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Historical Society of

Mount Airy, Maryland, Inc.

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Mount Airy Museum

Audiovisual Archives/Resources

Carroll County History Day - Student Project 2021: "Cavalry and Communication (and the small town stuck in the middle)", a project submitted by our own Riley Spencer, a student at Mount Airy Middle School, He did an outstanding job with this documentary, and was awarded Outstanding Local History Award by the Historical Society of Mount Airy, Outstanding Historical Research Award by Carroll County Historical Society, and came in 2nd in his division for middle school documentaries. See flyer for more information.

You Tube Video Channel - The Historical Society now has a YouTube channel! Check out our latest videos from the September Historical Society Meeting, History of Carnivals and Parades in Mount Airy.

Research Reports

Mount Airy Station

It is unclear whether the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) built a train station in Mount Airy, Maryland during the early years. The early historical records from the B&O were mostly lost in the great Baltimore fire of 1904, which destroyed the B&O’s massive headquarters building in downtown Baltimore, along with 1,500 other buildings at the time. Check the attached document for more informaion on the history of the Mount Airy Station.

History of the Flat Iron Building

William E.T. Smith was a harness maker who came to Mt. Airy in the summer of 1886. Like many other businessmen of the day, Smith served Mt. Airy’s agricultural needs by establishing a two-story, wooden framed harness shop on the corner of Main Street and Park Avenue. Unfortunately, Smith’s harness shop burned down in the great fire of 1903. But Smith successfully rebuilt, and this time in brick. Although it was commonly known as the Smith Building in the early days, we have since come to know this iconic building in Mt. Airy as the Flat Iron Building. The name originates from the unique, triangular, architectural design commonly situated on an angular street corner and resembling an old fashioned flat iron. The building housed a variety of different businesses through the years, 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 Mt. Airy Historical Society and Museum. Please check out the attached report and chronology for more detailed information on this important piece of Mount Airy history.

Mount Airy Pants (Sewing) Factory

The Mount Airy Pants Factory originally opened in October 1921 on Prospect Road. During its time, it opened and closed numerous for a variety of reasons - fire, fluctuations in the market, changes in ownership - and was also housed for a time at Wildwood Park, then settled into its final location on Center Street. Research is still ongoing. Preliminary report, which is attached here, gives a chronology of events as gleaned from newspaper reports and recollections of people who either worked there or had family members who worked there. It ceased operations in 1985. If you have any further information on the factory, artifacts, or stories to share, please bring to the museum, or contact Doris Bujanowski at jedolidama@gmail.com

Mount Airy Fire Department

The attached report , which has been excerpted from a history of Mount Airy that was published in two editions of the Community Reporter (Friday, February 9, and Friday, February 16, 1973), provides a brief history of the many fires of Mount Airy and how our fire department was subsequently formed.

Educational Programs

National History Day

Carroll County History Day for 2024 has announced the theme will be Turning Points in History: People, Places, and Ideas. The History Day competition will be held at Westminster High School on Saturday, February 24, 2024 from 9am-1pm, along with the Carroll County History Expo. See the attached document with a listing of suggested local history topics, which includes possible topics specific to Mount Airy. See the attached flyer for more information.

American Legion Oratorical Contest

The American Legion Oratorical Contest exists to develop deeper knowledge and appreciation for the U.S. Constitution among high school students. Since 1938, the program has presented participants with an academic speaking challenge that teaches important leadership qualities, the history of our nation’s laws, the ability to think and speak clearly, and an understanding of the duties, responsibilities, rights and privileges of American citizenship.