The Laurel History Boys will bring together local history, music, fiction, memoir, and more during the 2026 Book Fair, Sunday, August 23, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Oliver’s Old Towne Tavern, 531 Main Street in Laurel. Books will be available for purchase, and attendees are also encouraged to bring copies they already own to have them signed by participating authors. Adding a little rock ’n’ roll history to this year’s event will be legendary WHFS DJ Weasel, who will be on hand as a

From North Carolina to York, Pennsylvania (Above): A portrait of Jonathan Jessop, the Quaker leader, engineer, and namesake of Jessup, Maryland; a map he drew as a young boy depicting the March 15, 1781 Battle of Guilford Courthouse, fought around his family’s North Carolina farm. Jessop’s remarkable life also included careers as a clockmaker, bridge designer, B&O Railroad superintendent, horticulturist, and a figure closely connected to the early abolitionist movement. (Cour

The origins of Christ Episcopal Church in Columbia, Maryland—originally known as the Elk Ridge Church—are deeply entwined with the political, religious, and geographic transformations of colonial Maryland. This article investigates the complex development of Queen Caroline Parish, the ecclesiastical landscape that preceded it, and the socio-political context that shaped its creation in 1728. The Establishment of the Anglican Church in Maryland Maryland was founded in 1634 by

The Washington Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad, which opened in 1835, was routed to pass near the Savage Factory and its nearby granite quarries. This proximity was an opportunity for Amos A. Williams, who was a director of both the B&O and the Savage Manufacturing Company, to promote his business interests. He saw the railroad as a reliable and efficient way to transport the company’s products. Amos had already fabricated thousands of rail chairs, used to sec

Early Baltimore and Ohio Railroad passenger equipment of the 1830s, displayed at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore. (Photo: JG Howes)...

Howard County had its own harness racing track, the Laurel Raceway, which opened in 1948. Not to be confused with the existing Laurel...

There is a historic Black cemetery at Snelltown off Whiskey Bottom Road. The small, well-maintained cemetery is in the middle of a...

North Laurel has some amazing history. We will focus this time on its most famous, or infamous, road—Whiskey Bottom. Whiskey Bottom Road...