November 2010

At the heart of the thriving early industrial community known as RittenhouseTown, the first paper mill in British North America built by William Rittenhouse and his son, Nicholas, occupied the north bank of the Monoshone Creek. A second mill, Homestead and Bake House quickly followed. For the next 200 years, while eight generations of Rittenhouse family members continued to live and work all along the Monoshone and Wissahickon Creeks, the focus of the community remained this intimate cluster of buildings enclosing both public and private space. Visitors to Historic RittenhouseTown today can still experience the sense of community which has characterized this unique spot since the 17th century. The area includes the 1707 Rittenhouse Homestead, ca. 1730 Bake House, ca. 1720 Visitor Center, and ca. 1845 Enoch Rittenhouse Home.

Within the boundaries of this park was once the late 17th/early 18th-century town of London. On the site are the William Brown House, a National Historic Landmark, and gardens.

London Town also features a multi-purpose pavilion, which is rented for weddings, corporate and business meetings, and other special events. The pavilion is also used for lectures and cultural events.

The museum features educational exhibits and programs designed to spark visitors' interest and imagination in the city's history. The Community Museum comprises the historic Freight House, the History Park and the rolling stock of the Gaithersburg Railway Museum.

The Gaithersburg Railroad Station was a major rail complex at the time it was built, and in 1978, its buildings were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, it still serves as a central focus in our City's Olde Towne district. Permanent and rotating exhibits, educational programs and a gift shop are housed in the Freight House. A detailed HO scale layout, constructed by the Gaithersburg Model Railroad Society, is a popular display with the young and young at heart.

On Dec. 25, 1863, Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, “The Rock of Chickamauga," issued General Orders No. 296 creating a national cemetery in commemoration of the Battles of Chattanooga, Nov. 23-27, 1863. Gen. Thomas selected the cemetery site during the assault of his troops that carried Missionary Ridge and brought the campaign to an end. The land was originally appropriated, but later purchased, from local residents Joseph Ruohs, Robert M. Hooke and J. R. Slayton.

The site Thomas selected was approximately 75 acres of a round hill rising with a uniform slope to a height of 100 feet; it faced Missionary Ridge on one side and Lookout Mountain on the other. Gen. Grant established his headquarters on the summit of the hill during the early phase of the four-day battle for Lookout Mountain.

Located in a train station that was in operation from 1900 until the Great Depression, this museum tells the story of the railway in which the station was a part. Exhibits in the museum portray the story of the railway as well as the resort town for which it was built.

Completed in 1855, the original Smithsonian Institution Building was designed by architect James Renwick Jr., whose other works include St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City and the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. This Washington landmark is constructed of red sandstone from Seneca Creek, Maryland, in the Norman style (a 12th-century combination of late Romanesque and early Gothic motifs).

Over the years several reconstructions have taken place. The first followed a disastrous fire on January 24, 1865, which destroyed the upper story of the main segment and the north and south towers. In 1884, the east wing was fireproofed and enlarged to accommodate more offices. Remodeling from 1968 to 1969 restored the building to the Victorian atmosphere reminiscent of the era during which it was first inhabited.

The Museum Foundation's Board of Trustees is presently revising it's business and action plans. City, County, and State representatives are working with the Board to procure improved storage facilities and funding. Several options are being considered to support Museum operations during the next three to five years while fund raising efforts and exhibit development continue.

It is estimated that more than 300 prisons worldwide are based on the Penitentiary's wagon-wheel, or "radial" floor plan. Some of America's most notorious criminals were held in the Penitentiary's vaulted, sky-lit cells, including bank robber Willie Sutton and Al Capone. After 142 years of consecutive use, Eastern State Penitentiary was completely abandoned in 1971, and now stands, a lost world of crumbling cellblocks and empty guard towers.

Building on the dreams of a group from the local farming community, including farmer, sea captain, and state senator Robert P. Dean, the Museum of Eastern Shore Life was brought to reality in 1995. A small group of volunteers dedicated themselves to perserving the heritage of Queen Anne's County and the Eastern Shore. That heritage would come to include farmers, watermen, buisness and professional people, and the "average" citizen of the County. Today, eight years after its inception, the Museum is experiencing a period of growth and change.

The museum includes collections of models of various boats, boatbuilders' tools, and watermen's artifacts.

A special exhibit is devoted to the life and work of James B. ("Mr. Jim") Richardson (1906-1991), for whom the museum was named. Some of his hand tools, examples of wooden carvings and gifts made for his family, photos, drawings and models of the vessels he made are featured, as are exhibits of special vessels he built, such as the replica of the Dove, the 17th-century ship that helped bring early colonists to the Chesapeake Bay area. The trailboards from the Jenny Norman, the bugeye he built as his last boat, are displayed on a replica of the bowsprit and cutwater.