Boonsboro Station

Boonsboro Trolley Station Museum

220 N. Main Street, Boonsboro, MD 21713

Open whenever the neighboring National Road Museum is open. Admission by suggested donation includes both museums. Learn more at NationalRdFoundation.org/trolley-station-museum

Also open by appointment. Contact us to learn more.

Trolleys first came to Boonsboro in August of 1902. They provided passenger, freight, mail and parcel service to the community until October 1938. The station has stood on this site for over a century and was dedicated as a museum in 2009. Since 2022, the H&FRHS has been working in partnership with the National Road Heritage Foundation to operate the museum.

The two organizations worked together in order to install an new visitor experience inside of the museum during 2023. Our new exhibits tell the story of the entire trolley system in both Washington and Frederick counties of Maryland using hundreds of photographs and artifacts from our Society’s collection.

What You Will Find

  • Trolley History in Boonsboro
  • Local Trolley Origins
  • Freight & Mail by Trolley
  • Types of Local Trolley
  • Where the Trolleys Traveled
  • Impact on Communities
  • End of Trolley Service
  • Buses and Amusement Parks
  • History of Local Electric service
  • Original Trolley Parts

National Road Museum

Right next door, the National Road Heritage Foundation operates Maryland’s only museum dedicated to our nation’s first federal highway: the National Road. The historic road runs in front of both museums. The two museums together cover different yet connected parts of central Maryland’s rich transportation history; trolley service began in Frederick County due to the decline of the National Road at the end of the 19th century, and trolley service declined as the roads were drastically improved during the 1920s. The museums are open every weekend and by appointment. Please visit the National Road Museum first.

While in the Area

There is so much to do around Boonsboro why not consider making your visit a whole day experience!

Boonsborough Museum of History

One block to the east of the Trolley Station.
Every 2nd and 4th Saturday & Sunday May-December from 1-4 pm
Wide assortment of artifacts from civil war and early American history, local relics and important objects, WWII, ancient cultures and oddities.

Washington County Rural Heritage Museum

Only a 15 minute drive from the station.
Every Saturday, 1-4pm April through the first weekend of December.
Three buildings of artifacts, recreated rooms and businesses, historic farm impliments and dioramas, recreated area post office, antique carriages and automobiles of local importance, and a village of preserved historic structures relocated from around the county.

Boonsboro Historical Society’s Historic Bowman House

One block to the west of the Trolley Station.
Every 4th Sunday 2:00-4:30 April-October.
The historic log cabin home of a Boonsboro potter, visitors walk through furnished rooms and a period garden while learning about life in early Boonsboro and the skilled craft trades of the area. Most dates include live cooking and baking demonstrations in the attached kitchen’s hearth.

Also visit:

  • Crystal Grottoes Caverns has been providing tours for over 100 years. You can find the caverns south of town.
  • Historic Downtown Boonsboro offers quality restaurants and several fine shops and boutiques. This including a historic hotel and gift shop owned by New York Times Best Selling Author Nora Roberts and Turn The Page Bookstore operated by her husband.
  • Other nearby attractions also include:
    • The nation’s first Washington Monument
    • Antietam National Battlefield
    • Gathland and Greenbrier State Parks
    • Museums and parks in the City of Hagerstown
    • The Appalachian Trail
    • Numerous other historic sites, vineyards and attractions.

Seeking volunteers!

If you would like to volunteer with the Boonsboro Trolley Station Museum, please consider a membership to either organization and let us know that you would like to be a Trolley Station Host.

Are You Currently Visiting the Museum?

Click Here for a list of all of our extra exhibit content. You also access these using the QR codes at each related exhibit.