Boonsboro Reflections: Boonsboro Mayors

Mayors (originally called burgesses) were elected annually from 1831-1839, bi-annually from 1940 through 1975 and, since then, mayors have been elected to four-year terms.  At Boonsboro’s first election in 1831, Jonathan Shafer was chosen as first Burgess and Captain...

Boonsboro Reflections: The Bowman House

The Bowman House, at 323 North Main Street, was built in 1826 and is typical of log dwellings built in Western Maryland during the first half of the 19th century.  It has two stories built in an “L” shaped plan.  A hewn V-notch construction detail was used at the...

Boonsboro Reflections: John Bowman, Potter

Potters were familiar tradesmen in the 19th century, playing a necessary role fashioning utilitarian and decorative containers for local households.  John Bowman enlisted in the Union Army in 1862 and after his discharge in 1865 he apprenticed with his father, a...

Boonsboro Reflections: Trade in Boonsboro

While the economy of western Maryland was largely founded on agriculture, the growing population in and around Boonsboro attracted an impressive range of tradesmen and craftsmen. Coverlet makers, shoemakers, carpet weavers, cabinetmakers, tinners, tailors, potters and...

Boonsboro Reflections: Slow, Steady Growth

The first of Boonsboro’s 44 half-acre lots was sold in 1792.  By 1801 the Eagle Hotel (now Inn Boonsboro) was built and a post office established.  Peter Conn, the proprietor of the new hotel was also the Town’s first postmaster.   At first, the town grew slowly; in...