Our Story
The Howard County Antique Farm Machinery Club was started in 1995 by a group of people looking to preserve the farming heritage of Howard County, Maryland. Howard County is a 253 square mile community located in Central Maryland, with a population of over 300,000. Nestled between Baltimore and Washington, DC, Howard County has a diverse population and rapid growth and development are commonplace. Our geographical area ranges from urban landscapes in the east to rolling farmland in the west.
Our club's mission is to preserve the agricultural way of life that is too quickly disappearing throughout our community. One of the main ways we meet this mission is by conducting programs and demonstrations that tell participants about the way of life in Historic Howard County. Our goal is to curate and manage a farm heritage based agri-tourism site in Howard County, Maryland.
Please visit our pages above to learn more about the many programs and exciting activities that continue to educate and preserve.
The Howard County Living Farm Heritage Museum
The Howard County Living Farm Heritage Museum was located at West Friendship Park for 18 years until 2023, when Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks terminated the lease of the property. The Howard County Antique Farm Machinery Club has not changed it's mission and will continue to educate the community about the heritage of agriculture in Howard County, Maryland. Our goal is still to curate and manage a farm heritage based agro-tourism site in Howard County, Maryland. Read more about the Museum conceptual plan below...
Conceptual Plan for Future Farm Heritage Site
The conceptual plan for a farm heritage based agri-tourism site is founded primarily on two time components.
The first time component being a “walk through time”, a window of time ranging from the 1600s up through the 1960s and covering what the agricultural and domestic life practices were for residents in our area during those time frames.
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The first time window showcased starts with the domestic and agricultural practices of the Native Americans who lived in this region in the 1600s. The second time window moving into the 1700s showcases the earliest settlers who were considered subsistence farmers.
These early farmers clear just enough land to raise enough crops to sustain themselves throughout each year. The third window is a result of numerous historical benchmarks converging within a window of time around the mid to late 1800s, such as the emancipation of slavery as a result of the end of the Civil War, the construction of the Historic National Road, (our Nation’s first federally funded roadway) and the heyday of our Nation’s industrial age, agricultural and domestic practices developed considerably. Mechanization allowed for the clearing of larger areas of farmland. Better developed road systems provided a more convenient and efficient method of transporting produce to larger commercial markets thus increasing agricultural commerce throughout our region.
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