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Railroading
History of Sykesville
The
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad extended it's "Old
Main Line" through "Horse Train Stop"
in 1831. The area was yet to be named "Sykesville".
The original train station was made of stone. Having foreseen
the coming of the railroad, James Sykes constructed a five story
stone hotel, consisting of 47 rooms, to take care of railroad
personnel and the tourist trade from Baltimore in 1830. Other
businesses joined Sykes's mill and hotel on the south side of
the Patapsco River. Buildings included two general merchandising
stores, other mills, churches, and a post office. Sykesville
was a thriving commercial center and tourist resort.
During the Civil War, the Town was divided and young men
fought on both sides of the conflict. On June 29th 1863 a detachment
of Confederate Calvary under J.E.B. Stuart arrived in Sykesville.
They tore up some railroad track, burned the bridge over the
Patapsco and destroyed telegraph lines.
Most of the town was washed away during the flood of 1868 and
recovery was slow, but with the steady stream of B & O traffic,
the town was rebuilt on the Carroll County side of the Patapsco
River.
In 1883, the handsome B & O Railroad Station, a brick
Queen Anne structure designed by E. Francis Baldwin, was
built on the west side of Main Street along the Patapsco River.
As part of it's new Master Plan, the Town of Sykesville
reconstructed the "Interlocking Tower Building."The
two-story building, is located immediately in front of the Pullman
train car along Oklahoma Avenue, and serves several purposes.
The first floor houses a Post Office and information center
as well as public restrooms accessible from the outside. Visitors
and residents can pick up brochures on Town businesses and events,
find directions around Town, or view the pictures and displays
depicting Sykesville scenes and historical photos. The second
floor, is an almost entirely open area (approximately 20'x 38')
will be used as flexible space. The second floor is particularly
unique as visitors are able to have a panoramic view of the Town
through the over 20 large windows.
The design of the building is patterned after an interlocking
tower building in Baltimore City that was disassembled about
ten years ago. In fact, after the building was disassembled,
it was given to the City of Bowie. Bowie was going to rebuild
it in one of its parks. For one reason or another Bowie never
did build it. Bowie advertised in the Maryland Municipal League
newsletter that the building was free for the taking. After inspecting
the building, the Town acquired many of the very large windows,
a number of the roof brackets, the roof tiles, and a few other
smaller items. Unfortunately, much of the rest of the building
was in very poor condition because it had been stored outside.
The Town hired an architect to design a new building patterned
after the original and incorporating some of the original materials.The
interlocking tower building is a bright new addition to our downtown.
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