The Steppingstone Museum is a non-profit educational and cultural institution on the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

, northwest of

Havre de Grace, Maryland Havre de Grace (), abbreviated HdG, is a city in Harford County, Maryland, Harford County, Maryland, United States. It is situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay. It is named after the port city of Le Havre ...

, whose mission is to preserve and interpret the rural heritage of

Harford County, Maryland Harford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Wa ...

. The museum displays and preserves the private collection of 7,000 tools and artifacts amassed by J. Edmund Bull along with later accessions. The Bull collection was first displayed at his home, which he called Steppingstone. In 1979, the museum relocated to the former Gilman Paul property, an 18th-century farm now in Susquehanna State Park, and the museum was expanded to include demonstrations of various trades commonplace in rural America of the 19th century. Barns and farm buildings exhibit the work of broom makers,

blacksmiths A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gril ...

, stone cutters, masons, and other tradesmen. The museum programs special events relating to 19th- and early 20th-century history.

June 2, 2024 Fire

The display barn at the Steppingstone Farm Museum in Harford County burned to the ground on the afternoon of June 2, 2024. This barn was not open to visitors at the time of the fire. No lives were lost. The barn was valued at roughly $200,000 and the Fire Marshal reported that the value of the historic artifacts stored in the structure could not be assessed at this time. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

References

External links

* Farm museums in Maryland Buildings and structures in Havre de Grace, Maryland Historic house museums in Maryland Living museums in Maryland Museums in Harford County, Maryland {{agri-stub