 National Register of Historic Places in Kent County, Maryland 1931 establishments in Maryland Washington College Unused buildings in Maryland