About the Rural Life Museum…

Our Beginning…

“Son, there ought to be a museum around here“. Those words were often spoken by Charles Bennett Adams Sr. before his death in 1976 and inspired Charles B. Adams Jr. to see his father’s dream come true. Charles had the commitment and his father’s dream, but the museum would need a home and it would take more than one person to make it happen.

On April 9, 2006 twenty-seven people from the Trappe area gathered in an open meeting to consider the feasibility of establishing a rural life museum. The group was enthusiastic about preserving our rich heritage in this region for future generations and could hardly wait to get started! Our first officers and directors were nominated, elected, and installed on September 11, 2006 by museum attorney Matthew Nichols. Articles of Incorporation were proposed and approved, and the name, Rural Life Museum of Trappe, Md., Inc., as well as our slogan, Building Our Future by Preserving Our Past was selected. Until covid, we have met monthly and become a 501(c)(3) tax exempt charity.

In 2007 Cynthia Miles, on behalf of Foxhall, Inc., offered the historic Defender House at 29241 Backtown Road to house the museum. Defender House is not only home to the museum; it is also the museum’s largest exhibit.

In 2007 The Rural Life Museum applied to the Maryland Historical Trust and Preservation Maryland for funds to repair and restore the Carriage House, which is a 12′ x 13′ building located directly behind Defender House. Grants totaling $7,500 were received. This historic structure now houses the museum’s African-American History & Heritage exhibits and more. Unfortunately, a storm severely damaged the Carriage House in August of 2020. Some repairs were made but we are currently working with the insurance company to see what can be done to bring the Carriage House back to where it should be.

Other historic structures now on the museum campus include the Scale House form the Defender Packing Co. Lover’s Lane cannery, and a farm smokehouse from the Slaughter family farm. For more about the museum’s buildings and the many exhibits they house select “Museum Tour” from the menu.

Our Mission…

We collect, preserve, interpret, and display a broad array of historically significant items, pictures, and documents including many used in rural homes, farms, and industry in the Trappe area. We recognize accomplishments of outstanding individuals including Nathaniel “Nace” Hopkins, a former slave who served in the Union Army and later started a school for African American children, and J. Franklin “Home Run” Baker, who made it all the way to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

We promote the preservation of historic rural architecture. We study the art, customs, crafts, music, occupations, and methods of transportation of earlier eras and reenact these life styles through cultural events, displays, exhibits, and lectures. As the museum grows, we look forward to including historic demonstrations of homemaking, farming, and industry as they developed over the years.

Our Future…

We have come a long way in a short time. Our continued success depends on the ongoing support of our community, our members, directors and other volunteers – individuals like you. Everyone can help! We are always looking for interesting things relating to rural life in this area as it was in years gone by. We welcome your contribution by gift or loan of old photos, postcards, written documents, clothes, tools, jewelry, farm machinery, household items, etc. Equally important are gifts of your talents and time. Join us. Be part of the past – and the future.

Rural Life Museum of Trappe. All rights reserved.