Heritage Frederick

Heritage Frederick The Museum of Frederick County History
Frederick County Archives and Research Center
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Heritage Frederick is the home of the Museum of Frederick County History, the Archive and Research Center, the Heritage Frederick Garden, and the Frederick County Historic Preservation Center. We collect artifacts and documents, research and preserve them, and through exhibits, lectures and programs, tell the stories of Frederick County History.

All aboard! We are so excited to announce our upcoming Elevated Architecture Double Decker Bus Tours in conjunction with...
05/28/2026

All aboard! We are so excited to announce our upcoming Elevated Architecture Double Decker Bus Tours in conjunction with ! Join Archivist Jody Brumage for an eye-level view of the most significant architecture in Frederick. 🚌🏛️

Many of the defining features of historic Downtown Frederick’s charming architecture are found high above the streets in upper stories, cornices, and spires. Discover beautifully preserved examples of commercial, residential, religious, and public buildings displaying major American and European styles that span more than two centuries. Along the way, we’ll explore how the history of Frederick is told by the enduring structures that witnessed it.

Saturdays 10:00-11:30: June 13, July 11, and August 8
Sundays 2-3:30: September 13 and October 11

Tickets here ➡ https://marylanddoubledeckers.com/elevated-architecture-on-the-double/

Today, our nation commemorates Memorial Day and pays tribute to those who have given their lives in defense of the Unite...
05/25/2026

Today, our nation commemorates Memorial Day and pays tribute to those who have given their lives in defense of the United States.

The first monument to be constructed on the Monocacy Battlefield was dedicated by veterans of the 14th New Jersey Infantry on July 9, 1907. The monument is positioned just west of the Monocacy Junction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's main line and Frederick branch, around which the Civil War battle was fought in July 1864. The regiment lost 164 men at the Battle of Monocacy fighting to slow the Confederate Army's advance towards the federal capital at Washington, DC.

Before the monument was unveiled, Major John C. Patterson, a veteran of the 14th New Jersey, remarked: "Here on these fields, in the face of such great odds, the brave men of General Wallace's army fought with a courage and resistance rarely paralleled in the annals of war. From eight o'clock in the morning, with the thermometer in the nineties, we fought them until five o'clock of that July day. In this battle against such odds we suffered severely. Many of our comrades who had fought at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, the Bloody Angle, and at Cold Harbor fell here."

Our area is receiving some much needed rain, but don't let that put a damper on your holiday weekend! Looking for a good...
05/23/2026

Our area is receiving some much needed rain, but don't let that put a damper on your holiday weekend! Looking for a good indoor activity? The Museum of Frederick County History is open today, Saturday, May 23rd from 10am until 4pm. Come and choose your own adventure through eight different exhibits featuring hundreds of artifacts, photographs, and stories that will lead you to discover the rich and diverse history of Frederick County!

Photo: View of North Market Street at Seventh Street on a rainy day in the 1930s. P1757 Photograph Collection, Frederick County Archives and Research Center, Heritage Frederick.

05/22/2026

Introducing our newly renamed Bodmer Community Room! Our meeting and rental space got a facelift last year and now it has a new name to match, named in honor of Nancy Bodmer, dedicated volunteer and HF supporter. The room now serves as an extension of our regular exhibit spaces, with a set of archival images that will rotate to feature images from the collection. Come see our first iteration of this photo exhibit- Frederick Countians Engaging with History!

This color slide was taken by H. Hanford Hopkins of New Market and captures Edgewood, part of today's Monocacy National ...
05/22/2026

This color slide was taken by H. Hanford Hopkins of New Market and captures Edgewood, part of today's Monocacy National Battlefield.

In 1855, James H. Gambrill purchased a flour mill from George W. Delaplane on the eastern bank of the Monocacy River near the community of Araby. The mill dated back to 1830 when it was built by John McPherson, Jr. Barely a decade after Gambrill acquired the mill, it was in the center of fighting between United States and Confederate forces during the Battle of Monocacy on July 9, 1864.

