Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968, the B&O Ellicott City Station is the oldest surviving railroad station in the country. Built in 1831, Ellicott City (then Ellicott’s Mills) was the first stop on the B&O Main Line, 13 miles outside of Baltimore. The station was originally designed to handle freight, but eventually transitioned to also serve passengers by 1857. Although passenger service was discontinued in 1949, freight service continued until 1972. The station was preserved and restored by local preservation groups to continue to share the important role the B&O Railroad played in local industrial history.

The museum is on two levels, with a set of stairs to the second floor. 

The first floor includes the freight agent’s living quarters, gift shop, and restrooms.  The second floor showcases the Provost Marshall’s Office, Telegraph/Ticket Office, Men’s Waiting Room, and Car House.  We also have two other buildings on the property, accessed from the second floor: our Freight House, which houses our HO-scale model of the first thirteen miles of track from Baltimore to Ellicott's Mills (now Ellicott City), and our 1927 Caboose, which once operated on the B&O Line. 

Although there is no elevator, the museum has a ramp outside of the building to access the platform and second level.  If you need to use the ramp, please let the cashier in the Gift Shop know and we will open the gate for you.  

Restrooms are located on the first floor in the gift shop. 

The Art of Lace Making

The ever-popular Chesapeake Region Lace Makers Guild returns to share their knowledge of the intricate art of lace making. Give it a try for yourself and watch the masters at work as they set up at the B&O Ellicott City Station Museum and demonstrate their artistry and skills with this handcrafted tradition. Admission to the museum is free. Info: Emily Mosher, 410.313.0419 or emosher@howardcountymd.gov. 

All Ages           Free

Sept 14          10am-3pm                  

Telegraph Day at the B&O

Join us for a day of telegraph fun!  W.S. Halliday, reporter, takes us back to the 1800s to share his knowledge of telegraphs.  Try your hand at sending messages, learning Morse code, and building a telegraph! Info: Emily Mosher, 410-313-0419 or emosher@howardcountymd.gov. 

All Ages           Free

Sept 29            11:00am-3pm 

Holiday Train Garden

This holiday season, the model trains return to the Baltimore and Ohio Ellicott City Station Museum.  See the LEGO, N-gauge and O-gauge models on display.  Info: Jake Feirson, 410-313-2922 or jfeirson@howardcountymd.gov. 

All Ages           Nov 29-Jan 5                        Free

Midnight Madness at Historic Sites

Take a break from shopping during Midnight Madness and join us as we kick off the 2019 holiday season in Historic Ellicott City!  Visit our Firehouse Museum and the B&O Ellicott City Station Museum and see everything decked out for the season! Information: Emily Mosher, emosher@howardcountymd.gov, or 410-313-0419.    

All Ages     Free

Dec 6               6-10pm          

Santa Visits the B&O

Visit Santa at the B&O Ellicott City Station!  If you missed Santa at Midnight Madness, come ready to share your holiday wishlist with him during the holiday festivities in the historic district.  Bring your camera; that perfect shot for your holiday greeting card is waiting!  Information: Emily Mosher, emosher@howardcountymd.gov, or 410-313-0419.    

All ages            Free

Dec 7 &21       Noon-4pm   

The B&O Ellicott City Station Museum is now offering hour-long guided group tours! There is a charge of $5.00 per person. Please email emosher@howardcountymd.gov to schedule!

A Brush with History

Create your own painted masterpiece of historic scenes of Old Ellicott City while enjoying the creative atmosphere in America’s oldest surviving railroad station.  Local painter and artist Wiley Purkey guides you in making your own interpretation of a selected painting, and exlains the history behind the subject.  No experience needed, materials and supplies are provided.  Info: Emily Mosher, 410.313.0419 or emosher@howardcountymd.gov. 

21+ yrs   $35 per participant

RP9975.501                 Sept 5              6:30-10pm                  

RP9975.502                 Oct 3               6:30-10pm                  

RP9975.503                 Nov 7              6:30-10pm                  

RP9975.504                 Dec 5               6:30-10pm      

Rails and Tales: Preschool Story Time

Hop aboard the story train!  Bring your little one out to a discovery storytime at the B&O Ellicott City Station Museum.  We will read stories about life long (or not so long!) ago, play games, and make a craft you can take home!  The story changes each month, so be sure to join us more than once!  Info: Emily Mosher, 410-313-0419 or emosher@howardcountymd.gov.

2-5 yrs              $3 per participant

RP9982.501     Sept 14                        10:30-11am    

RP9982.502     Sept 28                        10:30-11am    

RP9982.503     Oct 12                         10:30-11am    

RP9982.504     Oct 26                         10:30-11am    

RP9982.505     Nov 9                          10:30-11am    

RP9982.506     Nov 23                        10:30-11am    

All Aboard: Jobs on the Railroad

Bring your preschooler to the B&O to learn more about the jobs on the railroad!  Build the railroad track, pack freight cars, and learn different train signals with sensory games, activities, and songs!  Info: Emily Mosher, 410-313-0419 or emosher@howardcountymd.gov.

