The name Arbutus came from the abundance of trailing Arbutus flowers that once covered the area. Seven small villages played a part in the history of the Arbutus area. According to Ross Rainey these were Avalon, St. Denis, Relay, Lansdowne, Violetville, Halethorpe and Arbutus. All but Avalon remain active communities today.

A vast iron ore pit and springs of sulphur water gave the main road the name Sulphur Spring Road. Horse carts run by the B&O Railroad were brought in and the changing place for the horses became Relay Station. Another railroad station was added on Sulphur Spring Road and the Suphur Spring Hotel sprang up. Water from the nearby springs was thought to have great medicinal value. As more and more people traveled on the new railroad, the Viaduct Hotel (pictured) was built in Relay, which became a popular stopover between Baltimore and Ellicott City.

St. Denis was named after Dennis Smith, a colorful character who was a local politician and ran a toll bridge over the Patapsco River. The name Halethorpe was taken from the English words "hale", meaning healthy and "thorpe", a small village. Violetville was another village inspired to name itself after a local wildflower.