Sykesville Gate House Museum

07/08/2025

Help needed! If you have any photos of this end of town we would love to add a copy to our collection. This 1975 photo shows the Frank Dorsey House and garage on the left (currently the Downtown Sykesville Connection, Moonshadow Collective and Uncle Joe's Deli location). Shown on the right is the Olde Bridge Antiques Store (currently The Vine on Main). Thanks for any help you can provide.

07/06/2025

Come see our 1910 standard gauge model train during our Christmas in July at the museum. Hours are Tuesdays and Fridays 10-4 and Sundays 12-5.
Many thanks to Tom Schwartz of Tom’s Train Service for helping us facilitate the refurb of the locomotive and to East Main Trains in Thurmont for such a great job!

07/04/2025

The museum is closed today as we celebrate Independence Day with our families.
This ad is from the Sykesville Herald edition of June 18, 1914 selling fireworks and other explosives at the store of John Harris on Main Street in Sykesville.
Stay safe in your celebrations!

07/03/2025

Happy Birthday America! We will be closed on Friday, July 4th. Please enjoy viewing the Bicentennial ephemera and keep an eye out for more as we plan for the Maryland 250 in 2026.

07/01/2025

Beat the heat at the museum during our Christmas in July celebration. We are all decked out with holiday decor from the 1920s and 1950s and have our 1910 standard model train running under the Christmas tree!

Christmas in July originated in the United States as a way to bring the Christmas spirit to summer camp, and has since evolved into a popular marketing event and a fun way to enjoy Christmas traditions in the middle of the year. The 1940 movie "Christmas in July" further popularized the concept, and retailers began using it as a sales event in the 1950s.

Our hours are Tuesdays and Fridays from 10-4 and Sundays from 12-5 (closed July 4th).

06/27/2025

This feature from the June 27, 1918 edition of the Sykesville Herald newspaper features a story on Ordinance Sgt. Raymond E. Jenkins, a soldier during World War I. Come visit our 1904 historic house and see how Sykesville's citizens lived around the turn of the century!

06/20/2025

Did you know our Town fire department was in the site of Patapsco Distilling Company from 1939 until 1949? Find out this and more as we continue to add sites in our Historic District to our indexing project in collaboration with the Sykesville Historic District Commission.

Check out our progress here:

Within the Town of Sykesville, the Historic District serves to preserve the historic character of Sykesville. The dates associated with our district are informally 1880-1930. The updated map of Sykesville's Historic District below outlines contributing (historically representative) and non-contribut...

06/17/2025

Looking for something to do with the kids on this rainy day? Come do some wool felting at the museum from 12-2. Free, until supplies last.

Send a message to learn more

06/14/2025

The concert and the film have been rained out today, Saturday, June 14, 2025, so we're heading home too, without extra hours.
We'll see you tomorrow for our regular schedule, and hopefully sunshine!

06/13/2025

What's old is new again! Check out this ad from the May 17, 1928 issue of the Herald Messenger newspaper. And then join us this Saturday, June 14, at the museum from 5:30-8:30 pm as we help celebrate the free concert and movie in Millard Cooper Park.