Carroll County Almshouse and Farm, Historical farm museum in Westminster, Maryland.
Carroll County Almshouse and Farm is a farm museum in Maryland with a three-story brick building that is nine bays wide on both front and rear sides, topped with a bell cupola. Seven furnished rooms display the life of a middle-class farm family from the 1880s, while barns contain collections of agricultural machinery.
The Almshouse was founded in 1852 to provide shelter and care for people in need who worked on the 340-acre property. Over time, the operation grew into a major local center that housed hundreds of people and supported various economic activities.
The Living History Center demonstrates traditional crafts including spinning, weaving, tinsmithing, chair caning, and broom making through demonstrations by skilled artisans. Visitors can watch these old techniques and understand how people once made their everyday items by hand.
The best way to explore the property is to start with the house rooms and then move to the barns and Living History Center. Plan to spend several hours to walk through all areas at your own pace and watch the demonstrations.
The Hoff Memorial Log Barn dates from the 1700s and was built remarkably without using any nails, relying only on wooden pegs and traditional carpentry methods. This old structure shows the craftsmanship of builders who worked long before modern metal fasteners existed.
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