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One Of America's Top Antique Carriage Museums May Be Forced To Close


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One of America's Top Antique Carriage/Wagon Museums May Be Forced to Close

 

On the eve of the 200th Anniversary of the start of construction of the Cumberland/National Road, the Queen City Transportation Museum in Cumberland, MD, may be forced to close their doors.

 

The Thrasher Carriage Collection, considered to be one of the top five carriage/wagon collections in the US, is housed in two buildings in Allegany County, MD. Due to recent cut-backs in county government funding, the Queen City Transportation Museum, home of the largest portion of the collection, may have to close it's doors in May/June, 2010.

 

The possible closing follows two years of volunteer work and thousands of dollars of expense to restore damage caused by age and previous improper storage. (If the museum is forced to close, the County-owned carriages will be returned to the same basic storage facility they were formerly housed in.)

 

A possible solution may be the purchase of the privately-owned building the collection now occupies. If you would like more information on the on the Thrasher Carriage Collection/Queen City Transportation Museum or would like to donate to the building fund, contact the Museum through their website, The Queen City Transporation Museum or via the Allegany County (MD) Historical Society (phone: 301-777-8678; e-mail: hhouse@allconet.org).

 

~ Steve

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That would definitely be a shame. I've been to the Thrasher Museum in Frostburg but not the Queen City Transportation in Cumberland. It is on my list. I believe admission to one entitles you to visit the other but the second one just couldn't be worked in time wise on the day I was at the Thrasher. The Thrasher was quite impressive and I believe the building in Cumberland has even more vehicles. Hope it can hang in there.

 

By the way, I'm always briefly confused when I hear the name "Queen City" used in Cumberland. I live in Cincinnati, another "Queen City" with lots of businesses and such using the phrase. Wikipedia identifies some two dozen US cities with "Queen City" as a nickname. I know that a monarchy has no place in this country but I didn't realize that Cincy was just one of so many.

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That would definitely be a shame. I've been to the Thrasher Museum in Frostburg but not the Queen City Transportation in Cumberland. It is on my list. I believe admission to one entitles you to visit the other but the second one just couldn't be worked in time wise on the day I was at the Thrasher. The Thrasher was quite impressive and I believe the building in Cumberland has even more vehicles. Hope it can hang in there.

 

By the way, I'm always briefly confused when I hear the name "Queen City" used in Cumberland. I live in Cincinnati, another "Queen City" with lots of businesses and such using the phrase. Wikipedia identifies some two dozen US cities with "Queen City" as a nickname. I know that a monarchy has no place in this country but I didn't realize that Cincy was just one of so many.

 

Cumberland's "Queen City" designation comes from her position as the Queen of the Potomac River. From the late 1800s to the mid-1930s-40s, Cumberland was the second largest city in the State of Maryland (Next to Baltimore). As the industrial base shrank, so did her fortunes.

 

~ Steve

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I knew of Cumberland's legitimate reasons for the name but that doesn't keep me from briefly wondering, when I see businesses like Queen City Creamery (a great ice cream parlor in Cumberland), "Why would a Cincinnati company have a branch here?" :D

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The County Commissioners have decided to restore funding to the museum for the next year of operation. There is a fund-raising effort underway to raise money to purchase the building in which the collection is housed. This will help to reduce operating costs and, hopefully, assure continued operation of the museum.

 

~ Steve

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The County Commissioners have decided to restore funding to the museum for the next year of operation. There is a fund-raising effort underway to raise money to purchase the building in which the collection is housed. This will help to reduce operating costs and, hopefully, assure continued operation of the museum.

 

~ Steve

Excellent news. Sounds like a plan that could work long term and it's wonderful to hear that the immediate danger has passed.

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