Washington County, MD, Historical Society

Washington County, MD, Historical Society The WCHS is an organization devoted to the preservation and promotion of Washington County’s history.

The Washington County Historical Society, founded in 1911, is an organization devoted to the preservation and promotion of the history and culture of Washington County, Maryland. The Washington County Historical Society operates the Miller House Museum, an 1825 townhouse located in downtown Hagerstown. The museum gives visitors a look at life for one of Hagerstown's elite families during the 19th

century. It also maintains exhibits that highlight important events in Washington County history. The Miller House is also home to the kinship Family Heritage Research Center, a library and archives devoted to regional genealogical research. kinship's collections include books, documents, photographs, audio and film, as well as a number of online databases. In addition, kinship offers consultations with our staff genealogist every Wednesday afternoon.

Become an active member of the Washington County Historical Society, and you too can say you're helping preserve this co...
06/10/2026

Become an active member of the Washington County Historical Society, and you too can say you're helping preserve this county's history!

As a WCHS member, you will benefit from reduced ticket fees for events such as Culture and Cocktails, access to our member newsletter The Legacy, free Miller House Museum tours, and many more exciting opportunities here at the Miller house.

To become a member today, just click the link below where you'll see a variety of our membership plans.

Link to WCHS: https://washcohistory.org/become-a-member/

🩺 It’s National Call Your Doctor Day!While no longer practicing, the last owner of the Miller House was Dr. Victor Mille...
06/09/2026

🩺 It’s National Call Your Doctor Day!

While no longer practicing, the last owner of the Miller House was Dr. Victor Miller Jr., a well-known Hagerstown physician. Unfortunately, Dr. Miller isn’t taking any calls right now, but our exhibit at the Miller House features several vintage medical tools he used throughout his career, along with photographs and documents connected to his life and practice.

So instead of calling your doctor, come visit the Miller House Museum and learn about one of Hagerstown’s notable physicians and former owners of the Miller House!

✨Meet Jarod Robertson, WCHS Summer Intern✨Jarod Robertson currently attends Shippensburg University as a History major w...
06/08/2026

✨Meet Jarod Robertson, WCHS Summer Intern✨

Jarod Robertson currently attends Shippensburg University as a History major with a concentration in Public History. He grew up in Ailey, Georgia, before moving to the Hagerstown area.

Jarod's summer projects include cataloging historical documents from the WCHS Collection. This information will then be available online for people to search. Jarod will also support daily operations at the Miller House and setting up for events. One project Jarod will be supporting is setting up a new curating space and storage area for artifacts. Jarod's goals during his internship include learning more about filing systems in archives as well as how to operate and manage an archive that is open to the public.

🍩 Then & Now: 20-30 Summit Avenue, ca. late 1930s 🍩It's National Donut Day! Can you spot the donut in this 1930s photogr...
06/05/2026

🍩 Then & Now: 20-30 Summit Avenue, ca. late 1930s 🍩

It's National Donut Day! Can you spot the donut in this 1930s photograph from the WCHS Collection showing a stretch of Summit Avenue? This photograph has so many great historical details, from the donut shop to the Shockey building and Hotel Dagmar. What do you notice? What remains and what has changed?

📍Friendly Reminder: Our “Images of America” books are sold here at the WCHS for only $20.00, featuring Boonsboro, Antiet...
06/04/2026

📍Friendly Reminder: Our “Images of America” books are sold here at the WCHS for only $20.00, featuring Boonsboro, Antietam, Hub City, and more! The link below will take you to where you can order the books online, as well as find more books about the history of Washington County, starting at only $6!

Find our online bookstore and shop at:
https://washcohistory.org/shop-index/

It is World Bicycle Day! You may or may not know that bicycles have been an important part of Washington County's commun...
06/03/2026

It is World Bicycle Day! You may or may not know that bicycles have been an important part of Washington County's community since the late 19th century, and that Hagerstown had its own Hagerstown Bicycle Club!

The first three photos, taken in 1890, feature Frank Heard, George Stover, and Harry Irvin, all members of the Hagerstown Bicycle Club. The fourth photo is of the Bicycle Parade held in Hagerstown in 1889.

Bicycles have represented the community for a long time here in Hagerstown, so go out and take a ride in honor of World Bicycle Day!

From the Archives: Soldiers of Company B, MD National Guard, 1898 Check out this photograph that was recently cataloged ...
06/02/2026

From the Archives: Soldiers of Company B, MD National Guard, 1898

Check out this photograph that was recently cataloged by a WCHS volunteer, Gary Meyer! This photograph, taken ca. 1898, shows Aaron D. Snyder of Keedysville, MD (seated at right), who was in Company B of the Maryland National Guard. This photo was taken by a Cumberland, MD, photographer, during the time of the Spanish-American War (April-August of 1898).

This photograph was donated along with many other photos of the Snyder family of Keedysville and Eakles Mills, MD, which are now cataloged and in the WCHS Archives.

✨ Meet Alyssa Kline, WCHS Summer Intern ✨"Hello, my name is Alyssa Kline, and this is my second year interning at the Wa...
06/01/2026

✨ Meet Alyssa Kline, WCHS Summer Intern ✨

"Hello, my name is Alyssa Kline, and this is my second year interning at the Washington County Historical Society. I am an upcoming senior at Shippensburg University, majoring in Public History and minoring in Anthropology. I am excited to be back for the summer and plan to help with research projects in the archives. I have already been lucky enough to participate in an archaeological dig that our director, Andy, is overseeing at the Springfield Farm. I hope to gain more experience in the inner workings of a historical society, including how to run a museum, as well as in social media."

Looking for information on upcoming Washington County Historical Society events? Check out these places! 💙Visit our webs...
06/01/2026

Looking for information on upcoming Washington County Historical Society events? Check out these places!

💙Visit our website events page at https://washcohistory.org/events/

💙 Purchase tickets online and view our events through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/o/the-washington-county-historical-society-43548811623?aff=ebdsshcopyurl

💙Join our Miller House Matters email list (call or email to join our weekly email chain!)

💙Call us at (301) 797-8782 to talk with WCHS staff

💙Email [email protected] for upcoming events

💙Stop in at the Miller House and WCHS Offices during business hours

💙Check your quarterly member newsletter The Legacy

We hope to see you at our upcoming events! We'll be sharing more of them with you in the upcoming weeks.

Thank you to all who attended last night's society social with the board and staff of Washington County Historical Socie...
05/29/2026

Thank you to all who attended last night's society social with the board and staff of Washington County Historical Society! It was great to see our members come together to enjoy each other's company!

Huge thank you to both Laura Lane-Unsworth and Jeff Unsworth for kindly providing us with refreshments and the beautiful, tasty charcuterie boards from Ruth’s Market in Williamsport!

We appreciate everyone who attended and those who helped make this evening a success!

Address

135 W Washington Street
Hagerstown, MD
21740

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 4:30pm
Thursday 9am - 4:30pm
Friday 9am - 4:30pm

Telephone

(301) 797-8782

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Washington County, MD, Historical Society posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Washington County, MD, Historical Society:

Shortcuts

Share