The original settlement that would become the town of Daniels formed in 1810 when the family of Thomas Ely came to the area and built a textile mill. The community around the mill was known as Elysville. In 1853 the town was purchased by the family of James S. Gary and renamed to Alberton in honor of James's son Albert. The factory remained with the Gary family until 1940 when the Daniels Company bought the town and changed its name to Daniels. By the late 1960s, approximately 90 families lived in Daniels. In 1968, the town's owner, the C.R. Daniels Company, gave notice to the remaining residents that it would close all housing within a few years. In June 1972, tropical storm Agnes rolled through the Patapsco River Valley and destroyed most of the remaining empty buildings in Daniels.[3]