Gambrill's success in the milling industry enabled him to build Edgewood in 1872/73, a grand Second Empire style brick house. The house contained a double parlor, library, and ballroom and was equipped with running water and gas lighting. Edgewood remained in the Gambrill family until 1901. Today, Edgewood serves as the headquarters of the National Historic Preservation Training Center.

SL0350, Hopkins Collection, Frederick County Archives and Research Center, Heritage Frederick

Join us for our weekly guided gallery tour! Every Friday at 1pm, you can explore our historic museum and join a Heritage...
05/20/2026

Join us for our weekly guided gallery tour! Every Friday at 1pm, you can explore our historic museum and join a Heritage Frederick docent on a deep dive into one of our exhibits.

This week, learn about the many chapters of Frederick County's story that have unfolded along one of its most historic thoroughfares: All Saints Street.

Friday guided gallery tours are included in regular museum admission!

Nicholas Yinger captured this view of a former limestone quarry just east of downtown Frederick in 1953. The quarry was ...
05/19/2026

Nicholas Yinger captured this view of a former limestone quarry just east of downtown Frederick in 1953. The quarry was slowly being infilled at this time by the City of Frederick.

A vast bed of limestone which extends beneath the Monocacy Valley from the Woodsboro area down to Buckeystown has long supported several quarrying industries in Frederick County. This quarry, located off of today's Highland Street near the fairgrounds, was operated by brothers Frank, Henry, and Benjamin Schley after the Civil War. Housing for quarry workers was built along East Patrick Street near the entrance to the fairgrounds and referred to as Schleysville.

In 1913, Raymond Shank and Roscoe Etzler acquired the Schley quarry and limekilns. Both natives of Woodsboro, Shank and Etzler got their start in the business operating lime kilns in their hometown and at Walkersville. Stone excavated at Shank and Ezler's quarry was purchased by the city government to repair and lay down new streets as Frederick grew in the early-20th century. The quarry remained in operation until Etzler and Shank's deaths in 1936 and 1938, respectively. Later, it was used as a garbage dump.

A popular spot for swimming, the quarry was filled in beginning in the late-1940s by the City after several drownings in its deep water.

P0687, Nicholas Yinger Photograph Collection, Frederick County Archives and Research Center, Heritage Frederick.

Happy ! Baking has always been a part of Frederick County. There were 9 bakeries in Frederick in 1798, and that number ...
05/17/2026

Happy ! Baking has always been a part of Frederick County. There were 9 bakeries in Frederick in 1798, and that number increased to 12 by 1859. This handbill, printed by Schley, Haller, and Company, advertised S.E. Goodyear's New England Pie Bakery soon after its grand opening on East Patrick Street in 1862.

EPH0042, Ephemera Collection, Frederick County Archives and Research Center, Heritage Frederick

Happy ❤️! Families come in many shapes and sizes, and we are fortunate to have so many documented in the photograph col...
05/15/2026

Happy ❤️! Families come in many shapes and sizes, and we are fortunate to have so many documented in the photograph collections of Heritage Frederick's archives. Here are a few images of Frederick County families from the past:

1. J. Davis and Mary [Markell] Byerly with their children Mary, John , and Charles Byerly (of Frederick)
2. Luther Z. and Sopha [Boileau] Derr and their children Luther, Mildred, and Mary Derr (of Middletown)
3. Fannie [Birely] Delaplaine with her sons Robert , George, William, and Edward Delaplaine (of Frederick)
4. Charles E. and Gwendolyn [Bolden] Henson and their daughter, Peggy, at her graduation from Lincoln High School (of Frederick)
5. Albert L. and Rose [Snyder] Smith, Sr., with their grandchildren (of Libertytown)

Address

24 E Church Street
Frederick, MD
21701

Opening Hours

Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

(301) 663-1188

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