What's New?
Self Guided Tour Now Available!
After a bit of time, the museum has developed a self-guided tour to use at your leisure! While right now it is in basic form, we plan to enhance the service with photos and videos to provide more information. Click the link below to start your tour of Historic Fort Ritchie!
* Please note, the best place to begin your tour is from the Fort Ritchie Community Center or The Greenhouse Cafe.
VISIT US AT THE RITCHIE HISTORY MUSEUM
Preserving an American Legacy
We are so proud to be able to preserve the legacy of over seventy years of military history from 1926 through 1998 including the now globally known Ritchie Boys of WWII. History is deeply entrenched here at Ritchie. From its humble beginnings as the site of an ice company, to its importance with the 7th Signal Command and Communications efforts of the United States Army, the Pentagon, and White House, come explore the best kept secret Western Maryland has to offer. We'll be waiting for you!
MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
Knowledge for All
HISTORY REVISITED
For nearly a quarter of a decade the building which will house our museum laid empty and largely abandoned, but thanks to a variety of state funding, grants, and private donations, the Ritchie History Museum will finally find its home at 202 Barrick Avenue. Built in 1927 as a mess hall and dedicated as a memorial library to the man who designed Ritchie, Robert Barrick, this space felt perfect to honor the legacy of the local veterans including those who proudly served at Ritchie from 1926-1998.
OUR BIG PLANS
Our Museum will highlight the efforts of the Ritchie Boys and the role they played in defeating Hitler and Nazism. Not only will we focus on the efforts of Fort Ritchie, but also the efforts of local veterans during the 20th Century. Our great Korean War Veterans will have a place in our museum to ensure that the "Forgotten War" is forgotten no longer. From 1926-1998, thousands of soldiers trained at Ritchie to keep our country safe.Others still who lived locally made the ultimate sacrifice. We fully intend to honor them all. Our opening date is anticipated to be May 2023 or earlier.
Thanks to the funding from the National Endowment of Humanities through Maryland Humanities, our museum has been able to create a digital archive of thousands of documents relating to Camp Ritchie and Fort Ritchie's long history connected to both Maryland History and Military History. Check out our archive and digital space to learn more about our historically unique property. Click here to see our ever growing archive!
EXPLORE
VIRTUAL TOUR
A Digital trip into Military History
VISITING OUR MUSEUM
Your Passport to the Past
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Call or email for visitation
Offical Museum Hours coming soon