For over 45 years, the Museum has preserved the history of Brunswick. Known during the Civil War as Berlin, this small town along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was incorporated as Brunswick in 1890. That same year the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad began construction of the 5 mile rail yard that would reshape Brunswick into a company town with a population of over 5000!
The BHM can be seen as two museums in one. On the second floor, the Museum’s exhibits tell the story of a town built by the B&O Railroad. Upstairs on the third floor is our 1700 square foot HO Scale model railroad that depicts the B&O Metropolitan Subdivision beginning at the west end of Brunswick’s rail yard and running eastward through Montgomery County communities all the way to Union Station in Washington D.C. The model railroad comes alive with many new interactive elements installed during the renovation of the layout in 2007.
We are proud to house the Brunswick Visitors Center for the National Park Service’s Chesapeake & Ohio National Historic Park. The history of the C&O canal is beautifully depicted in photographs and interactive elements.
The mission of the Brunswick Heritage Museum is to tell the story of Brunswick, past to present, through dynamic presentations and programs for history lovers and rail fans of all ages.