The historical plaque program is a project of the Reisterstown Improvement Association, Inc. and has been funded by grants from the Preservation Alliance of Baltimore County in 2019 and MD DHCD Community Legacy 2021 currently being unveiled. Reisterstown's Main Street was added to the national register by the US Department of the Interior in 1979.
The development of Main Street is closely related to early travel from western Maryland and Pennsylvania to Baltimore. It was located one day's travel from Baltimore and developed as a convenient stopping place where weary travelers could find taverns, inns, black smith shops, saddleries and wagon repair shops. The earliest buildings, several built of log, date from the late 18 century as the town was founded by John Reister in 1758.
In recent years there has been renewed interest in some of the historic buildings in Reisterstown. The second oldest building, the John Beckley House at 202 Main Street, was purchased by a local resident and is home to a coffee shop called “Reister’s Daughter” to honor John Reister’s daughter who was married to John Beckley and the town Welcome Center. Other addresses of note are 410 Main Street, the oldest building on Main Street, 237-239 Main Street and the former Odd Fellows Hall at 56 Main Street.
Plaque Unveilings 2019-2024
Site of the original “Asbury Chapel,” Reisterstown’s first Methodist Church, built in 1791. In 1866, national disagreements over slavery and state rights split the congregation into two factions, which only united 75 years later as the “Reisterstown Methodist Church.” The current building was erected in 1868, with the new addition built in 1973.
Originally part of founder John Reister's land tracts known as "Brotherly Love" and "Philip's Desire" (the latter of which was a resurvey of the original Reister's Desire).
Upon Reister's death in 1805, it was sold to Charles Worthington who held it until tax arrears forced the land to public auction. The land ended up with John S. Fisher in April 1858, who likely built this structure shortly after.
356 Main Street comprised the majority of Lot #3 of Reister's Desire. After being sold by Henry Wiest after John Reister's death, the lot passed through a few owners, including Solomon Choate and later Christian Lentzner. It is believed that between 1850-1865, Choate or Lentzner built this structure.
Standing on part of the original Brotherly Love land tract, the land passed through a few hands before Miss Anne E. Gore took possession and likely built this r structure in 1877. After her death a decade later, the property was willed to her unmarried sister, Julia Gore, for whom the house is named.
This land was donated to the Methodists by Daniel Banks in 1868, and this Greek-revival temple-form church (a popular church style at the time) was built to hold the Grace Methodist Church South until the Methodist community reunited in 1941. This building remains the only structure of its style in Reisterstown.
