Post-Thanksgiving Possibilities in Old Town Laurel

OK, it’s Friday. You’ve stuffed yourself with turkey, potatoes, and pie. You have family and/or friends in town. You’ve shopped (at midnight) or decided to avoid the Black Friday crowds altogether. Or, part of your family/crew is out shopping—but you’ve decided to pass. You definitely don’t want to drive any place you’ll find traffic. What should you do?

Here are three thoughts centered around Old Town Laurel that offer insights into local history with a stop at the Laurel Museum, some good food options, and a "dam" interesting walk in the park.

Visit the Laurel Museum

The Laurel Museum will be open Friday 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Great opportunity to bring family, friends and out-of-towners by to see two very different but interesting exhibits. Before Laurel was a suburban town between Washington and Baltimore, it was Prince George’s County’s only factory town. Life wasn’t easy, and people lived in cramped quarters, performing remarkly hard work for low wages. True Life: I am a Laurel Mill Worker looks at cotton mill life in Laurel with a focus on the 1870s. This exhibit is also great for kids, because it incorporates the experiences of an actual Laurel family—including children from age 6 working in the mill. One part recreates a mill family living area and includes clothes the young ones can try on.

Are you a Civil War buff? Also on exhibit: Field of Carnage/Personal Sorrows, which is about the early Civil War in Laurel, featuring a letter written right after the battle of Antietam and a map of Laurel’s civil war sites. Both exhibits close for good Dec. 23, so if you’ve been thinking of visiting, now is the time. (Full disclosure: this author worked on both exhibits.) The Laurel Museum is at 817 Main Street. There’s also a gift shop with items that are unique to Laurel, including this year’s holiday ornament: a new view of the cotton mill.

Take a walk in Riverfront Park

Once you’ve finished at the museum, walk over past the swimming pool (which was actually where the cotton mill stood) and walk down to the old dam ruins and around the pool into Riverfront Park. Descriptive panels provide information about and photos of the dam, the factory’s operations, and the bridge that was once the main road into Howard County. From there, you can continue on into Riverfront Park or go up the hill for a treat.

Lunch locally at a family business

The Double Dipper is located at 9th Street & Montgomery Street, just up the hill from the Laurel Museum. The DD offers soup and sandwiches will have a sandwich special: buy one sandwich item and get the second sandwich 15 percent off. Also on tap: Hershey treats, strawberry cheesecake, and of course hot coffee/latte or hot chocolate. Perfect for a post-museum visit. 

If you decide to continue your Riverfront walk, you can exit at Post Office Avenue and head up the street for ribs or sandwiches at Red Hot & Blue. (Linny’s Deli, also on Main Street will be closed on Friday). Go all the way down the park (about one mile total), exit at B Street, and you’re only a block from Route 1 and Tampico, with its excellent Mexican food. The Laurel Meat Market also sells sandwiches.

See, that wasn’t so hard! And it sure beat the crowds at the mall.