MUSEUMS
Bowie enjoys a rich and diverse historic and cultural heritage which offers an opportunity to explore our past and better understand our future. With these goals in mind, the City of Bowie has restored and maintains several historic sites.

The City of Bowie operates the Belair Mansion, the Belair Stable Museum and the Bowie Railroad Station and Huntington Museum, their collections and exhibits. The City joins with the Radio History Society to present the Radio and Television Museum. The Museum Staff is assisted by The Friends of Belair Estate, the Huntington Heritage Society, and the Heritage Committee, as well as the Radio History Society and the Prince George's County Genealogical Society, in this mission. The Director may be reached by calling 301-809-3088.

The Belair Mansion

Enjoy Bowie’s earliest history at the Belair Mansion (circa 1745), the beautiful five-part Georgian plantation house of Samuel Ogle, Provincial Governor of Maryland. Enlarged in 1914 by the New York architectural firm of Delano and Aldrich, the Mansion was also the home of William Woodward, famous horseman in the first half of the 20th century. Restored to reflect is 250-year old legacy, the Mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The house reflects the private occupants from 1747 to 1957. Featured among the collection are a number of important family objects. Paintings of the Four Seasons, owned by Governor Samuel Ogle (1694-1752), hang in the hall where they first hung 250 years ago. Painted by Philippe Mercier (1689-1760), principal painter to the Prince of Wales, they have a family tradition of having been a gift from Lord Baltimore, Proprietor of the Colony of Maryland. Also featured is silver, engraved "B.O." either for Governor Benjamin Ogle (1749-1809), Maryland State governor from 1798-1800, or his son, the owner of Belair from 1796 until his death in 1844. Other furnishings include pieces made by John Shaw of Annapolis, a craftsman employed by the Ogles, and a portrait of Anne Tasker Ogle’s brother, Col. Benjamin Tasker (1720-1760), painted by John Wollaston in Annapolis, circa 1752. Items from the Woodward period include privately issued prints of the famous Belair Stud Thoroughbred race horses, and a 1932 bronze of Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox by Eleanor Iselin Wade (b. 1910).

The Mansion, located at 12207 Tulip Grove Drive, is open Thursday through Sunday from 1-4 p.m., and for groups of 10 or more by appointment. A donation is requested at the door. Belair is available for rentals, weddings, receptions and other functions for groups of up to 75 persons. For information on rentals or to schedule a group tour, call the Mansion at 301-809-3089.

The Belair Stable Museum

Owned and operated by William Woodward, Belair Stable was part of the famous "Belair Stud," one of the premier racing stables in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. Belair Stable was home to Gallant Fox and Omaha, father and son horses that won the Triple Crown, to Nashua, who was "Horse of the Year" in 1955, as well as to many other well-known race horses. Until its closing in 1957, Belair was the oldest continually operated horse farm in the United States, where horses were raised for racing purposes. Its history extends over two hundred fifty years. The Stable has been restored and is open as a museum. Heritage Day, a festival celebrating the history of Bowie, is held at the Stable as well as the other two city museums. The Stable is located at 2835 Belair Drive. It is open free of charge to the public year round, Thursday - Sunday 1- 4 p.m. The Stable is accessible to people with disabilities. Like the Belair Mansion, the Stable is supported by the City of Bowie and the Friends of Belair Estate. For more information, call 301-809-3088.

Bowie Railroad Station and Huntington Museum

Located at 8614 Chestnut Avenue in historic Old Bowie, the station was relocated from its original site across the railroad tracks and restored in the 1990’s. The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Company built the first station in 1872 at the junction of rail lines into Washington, D.C. and Southern Maryland. The lines were later integrated into the Pennsylvania Railroad Company system. The Town of Bowie (originally Huntington City) grew up around the train station. The existing museum buildings were constructed in the early 1900’s, but closed in 1989. The Railroad Museum is supported by the City of Bowie and the Huntington Heritage Society. The Station is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays between 12 noon and 4:00 p.m., and for groups of 10 or more by appointment. The Station is accessible for people with disabilities and is free of charge. For additional information, or to schedule a group tour, call 301-809-3089.

Radio and Television Museum

Explore radio from Marconi's earliest wireless telegraph to the primitive crystal sets of the 1920s, through Depression-era cathedrals and the post-War plastic portable radios, and finally, to the development of radio with pictures, called television.

The museum is located in the 1906 Harmel House, an old storekeeper's residence in the village of Mitchellville, a section of modern south Bowie. A store occupied the site as early as the 1870s. The Edlavitch family, Russian Jews who immigrated to the rural Bowie area in 1888, lived in the house until 1925. The Harmel family later lived there, operating the old store as one of the earliest African-American businesses in the area until a 1985 fire destroyed it. The City renovated the house, and now has joined the Radio History Society in presenting the broadcasting history which so dramatically has shaped our lives from the 1920s to today.

The museum is open free of charge Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m., or by appointment for groups of 10 or more, and is accessible for people with disabilities.

2608 Mitchellville Road
Bowie, MD 20716
301-390-1020

Radio History Society Website

Prince George’s County Genealogical Library

The Prince George’s County Genealogical Society, founded in Bowie in 1969, is a membership organization that operates a research center housing 4,000 volumes, over 400 periodicals, surname files, family group sheets, Bible records and microforms. The library, which is also a museum support facility, is housed in a circa 1961 Bowie ranch-style house, complementing the historical spectrum of 250 years of Bowie history.

The library is open to the public 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every Wednesday except the first Wednesday of the month (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.), and also on the last Saturday of the month, 1 to 5 p.m.

Information for the Society may be had by contacting them on the telephone during operating hours at 301/262-2063. The address of the library is 12219 Tulip Grove Drive, Bowie, MD 20715. The email address for the Society is pgcgs@juno.com.

Directions to Bowie

From Washington or Annapolis: Route 50, exit 11 for Bowie, Route 197, Collington Road.
From Baltimore: I-97 south to Route 3 south. Right on Route 450 west to Route 197, Collington Road.
Public transit: New Carrollton Metro Station, and transfer to Metrobus.

To Mansion, Stable, Genealogical Library: Route 197 north, drive 1 mile to Tulip Grove Drive, and make a right at that stoplight. Proceed ½ mile down Tulip Grove Drive. The mansion is at the top of the hill, and the library and stable are down the street further where Tulip Grove Drive terminates at Belair Drive. Public transit: B24 Metrobus.

To Bowie Railroad Station Museum: Route 197 north, drive 4 miles. Left onto Route 564 for 1 mile into Old Bowie. Route 564 makes a right and goes over the bridge crossing the railroad; however, continue straight on 11th Street, and make a right onto Chestnut Street. The museum is at the end of the block alongside the tracks. Public transit: B25 Metrobus.

To Radio and Television Museum: Route 197, Collington Road, south 1 mile. Right on Mitchellville Road, proceed 1½ miles to intersection with Mt. Oak Road. Public Transit: C28 Metrobus.