Laurel Museum

Today, I visited the Laurel Museum in Laurel, Maryland. I've been wanting to visit it for a while. It's one the main attractions of sorts in Laurel. The museum is located on 817 Main Street, just across from one of the city pools and nearly at the end of Main Street. It's housed in a house that was built for mill workers. Where the swimming pool is located, a cotton mill was operated that made cotton cloth for Clipper ships built in Baltimore and Conestoga wagons. The first floor of the house holds the various exhibits. The museum has a hodge-podge collection of articles. They run from a 12-pound steel cannon ball from the Civil War era to a gown worn by Mamie Eisenhower, wife of President Dwight Eisenhower. Eisenhower is the only U.S. President to have ever lived in Laurel. He and his wife lived there for a short time while he was stationed at Fort Meade. There are also old photographs of school classes as well as businesses from days gone by. The museum has a nice little collection. To take in the whole museum which isn't that big, it should only take 20 minutes at most. Admission is free.

There are some problems with the museum. First, the only parking available is on Main Street. The swimming pool makes the parking situation worse as visitors would have to compete with swimmers during the summer months. Conversely, I suspect visitors could use the swimming pool parking lot when it's closed during the fall, winter and spring. The second problem is that the museum is only open 3 days a week. It opens on Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m., Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lastly, the museum isn't in a location easy to get to. The quickest and easiest way to the museum would be to take Interstate-95 to the MD-216 exit for Laurel. You would turn right at Main Street and go nearly to the end of the street. The museum is located on the right and has a sign in front. The museum's website can be found at http://www.laurelhistory.org/museum.html. The museum is run by volunteers from the Laurel Historical Society.

Additional Note: One additional plus for visiting the museum is the chance to take a quiet stroll in the Riverfront Park. A sidewalk leads from the museum to the park where one can walk among numerous shade trees and view the Patuxent River. The park has 1.5 miles of paved hiker/biker paths. It has 3 small picnic pavilions for rent. When not rented, the pavilions are available on a first come first served basis. For further information on the park, check the following website: http://www.laurel.md.us/prfac.htm#Riverfront.