Outdoor Areas

Right now, we don’t have much on our property beside the museums.

Parking Lot

The lot to the left of the National Road Museum belongs to our neighbors at Dealership for Life.  They allow us to use it most weekends, but can ask us to not use it at any time.  This is why we recommend our guests use the Shafer Park lot or street parking.

Loading/Unloading Zone

The spaces directly in front of the museum are for loading and unloading of passengers when we are open.  Generally we don’t enforce this, however the true purpose of these spaces is to allow for the safe unloading of museum guests from motorcoaches and school buses

Wayside Information Panels

Two of our Maryland National Road Interpretive Trail panels stand alongside a similar Civil War Trails panel along the sidewalk in front of our museums.

The Scale

Many guests ask about the concrete rectangle in front of the Trolley Station museum.  This was once the vehicle scale for weighing bulk products being sold by the hardware store such as stone or mulch.  It was added sometime after the trolley tracks were removed c. 1940.

Open Land

An ice factory once stood in the space between the museums.  Today it is a grassy lot.

Future Plans

• Eventually, the property will be landscaped with a tree-shaded community-use park, connecting Main Street with Shafer Park.  The park will be themed around the National Road and will be designed with several special event uses in mind.
• A wheelchair accessible ramp will be added to the trolley station in compliance with conservation standards
• The park will allow for better outdoor activities for events, tours, and special programs
• A path will offer various surface types used on the National Road for guests to experience.
• A railroad freight siding exists buried alongside the sidewalk, a portion of this could be excavated and safely exhibited to the public.