Historic Tracks: Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad Station Then and Now
The Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad Station is more than just a building, it’s a piece of American history. From Abraham Lincoln’s famous journey to deliver the Gettysburg Address to the thousands of visitors who pass through today, this station has seen it all. In this “Then & Now” post, we take a look at how this iconic landmark has changed (or stayed the same!) over the years, giving us a fresh perspective on a place that helped shape our nation’s story.
Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad Station (THEN): Captured by photographer Lewis Reed in 1914, this remarkable image shows a crowd gathered along the tracks outside the Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad Station. The station’s elegant Italianate architecture with its arched windows, decorative brickwork, and central cupola stands prominently in the background. A steam locomotive waits at the platform as men in suits and bowler hats fill the scene, evoking an era when rail travel was both essential and ceremonial. The photograph offers a vivid glimpse into early 20th-century life in Gettysburg, when the railroad still served as the town’s vital connection to the wider world.
A historic photograph of the Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad Station captured by Lewis Reed in 1914, showing the depot in its early 20th-century setting.
Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad Station (NOW): More than a century later, the restored Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad Station continues to welcome visitors; though today, they come not to board trains, but to step back in time. The station now operates as a museum and visitor center, preserving the story of Abraham Lincoln’s arrival to deliver the Gettysburg Address in 1863. Its beautifully restored façade and carefully maintained details honor both its Civil War legacy and the generations that followed, ensuring this historic landmark remains a lasting link between past and present.
Gettysburg Railroad Lincoln Train Museum Today
Braddock Heights, Maryland Then & Now
Looking at old photographs is like opening a window to the past. They invite us to step back in time, sparking both wonder and amazement at how much the world around us has changed. For this post, I’ve paired one of Lewis Reed’s original photographs for the “then” view with a modern Google image for the “now.”
Braddock Heights (THEN): Braddock Heights is a small unincorporated community in Frederick County, Maryland, established around the turn of the 20th century as a popular mountain resort. In its early days, it offered visitors hotels, an amusement park, a skating rink, nature trails, and an observatory from which four states (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia) could be seen. It even boasted a small ski resort. The Hagerstown and Frederick Railway operated a trolley line connecting Frederick and Braddock Heights from 1896 to 1946. Today, with a population of about 5,000, the area remains known for its sweeping views of Frederick and the Monocacy and Middletown valleys. Braddock Heights takes its name from British General Edward Braddock (1695-1755), who passed through the region during the French and Indian War on April 29, 1755.
Braddock Heights viewed from the Observatory, with Middletown visible in the distance. Photograph by Lewis Reed, circa 1910.
Braddock Heights (NOW): Today, rush-hour traffic flows over the mountain along Alternate U.S. Route 40, stretching from Frederick and I-70 into the Middletown Valley, most of it passing right by the stone pillars at Maryland Avenue that mark the entrance to Braddock Heights.
View overlooking Middletown Valley along U.S. Route 40
Local Folklore: Fun Trivia about the Snallygaster
The Snallygaster is a legendary creature rooted in Maryland folklore, particularly in Frederick County and the Middletown Valley. Originating from the German settlers in the 1730s who called it a Schneller Geist meaning “quick spirit,” this fearsome beast is described as a half-bird, half-reptile chimera with razor-sharp teeth and sometimes octopus-like tentacles. The Snallygaster is said to silently swoop down from the sky, preying on livestock and occasionally people, with some early tales even claiming it sucked the blood of its victims.
In the early 1900s, the creature gained widespread notoriety through newspaper reports depicting it with enormous wings, a long pointed bill, steel-hook claws, and a single eye in the middle of its forehead, emitting screeches like a locomotive whistle. The creature was so infamous that the Smithsonian Institution reportedly offered a reward for its hide, and President Theodore Roosevelt considered hunting it himself.
Local farms still bear seven-pointed stars painted on barns, believed to be protective symbols meant to keep the Snallygaster at bay. Beyond scary stories, the legend has evolved into a cultural symbol celebrated today with events like the annual Snallygaster Festival in Frederick County, highlighting the area’s rich folklore heritage.
Though some of its tales have troubling historical contexts, including the use of the legend to instill fear in certain communities during segregation, the Snallygaster remains a memorable and intriguing figure in Maryland’s folklore landscape, blending myth, mystery, and history in one creature.
Maryland’s legendary winged beast—half bird, half reptile.
Harvesting History: Pumpkin Picking in Pleasant Hills, 1920
Pumpkin picking in Thomas Kelly’s Pumpkin Patch, Darnestown, Maryland circa. early 1900s. Photo by Lewis Reed
Captured in this rare photograph are three men dressed in suits, standing among the pumpkins grown by farmer Thomas Kelly in Pleasant Hills, dating back to the early 1900s. This image provides a unique window into the rural life of Montgomery County, where farming and the seasonal rhythm of the land shaped the community’s way of life.
