Vicki Michael takes in the 447-acre tract that became Cooling Springs. Founded July 12, 1768, the farm was one of the largest in Maryland.

Cooling Springs was founded in 1768 by Andrew and Barbara Michael. In 1762, Andrew, the youngest son of Franz Ludwig and Anna Michel, founded the Michael Foundry in Frederick, at the time one of the largest buildings in western Maryland. The foundry survives and is now used as Sky Stage, a performing arts venue. In 1743, Andrew's wife Barbara Sinn was one of the first European children baptized in western Maryland when christened in the region's oldest church, Frederick's Evangelical Lutheran Church.