Ages 3-5                      $5 per participant B&O ECSM

RP9985.511     Sept 18            10:30am-12:00pm                   

RP9985.512     Nov 20             10:30am-12:00pm                   

Patapsco Valley Innovators
Charles Carroll, Benjamin Banneker, The Ellicott’s, Peter Cooper, Samuel F. B. Morse, Ross Winans, the Latrobe’s, Victor Bloede: movers and shakers all and still affecting our lives today! Info: Emily Mosher, 410-313-0419 or emosher@howardcountymd.gov. 

21+yrs             $12 per particpant

RP9981.501     Sept 19            7-9pm             

Freight House Films Presents!

Enjoy a movie about railroading in our historic Freight House, built in 1885.  Movie changes monthly.  Space limited, pre-registration required. Information: Emily Mosher, emosher@howardcountymd.gov, or 410-313-0419.    

10yrs+                                     Free

RP9977.501     Sept 21             The Goddess               7-9pm 

RP9977.502     Oct 19             The Ghost Train          7-9pm                                     

RP9977.503     Nov 16             Riding the Rails            7-9pm 

School’s Out: Wigwams to Viaducts: Historic Architecture in Howard County

Solve the architectural design challenges from the time of the Native Americans through the Industrial Revolution. Take a walking tour of architectural sites in Ellicott City and explore the Greek Revival ruins of the Patapsco Female Institute. Scouts: earn your Architecture badge or Historic Preservation patch! Info Kelly Palich 410-313-0423 or kpalich@howardcountymd.gov.

7-13 yrs                        B&OECSM

RP9979.501     Sept 30                        9am-3pm                     $50

RP9979.502     Aftercare                     3-5pm                          $10

Behind the Scenes Tour

Go behind the museum ropes on a special after-hours tour of the oldest railroad station in America!  Explore the museum’s rich history and discover the preservation efforts undertaken in the 1970s to preserve the station for enjoyment of future generations. Info: Emily Mosher, 410.313.0419 or emosher@howardcountymd.gov. 

16yrs+             $8 per particpant

RP9983.501     Oct 5               6-7:30pm         $8

Scout History Day: Cast Iron Chef: Civil War Edition

Explore methods of Civil War era cooking through the lens of history! Research historic recipes, prepare a cast iron cooking hearth and build a fire to prepare the foods. This program meets requirements for Cast Iron Chef, Simple Meals, and New Cuisine Scout Badges. Info: Kelly Palich, 410.313.0423 or kpalich@howardcountymd.gov.  

9-18 yrs                        $15 per participant

RP9985.502     Oct 6               11am-3pm      

School’s Out: For the Union!
Uncle Sam wants you! Enlist for one day in the Union Army and help protect the streets and railroad of Old Ellicott City. Learn what it would take to defend the town through soldier's drills, marches, and daily duties. Info Kelly Palich, 410-313-0423 or kpalich@howardcountymd.gov

7-13 yrs                       

RP9979.503     Oct 9               9am-3pm                     $50

RP9979.504     Aftercare         3-5pm                          $10

A Tale of two Rivers: Colonial Settlement in Howard County

Spend the afternoon discovering the early colonial settlement of Howard County. Through hands-on activities for the whole family, learn what it took to build shelter, establish an early mill town, and learn about one of the earliest colonial period archaeological sites in the county! Info: Kelly Palich, 410.313.0423 or kpalich@howardcountymd.gov.

All Ages                       $8 per participant       

RP9980.503     Oct 12             1-3pm 

Colorful Characters & Little Known Facts of Ellicott City
Strange as it seems these are all connected to our town: Mishikinakwa & Marpau, The Great Compromiser, Old Hickory, Marble Man, The Wheelbarrow Lunatic, The King of the Wild Frontier, The Bambino, Mr. Entertainment, and more! Information: Emily Mosher, emosher@howardcountymd.gov, or 410-313-0419.    

21+yrs             $12 per participant

RP9981.502     Oct 17             7-9pm             

School’s Out: Working on the Railroad

People in Ellicott City worked in some of the earliest jobs in industry, transportation, and communication in the country. Discover the skills it took to run these industries successfully. build a rail-line, learn skills like station master signals and 19th century firefighting, and build a telegraph to take home!  Info: Kelly Palich 410-313-0423 or kpalich@howardcountymd.gov. 

