Hagerstown & Frederick Railway Historical Society Incorporated
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Through the past decades, the history and legacy of the electric railway system that served Frederick and Washington Counties of Maryland has faded from common knowledge and understanding. Generations separated from the railway's operations and the spread of misinformation has also lead to a lack of understanding regarding the regional importance of this history. The impact that the formation and operation of this railway system had on over two dozen communities in relation to lifestyle, economic and social development, access to utilities, employment and access to better education for rural families should not be allowed to fade in to obscurity.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Mobile Exhibit Outreach
The Society participates in various community and organizational events through providing photographic and artifact exhibitions modified to emphasize the specific area in which the programs are held.
Boonsboro Trolley Station Museum
The Boonsboro Trolley Station Museum is the only museum dedicated to the history and impact of the electric railway and early electrical power systems in central Maryland. The museum is located within the last surviving purpose-built Hagerstown & Frederick Railway trolley station building in Boonsboro, Maryland.
The museum is operated in partnership with the National Road Heritage Foundation which shares investment and metric tracking with our organization.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total number of free admissions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our organization began involvement with the Boonsboro Trolley Station Museum in 2022. Prior to that year, the museum was operated solely by the National Road Heritage Foundation.
Total number of exhibitions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
These numbers represent permanant, semi-permanant and mobile-exhibit display instances over the course of each year.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The long term goals and priorities of the H&FRHS center not only around the continual outreach and education of the public as to the local importance of the regional trolley network and the preservation of those items which tell that story, but also with the expansion and growth of the organization into a more responsible and professional institution.
While we currently provide loaned exhibits and guest lectures to regional institutions and organizations and maintain our archives and operations under the generosity of a long-time member and his business, we intend to someday offer a research and exhibit center dedicated solely to the function of presenting and housing our artifacts and functions on a limited year-round basis and preparing a more accessible and technologically standard public research facility for those interested in learning more and furthering the understanding of our subject matter and its associated topics in local area community, transportation and power generation history and culture. While any adequate facility would serve this purpose it is our desire to someday acquire or be housed within one of approximately a dozen surviving structures that remain from the days of trolley operations.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Despite limited assets and volunteers our organization has entered a period of slow growth over the past several years through continual outreach at area functions, interaction with local history and community organizations and exhibitions which have gained area media attention. Through various fundraising efforts we have endeavored to and expect to raise the minimum funds for the creation of an Endowment Fund managed by the Community Foundation of Frederic County which will provide further financial assets for our continual growth and operations.
Due to the somewhat limited scope of our subject matter, available sources of donation are limited and other avenues of fundraising are frequently being examined by board and volunteers. We have also put a great volunteer focus on bringing our archival collections up to more suitably responsible storage and documentation standards and as of 2020 have applied for grants to further advance the quality of our archives and our ability to document oral history from those with personalized information and memories about the trolley system.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The volunteers of the H&FRHS continually strive to meet the demands of the public interest in local trolley history. Our perpetual goals are actively met through continual public engagement while the long term goal of a future research center will be the result of perseverance in that engagement and outreach.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
As of 2019 we have increased our lecture program from only one program in 2016 to seven programs in 2019 and were able to continue providing no fewer than three programs per year even during pandemic restrictions.
After several years with minimal exhibitions our exhibits were requested for a cumulative 8 months over 2019. In 2021 we were able to partner with Frederick County Public Libraries to provide an extensive several-month exhibit spanning multiple locations within the central library branch. In 2022 we assisted the Williamsport Town Museum in the development of a semi-permanent exhibit in their facility and in 2023 have provided artifacts to Heritage Frederick (Formerly Frederick County Historical Society) for a well recieved year-long exhibit in the Museum of Frederick County History.
In Spring of 2023, our organization worked with the National Road Heritage Foundation in order to reimagine, develop and fabricate 17 exhibits for the Boonsboro Trolley Station Museum which is also staffed by our volunteers. Since the redevelopment of exhibits and marketing, that museum has seen a nearly 300% increase in visitors over 2022.
Between 2015 and 2019 membership had grown from less than 10 active perpetual members to over 35.
In the matter of the H&FRHS Archives we have performed an initial documentation of over 2000 individual objects, documents and photographs. Our stewardship and willingness to share information from our resources with other organizations and the public has lead to a drastic increase in our collection since the advent of our archival processes improvements.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to identify actionable feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Hagerstown & Frederick Railway Historical Society Incorporated
Board of directorsas of 11/14/2023
Reuben Moss
Reuben Moss
Craig Close
Alex Postpischil
Richard Benjamin
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Not applicable -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Not applicable -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data