Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area

In 1693, rangers in the King's service from a nearby garrison patrolled the area calling the land Soldiers Delight.

In the 18th century, King George II made gifts of land grants upon Maryland's earliest settlers in what was then Soldiers Delight Hundred.

After the Civil War and the emancipation of people who were enslaved, the great estates of the early families were reduced to many small farms and individual properties.

This creates a land surface which is stony, unfertile and sparsely vegetated and is the reason that the term "serpentine barren" is used to describe these areas.

During the 19th century, Soldiers Delight and the Bare Hills district of Baltimore County were the largest producers of chrome in the world.