Thomas Kelly was a prominent figure who cultivated much of the land near the Pleasant Hills homestead. He was widely known for his “Kelly Corn” wagon, a summer staple stocked with fresh dairy products and vegetables, which traveled the local roads. Every August, his corn also played a key role in feeding attendees at the Montgomery County Fair, a popular local event.
As autumn rolled in, Kelly’s farm transformed into a vibrant pumpkin patch where locals and visitors came to select pumpkins for their homes. The tradition of pumpkin picking was not only about gathering produce but also experienced as an annual celebration of the harvest season. This photograph recalls that special connection to the land and the traditions that brought people together year after year.
Photographer Lewis Reed, the founder of Reed Brothers Dodge, captured moments like these that preserve the character and heritage of Montgomery County’s agricultural past. This image remains a poignant reminder of simpler times grounded in community, hard work, and seasonal bounty.
The Montgomery County Poor Farm: A Glimpse Through Lewis Reed’s Lens
The Montgomery County Maryland Almshouse aka Poor Farm was established in 1789 and torn down in 1959. A modern jail is on its site on Seven Locks Road near Falls Road. Photo taken by Lewis Reed, ca. 1912.
When Lewis Reed raised his camera to capture the Montgomery County Poor Farm around 1912, he was doing more than photographing a building. He was making a choice about what deserved to be remembered.
Reed, known today as the founder of Reed Brothers Dodge, was also an avid photographer with a keen instinct for documenting the everyday life of his community. He photographed barns and bridges, parades and trains, town squares and quiet dirt roads. His lens turned toward the ordinary, and in doing so, he created an extraordinary record of Montgomery County as it was in the early 20th century.
The Poor Farm was not a picturesque subject. It carried with it a history of hardship; established in 1789 as a county-run farm for the poor, the elderly, and the sick, it was a place many preferred not to think about. By Reed’s time, reports described overcrowding, segregation, and unsanitary conditions. Countless residents who died there were buried in unmarked graves nearby. For most, the Almshouse stood as an uncomfortable reminder of poverty in a community that otherwise celebrated progress.
And yet, Lewis Reed photographed it.
Why? Perhaps because he understood, instinctively, that history is not just made up of celebrations and landmarks. It is also written in the places that society tried to hide. His photograph of the Poor Farm framed by leafless trees, a dirt road, and the faint figures of people at its entrance, reminds us that even the least visible institutions were part of the fabric of Montgomery County.
Lewis Reed’s eye was not sentimental, but it was honest. He recorded what was there, not just what was pleasant to see. By turning his lens on the Poor Farm, he acknowledged its existence and its place in the community’s story. Without that decision, we might have no image at all of this building that stood for more than a century and was torn down in 1959.
Today, this photograph is one of the few surviving visual records of the Montgomery County Poor Farm. It endures because Reed believed it mattered. As he might have said himself:
I photographed barns and houses, streets and machines, but also this place because it, too, was part of us. The Poor House was not grand, but it stood for something true about our county. Buildings vanish, memories fade, but a photograph holds them steady. Someday, when the Poor Farm is gone, this image may be all that remains. That is why I pressed the shutter.
Find more photos like this and much more on Montgomery History’s online exhibit, “Montgomery County 1900-1930: Through the Lens of Lewis Reed“.
A Century in Contrast: Then & Now at the Conowingo Dam
As part of our ongoing “Then & Now” series, we’re journeying through time using photographs from Lewis Reed’s remarkable photo collection. These powerful comparisons highlight how much, and sometimes how little, the world around us has changed. In this installment, we turn our lens to the Conowingo Dam, where echoes of the past still linger in the present. Step back in time and see how this historic site has evolved over the past 100 years.
Conowingo Dam (THEN): The Conowingo Dam, completed in 1928, is a large hydroelectric dam on the Susquehanna River in Maryland, known for its role in power generation and its impact on the Chesapeake Bay. When completed, it was the second-largest hydroelectric project by power output in the United States, after Niagara Falls.
Power House and entrance to driveway crossing Conowingo Dam, Conowingo, Maryland. Photo by Lewis Reed, ca. 1928.
Conowingo Dam (NOW): Today, the Conowingo Dam is operated by the Susquehanna Electric Company, a part of Constellation Energy. The dam is one of the most popular destinations in the United States for seeing bald eagles. While the surrounding area is home to dozens of the eagles year-round, upwards of 200 more will migrate from places like New York and Canada, where lakes and rivers freeze over in the winter and limit fishing opportunities. Their numbers typically peak from November to January, with the eagles taking advantage of the dam’s turbines stunning fish swimming downriver to make for easy hunting. Once a fish is caught, eagles will often battle midair for it, and the spectacle attracts bird photographers from all over the world.
Conowingo Dam today. Google stock image
Source of Information: Conowingo Dam – Wikipedia
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Copyright Notice
Reed Brothers Dodge History (1915-2012) by Jeanne Gartner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012 
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