7-13 yrs                       

RP9979.505     Oct 18             9am-3pm                     $50

RP9979.506     Aftercare         3-5pm                          $10

Scents of the Season

Transport yourself to another time in history.  Smell is the sense tied strongest to memory, so let your nose be your guide to a mid-nineteenth century fall with scent-sational crafts.  Info: Emily Mosher, 410.313.0419 or emosher@howardcountymd.gov. 

All ages            $4 per participant

RP9980.506                 Oct 19             12-2pm           

Homeschool History Day: A Tale of two Rivers: Colonial Settlement in Howard County

Spend the day discovering early Colonial settlement of Howard County. Learn what it took to build a shelter in the early frontier, establish an early mill town, and try different colonial-era survival skills such as cast-iron cooking and fiber arts.  Info: Kelly Palich, kpalich@howardcountymd.gov or 410-313-0423.  

7-16 yrs                        $20 per participant

RP9979.512                 Oct 21             10am-3pm

Ghostly Guides at the B&O

Gain exclusive after-hours access to the oldest railroad station in America and see what eerie adventures await you! Tour the museum, lean about ghost hunting equipment, then explore the museum to ask unseen residents questions, take photos, and detect supernatural activity.  Info: Emily Mosher, 410.313.0419 or emosher@howardcountymd.gov. 

16yrs+             $25 per participant

B&O EC Station Museum

RP9978.501     Oct 26             8-11pm           

Kids Night in at the Museum

Need a kid-free date night? Drop your children off with us at the B&O Ellicott City Station Museum while you do some shopping and dining on Main Street.  Participants will have a blast from the past doing historic crafts and explore the hidden history of the Station.  Info: Emily Mosher, 410.313.0419 or emosher@howardcountymd.gov. 

5-10 yrs                        $15 per participant

RP9976.501     Nov 15            5:30-9pm                    

Scout History Day: Architecture and Preservation

Explore how historians and preservations study and record old buildings on a tour of historic sites in Ellicott City. Activities incorporate history, math, geography, and science. Covers requirements for Architecture and Historic Preservation badge/patches.

8-18 yrs                        $15 per participant

RP9985.503     Nov 17            1-3pm             

Ladies About Town Part 2!

Part one covered ladies from our more distant past. Our new presentation deals with the extraordinary female entrepreneurs born after 1900 and continues to present day Ellicott City. Info: Emily Mosher, 410-313-0419 or emosher@howardcountymd.gov. 

21yrs+             $12 per participant

RP9981.503     Nov 21            7-9pm 

Rails and Tales: The Polar Express

Join us for a reading of The Polar Express, and make a craft to take home!  Pre-registration required.  Information: Emily Mosher, emosher@howardcountymd.gov, or 410-313-0419.    

Ages: 2-5         $3 per participant

RP9982.507     Dec 8               10:30-11am    

RP9982.508     Dec 14             10:30-11am    

RP9982.509     Dec 22             10:30-11am    

RP9982.510     Dec 28             10:30-11am    

Freight House Films: The Polar Express  

What better place to view your favorite holiday train film than America’s oldest surviving railroad station!  Come early to view the holiday model trains throughout the museum.  Pre-registration required. Info: Emily Mosher, 410-313-0419 or emosher@howardcountymd.gov

All Ages           Free

RP9977.504                 Dec 8               3-5pm             

RP9977.505                 Dec 15             3-5pm             

RP9977.506                 Dec 22             3-5pm                         

Preschool Camp

Preschool camps run Monday, Wednesday, Friday of the week indicated. 

Little History Explorers: Imagination Station

Hop on board as you become Junior Engineers on the B&O Railroad!  Explore the history of the Railroad through storytelling, games, music and crafts.  Each day will focus on a different learning skill including shapes, colors, numbers and letters through STEM based learning!  This is a camp Thomas and Percy would love!  Parents are welcome to stay.  Morning session repeats in afternoon.  Info: Emily Mosher, 410-313-0419 or emosher@howardcountymd.gov.  

3-5 yrs    $75/participant

Do you need a unique meeting or event space?  Are you looking for a place to hold a birthday party? The B&O Ellicott City Station Museum is available for rentals! For information on availability, prices, and times, please contact Jake Feirson at jfeirson@howardcountymd.gov or 410-313-2922. 

We are always looking for dedicated volunteers to help fill our ranks!  If you have an interest in trains, museums, or sharing history with others, this is the place for you.  For more information on volunteer opportunities, please contact Museum Manager Jake Feirson at jfeirson@howardcountymd.gov or 410-313-2922.  

Please check out our historic photo page

Baltimore & Ohio Ellicott City Station Museum
3711 Maryland Avenue
Ellicott City, MD 21043
410-313-1945

Site Manager
Jake Feirson, 410-313-2922 or jfeirson@howardcountymd.gov

Assistant Manager/Program Manager
Emily Mosher, 410-313-0419 or emosher@howardcountymd.gov