Dr. Richard Sprigg Steuart, then President of the Board and Medical Superintendent, managed to obtain authorization and funding from the Maryland General Assembly for the construction of the new facility at Spring Grove.

In co-operation with the social reformer Dorothea Dix, who in 1852 gave an impassioned speech to the Maryland legislature, Steuart chaired the committee that selected the hospital's present site in Catonsville, and he personally contributed $1,000 towards the purchase of the land.

[5] Starting in the 1960s and continuing into the 1970s, Spring Grove Hospital Center was the site of an extended research effort to understand potential therapeutic uses for lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).

Among the aspects studied as part of the Spring Grove Experiment were the potential for psychedelics to aid in recovering from alcoholism and heroin addiction, managing schizophrenia and neurosis, and supporting persons with terminal cancer.

[11] The Maryland Board of Public Works voted 2–1 to approve the sale of the campus, with Hogan and Treasurer Dereck E. Davis supporting the lease agreement and Comptroller Peter Franchot dissenting, on May 15, 2022.