GHOST TOURS:
The Historical Society of Mount Airy is proud to announce we will be conducting ghost tours through downtown Mount Airy on August 19-20, 2022. There will be two tours Friday, night August 19th at 6 PM and 7:30 PM, and again on Saturday night August 20 at 6 PM and 7:30 PM (rain date August 26, 2022). At this time, we are limited to 20 people per tour. See flyer for further information. Click on the blue Facebook Box below to be taken to the Event Bright link to purchase tickets, $10 per person.
Click the blue box here
Welcome
The Historical Society of Mount Airy, MD. Inc. was established in 1998 by Travis Norwood and Mayor Jerry Johnson. Its mission is to foster interest in the town history and its various historic landmarks. Our main goals are to establish and maintain a museum for the preservation and the display of artifacts, photographs and other historic memorabilia related to the Town’s history, and to educate the public about our history. The Historical Society manages the museum, caboose, and Rails to Trails. Check our links above to explore further.
Wanted! Any information you can provide on the people, places or events in these pictures!
The Historical Society of Mount Airy, Maryland is looking for referenced, researched, verifiable documentaries, presentations, reports, etc. on the history of Mount Airy. Please submit to us for consideration as exhibits, presentations at our meetings, or articles for the newsletter. You can submit to our email address. Thank you.
Announcements & Events
Family Air and the Caboose
The Historical Society of Mount Airy would like to offer a huge “thank you” to Family Air, Inc, for recharging and servicing the Air conditioner unit within Mackenzie the Caboose, gratis! Family Air (Rich Anderson) continues to support the Historical Society and the Town by keeping an eye on our Main Street gem! 301-829-9720, for your family’s comfort!
2022 Summer Adventure Program has Begun!
The Carroll County Celebrating America Summer Adventure Program has begun. Kids grades 1-9 are eligible to participate from May 15th to September 15th. Kids can win prizes by earning badges through the Carroll County Library portal. Badges are earned by completing eligible tasks like, reading books, watching videos, and visiting specific places. Once you earn all 8 Badges, you have completed the program and are automatically entered into a raffle to win all prizes including the GRAND Prize. For more information on how to register and participate, please see the attached flyer.
Help Save the Flat Iron Building
The Flat Iron Building, once known as the Smith Building and the Pryor Building, has existed in its current configuration since 1903, housing a number of different businesses, including a harness shop, barbershop, drug store, music shop, as well as town hall, the local Maryland State Police office, a branch of the County Library, a military museum, and the former home to the Historical Society of Mt. Airy museum.
Unfortunately, the town is now weighing several options to tear down the building to improve “walkability” along that section of Main Street. The building is viewed by some as an impediment to pedestrian safety and stands in the way of pedestrian access to businesses located along the east side of Main Street.
But the Historical Society of Mt. Airy stands behind another effort to preserve this building, rather than tear it down. Historic restoration with available grant funding, municipal bonds, and alternative sources other than town tax dollars is the most cost-efficient option compared to all others. Since 2005, every option proposed by the town has estimated $900K-$3 million in taxpayer dollars to remedy the property, but not a single option has considered restoration through preservation grants specifically designed and set aside for historic buildings such as ours, at minimum cost to the town.
There is intrinsic and commercial value in preserving this building. For 120 years the building has stood at the heart of downtown Mt. Airy, and contributes to our town listing on the National Register of Historic Places. It is recognized as one of only four remaining buildings built immediately after the great fire of 1903, and is recognized across the state of Maryland as a landmark in our town. People come to downtown Mt. Airy because it’s appealing in many ways, and our historic architecture serves as an attractive feature and commercial draw which brings people into downtown to explore and spend money. It is time to aggressively pursue other options now. You can help by signing the petition to save the building at Ben Gue Antiques & Gifts on S. Main Street, and by directly contacting the Mayor and each of your town Council Members through the town website, by phone or email, to let them know you support the restoration and preservation of this town icon. Once gone, this important piece of Mt. Airy history will be lost forever. For more information on this iconic building, check out the attached report.
The Mount Airy Museum is open Saturdays and Sundays 12 noon until 4 p.m., and from 3-7 pm on Wednesdays when the Farmer's Market is open
Please, observe social distancing; face masks are now optional for your safety. You can contact us at historicalsocietyofmountairy@earthlink.net.
Historical Society of
Mount Airy, Maryland, Inc.
Exhibits
In times gone by, Mount Airy was a center of commerce. People living in the area either worked their farms or lived and worked in town. Shops including grocery stores, a drug store, barber shops, hardware stores, banks and others were owned by local merchants and provided goods to the local residents. These shops provided employment for people who did not make a living by farming. Very few people commuted to work as they do today.
This exhibit presents a glimpse into some of the businesses that flourished in Mount Airy providing goods, services and employment to the citizens of this community. For more information, click here.
Education
Mount Airy's education system has evolved over the years, from the one room schoolhouse at Pine Grove to Parr's Ridge Elementary. Our museum has a fine display on all of the schools that have made Mt. Airy home, including:
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Parrsville, then Pine Grove One-Room Schoolhouse
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St. James School (which housed Mt. Airy Elementary grades 1-4)
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Old Mount Airy School
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Mount Airy Elementary (in its various locations)
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Mount Airy Middle School
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Mount Airy High School (in various locations)
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Parr's Ridge Elementary School (housing K-2)
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Twin Ridge Elementary School
The most exciting part of our education display is an interactive computer board, where visitors can look up those residents who attended Mount Airy High School from its inception to its closing in 1967. For more information, click here.
The Robert Garrett Sanatorium was a hospital for poor children between the ages of 2 and 12. It was named for the husband of founder Mary Garrett. Children from Baltimore would be brought by train from a hospital in Baltimore in June and returned to Baltimore when they were cured or when cooler weather in September arrived. For more information click here.
Railroad/Transportation
The railroad signal, which is located outside of the Mount Airy Museum, was once located at the Mount Airy junction, the point at which the western end of the Mount Airy Branch of the B&O Railroad rejoined the Old Main Line. Read the story of the signal and how it is was used to control the movement of trains through the switches at this junction.
The train display located in the Mount Airy Museum is a 1:87 scale (also known as HO Scale) interactive diorama of the historic Baltimore & Ohio railyard which was located in the heart of Mount Airy. The display models the quarter-mile stretch of track emerging from a cut in Parr’s Ridge to the east, past the train station, across main street, and heading west toward the Mt. Airy Canning Company. The diorama accurately models the B&O railroad track plan from 1915. For more information, click here.
Mount Airy has had over 20 fires near or along Main Street in the 100 years of the 20th Century. Many of these fires destroyed large portions of the town and were the result of negligence, unknown cause, or outright arson. For more information on the history of the Mount Airy Fires, click here.
Mount Airy was at one time a hub for manufacturing, largely due to the railroad, housing industries such as the grain mills, canning factory, sewing factory, and others. People who did not make a living by farming often worked in these industries, which used the railroad to ship goods far and wide. These exhibits present a glimpse into the inner workings of these manufacturing plants. For more information, click here.