Written By Evan Balkan
One of the better-traveled routes into Sykesville takes you from I-70 up MD 32 north. Along West Friendship Road, following a sign to “Historic Sykesville,” you suddenly come to a sweeping rightward curve. It forces you to slow down.
The deceleration is a good metaphor for the town, because beyond the curve, you will cross the Patapsco River into Carroll County, where West Friendship turns to Main Street. What better street name to evoke
a slower, old-time America? Fortunately, Sykesville does not let you town with some prefabricated, contemporary version of “old-time America.” Here, it’s real.
The Sykesville Historic District Commission has final say on alterations to any of the city’s historic properties, so Sykesville has managed to maintain its historic quality, even in the face of development pressures.
Jaime M. Bradley, curator and archivist at the Gate House Museum, says, “Sykesville is a town that’s trying to develop responsibly and preserve history at the same time.” As a result, Sykesville isn’t some hands-off “living museum.” It’s accessible, evidenced by new shops on historic Main Street and exemplified during the biennial Historic Sykesville Christmas Tour, when residents open their homes.
The spirit of welcome and camaraderie was not always present, however. The Civil War strained allegiances in a town that had already been physically split by the Patapsco. As if the divisions and destruction wrought by the war weren’t enough, the river swept away much of the town in 1868. But Sykesville recovered and grew, eventually becoming an incorporated town in 1904. It was during that same year that the gates of the Second Hospital for the Insane (now part of Springfield Hospital) were erected. Restored to its 1904 appearance, the gatehouse currently serves as Sykesville’s main history museum.
According to museum literature, “ . . . Collections include local photographs from the 1930s through the 1960s, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad paraphernalia, the Sykesville Herald newspaper files, and local World War II Civil Defense artifacts.” Fundraising events such as a World War II dance and a Bowl-a-thon are expected to help realize the goal of museum expansion.
History infuses Sykesville with a special aura. While its neighbor, Eldersburg, has lost its historic buildings and become increasingly commercial, Sykesville remains quaint. But quaint doesn’t mean staid.
It’s very much a family community, an attribute that has contributed to its increased appeal to younger people.
The influx has both positives and negatives. In the air-conditioned museum, on a blistering August day, curator Bradley talked with Howard Smith, who has lived in the same Sykesville farmhouse for 73 years
and can trace his family in the area to the 1740s. Both agreed that historic preservation requires the involvement of all Sykesville residents.
The “old-timers” often volunteer, but so many of the growing class of young parents drawn to Sykesville are, in Smith’s words, “too busy with soccer and karate and dance to volunteer. Of course, you can’t really blame them.” He shrugs and smiles. “Growth is progress,” he says. “It’s still a very pleasant place to live.”
Of course, growth brings change. But Sykesville’s recent development incorporates, not bulldozes, the past. According to town manager Matthew Candland, “The town’s history influences its decision-making.”
An example is the Warfield Complex, 14 brick buildings once part of Springfield Hospital. The Colonial and Georgian Revival buildings – some over a century old – are the sort of structures that are often razed
to make room for strip malls.
Not in Sykesville; long-range plans include a massive renovation and office park, with space reserved for educational and cultural uses. Currently, there is no better example of Sykesville’s easy melding of
past and present than Baldwin’s Station, an acclaimed restaurant housed in the original 1883 railroad station. Although the station no longer sees passengers, trains still thunder by on the country’s oldest
railway line.
There is a lot more history to discover. An annual Spring History Walk is designed to acquaint locals with the past. (Nonresidents are welcome, too.) You can hear such stories as the occasion that saw the country’s first military troop transport by rail – to quell a Sykesville riot by unpaid Irish railroad workers. Or the story about Jerome Bonaparte, Napoleon’s lesser known brother, who came to the area and picked up a wife – only to have big brother quash the union. This year’s history walk was attended by some 200 people, an impressive number for a town with a population of under 5,000.
But the number reflects major growth.One hundred and eighty years ago, the area was merely a collection of farms. Then, James Sykes, a transplanted Englishman, ran a sawmill and hotel on the banks of the Patapsco. By 1831, the town had become a major hub on the B&O Railroad. Most passengers were on their way to Baltimore, but many stayed in Mr. Sykes’ hotel, a respite from the city heat. Although the hotel was swept away by the 19th century flood, evidence of Sykesville’s railroading past abounds.
Sitting on an unused line of track at Oklahoma and Baldwin Avenues is a 1910 Pullman car and caboose, owned and operated by The Sykesville & Patapsco Railway, a model railroad club that offers rides on select Saturdays from May to October. Additionally, a trestle from the line that ran to Springfield Hospital can still be seen near Spout Hill Road. Purkey’s Toy Trains is housed in an 1878 Main Street building and provides everything a model train collector needs. Sykesville also holds an annual Train Festival, celebrating all things railroad. All this is in addition to Baldwin’s Station, which many argue is Sykesville’s centerpiece. The Queen Anne building is located within the Sykesville Historic District, described by the National Register of Historic Places as “a two-block commercial area extending north along Main Street.”
The Historic District contains residences, commercial properties, and churches constructed mostly between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. The structures show off Sykesville’s mix of architectural styles: “I-house” Foursquare, Homestead, Bungalow, Queen Anne, Neoclassical, Georgian Revival, and Colonial Revival. Outside of the historic district, Greek Revival and Victorian houses can also be spotted. Many towns would be thrilled to possess a district on the Historic Register, but the count of National Register properties in Sykesville doesn’t end there. Six others make the list: Bennett-Kelly Farm, Branton Manor, the Moses Brown House (sections of which date to the 18th century), Springfield Presbyterian Church, Warfield Complex, and
Wesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church.
The landmark Sykesville Schoolhouse is not yet listed on the Register. But its history as a century-old school for African-Americans, the only one of its kind in the area, makes it a worthy candidate for future inclusion. An almost 10-year renovation has yielded a living-history museum, used mostly for school and civic groups. But Sykesville is not just history.
There is a good measure of creativity in town. Many artists find a welcome home there. Perhaps this is not surprising, considering that the mayor, Jonathan Herman, is a painter and sculptor. But Town Manager Candland suggests another reason:
“Artists like to be in unique places, in places that inspire them.” Illustrators, woodworkers, painters, sculptors: all find a happy haven in Sykesville. And a newly formed artists’ guild will assure that the community continues to thrive. One local artist points out that living in Sykesville is like living nostalgia, a “place where people stop their cars to let you pass. When people talk about Ôthe good old days,’ it’s actually happening here.”
But for a town that thrives on nostalgia, there is much to see and do right now. Part of what keeps things exciting today is Sykesville’s penchant for festivals: Strawberry Festivals, Railroad Festivals, Flower Festivals, Apple Festivals, Spring and Fall Festivals. A well-attended summer concert series at Millard Cooper Park adds to the feeling of community.
Perhaps one day is not enough to take it all in. If you would like to stay the night, head to the Inn at Norwood, a B&B a half-block off Main Street. Run by Kelly and Steve Crum, the Inn is a 1906 Colonial Revival home that took 14 months to renovate. Kelly estimates that 70 percent of the people who stay are local, celebrating an anniversary, a birthday, or “just a day away from the kids.”
Speaking of the Inn, Kelly echoes a sentiment heard often in Sykesville:“We found the perfect house in the perfect town.”
