 Museums bring history to life
Staying on Track - The Bowie Railroad Station and Huntington Museum offers visitors a chance to go all aboard history.
Bowie enjoys a rich and diverse historic and cultural heritage that offers an opportunity to explore our past and better understand our future. With these goals in mind, the city of Bowie has restored and continues to maintain several historic sites.
City of Bowie Museum Director Stephen Patrick shows an audience of antique buffs one of the porcelain dishes the Belair Mansion has on display. The mansion has an extensive collection of antiques.
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The city of Bowie staff includes a curator whose primary responsibility is the preservation and operation of city of Bowie Historical Properties and Museums, including the Belair Mansion, the Belair Stable Museum and the Bowie Railroad Station and Huntington Museum, their collections and exhibits.
The curator is assisted by the Friends of Belair Estate, the Huntington Heritage Society, and the Heritage Committee, as well as the Prince George's County Genealogical Society Library, in this mission. The curator may be reached by calling 301-809-3088. The city of Bowie's web address is www.cityofbowie.org.
Belair Mansion, 12207 Tulip Grove Drive, was home to two early Maryland governors. Thoroughbred racing devotee Samuel Ogle and his wife, Anne Tasker Ogle, shared in the lifestyle of Prince George's County's 18th-century gentry, hanging pictures given to them by Lord Baltimore on the walls of their elegant home. Returned to the mansion in 1998, those paintings of the "Four Seasons" by French painter Philippe Mercier hang in the mansion's grand entry hall.
Shaun, 7, and Jackson Halla, 3, ride in the “Victory” carriage at Heritage Day at Belair Stable.
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In a continuing historical thread, Belair's 20th-century owners, Mr. and Mrs. William Woodward, continued Ogle's racing legacy by making Belair Stable, 2835 Belair Drive, the home of two Triple Crown winners, Gallant Fox in 1930 and Omaha in 1935. Today, Belair has been restored and furnished to interpret the lives of these two fascinating families. The stable returns visitors to the 1920s and offers a glimpse of Maryland's racing history. The mansion and stables are open Wednesdays through Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free. There may be a charge for special programs.
The Bowie Train Station and Huntington Museum on Chestnut Avenue in Old Town Bowie captures a moment in Bowie's turn-of-the- 20th-century history. The town of Huntington grew up around the railroad - and the railroad still rushes through today. Even though "the train doesn't stop here anymore," the museum is a perfect spot to enjoy a picnic and watch Amtrak and MARC trains speed by. Visitors can gather around the pot-bellied stove to reminisce, or send a simulated telegraph message from the signal tower. The museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. There may be a charge for special programs.
The Radio and Television Museum, 2608 Mitchellville Road, will bring back memories for everyone. Displaying the earliest transmitting devices right up through those tiny, state-of-the-art transistors from the '60s, the museum explores the metropolitan area's broadcast history.
Charlie McCarthy, Nipper, Hopalong Cassidy and even FDR are all represented here. The museum is free, and open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Firdays, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. For information about any of the city museums, call the Museum Office, 301-809-3088.
The Prince George's County Genealogical Library, located at 12219 Tulip Grove Drive, is open for researchers on Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.. First Wednesday of each month, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the last Saturday of the month from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (301) 262-2063.
Old Town Bowie Heritage Center, 8606 Chestnut Avenue, Bowie’s newest museum. The Building and Loan Association in Old Town Bowie is now completed - Bowie Heritage Center is stocked with visitor information on Bowie travel and entertainment.
Museum exhibits include displays of historic objects and photographs themed around the topic of how the railroad came to this area, and how a community was born 125 years ago. Children will be able to enjoy all the aspects of community life in an early 20th century railroad town.
Activities include a “banking center,” general store and small telephone switchboard – just to name a few! Open Tuesdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.. For more information call 301.575.2488.
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