Exhibits and Education

A primary part of our mission is to educate the public about the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway and its predecessors.  In addition to our part in operating the Boonsboro Trolley Station Museum since 2022, volunteers can be found taking temporary or mobile exhibits to communities across the region. Some of these displays are part of special multi-media presentations given to groups. Do you want to be part of these activities? You can learn how to volunteer HERE.

Thurmont Exhibit
An H&FRHS exhibit hosted by the Thurmont Library in 2019.

EXHIBITS 

The Boonsboro Trolley Station Museum is now our primary exhibit hall, officially replacing a long-time exhibit which was hosted by Hobbytown USA through 2023.

When we attend community festivals and special events, our mobile exhibit provides a summarized glimpse at the history of the trolley system, with maps, photographs, and often a small collection of original artifacts.

We also will, on occasion, provide temporary exhibits at other locations or loan artifacts to other organizations to display in their own H&F Railway exhibits. Some past locations for these exhibits have included…

  • Williamsport Town Museum (Current)
  • Museum of Frederick County History (2023)
  • C. Burr Artz Central Library, Frederick (2019 & 2021)
  • Myersville Community Library (2019 & 2020)
  • Thurmont Community library (2019)
  • Homewood at Williamsport (2017)

PRESENTATIONS AND TOURS

Members and officers of the HFRHS will occasionally provide multimedia presentations to groups upon request. These range from a 25-minute summary of the railway and its importance or a then-and-now photographic slideshow for the enjoyment of a civic group meeting to hour-long presentation giving more depth to the railway history or focusing specifically on the railway’s route or influence on area agriculture. In past years, the HFRHS has hosted guided trolley tours of the actual H&F routes by following the many roads which parallel the line.