7604 Main Street
7604 Main Street, Sykesville, Gypsy Systers is the green building on the Right. (Photo by Gate House Staff, 2024)
History
7604 is part of the section of Town known as “The McDonald Block,” built in 1878. The structure was rebuilt after a major fire in 1937. At the time of the fire, this building was Leroy “Happy” Keeney’s barber shop. Happy also served as Sykesville’s mayor and chief of the Volunteer Fire Department. When called to a fire, Happy would leave in the middle of a haircut; after he returned, he would finish the cut and not charge for it. The shop was rebuilt after the fire and stayed in business as a barber shop until 1983. The space later became a bike shop, portrait studio and popular toy train shop. It is currently occupied by Gypsy Systers boutique and gift shop.
See the photos below to learn more!
Architectural Details
(Awaiting from SHDC)
1913 Postcard--Main Street
In this photo postcard, 7604 is difficult to see, but in the middle of the block, the second to last storefront before the taller brick building (Photo ID: 3453a GHM)
1983
Two Tyred Wheels Bicycles shop
(photo: gift of Thelma Wimmer 2024.015.005)
1993
Grand Opening of A.B. Huddleston Portraits.
(Gift of Thelma Wimmer 2024.018.036)
1911 Sanborn Fire Map
On this map excerpt, 7604 Main Street is at location 102, seen here as a Grocery and Confectionary store.
1924 Sanborn Fire Map
On this map, 7604 Main Street is labeled simply as a Shop ("S") at location 102 on Main Street.
1937 Fire
Thought to have started as a chimney fire, on October 21, 1937 four businesses with homes above them, and the physician’s office of Dr. H.L. Barnes were completely destroyed. Windy weather and a broken fire hose access at Sykesville Station required firefighters to pump water 500 feet down the street directly from the South Branch of the Patapsco River.
Evelyn “Puzz” (Barnes) Brightwell lived in 7606 Main Street at the time of the fire, when she was a fifth grader, and in 1996 recounted the events surrounding the fire vividly:
"My mother said she remembered seeing the front of the building that housed our apartment and my father’s pool hall, crumble down and our furniture falling with it. We lost everything. I remember that a day before I had won a set of triangular dishes at the movie theater. I never even got to unpack them."
Oral History collected by Errol G. Smith, 1996
2002
7604 Main Street during its time as A.B. Huddleston Portraits.
2004
The spiral staircase inside this shop was taken out sometime after this photo was taken inside Purkey's Toy Trains. Mayor Jonathan Herman and Maryland Governor Parris Glendenning visit the colorful store.
2004
Maryland Governor Parris Glendenning, Sykesville Mayor Jonathan Herman, and store owner Wiley Purkey inside Purkey's Toy Trains.
Site Use
Research is ongoing to confirm the historical use of this property. If you see any errors or have additional information, please contact the Museum through the methods at the bottom of the page
Confirmed Use as of May 14, 2025:
1911: The Sanborn fire map of Sykesville (seen above) shows a Grocery Store and Confectionary at this address.
1924: The Sanborn fire map of Sykesville (seen above) shows a shop of undisclosed description at this address.
1933-1985: Barber Shop run by Leroy "Happy" Keeney; the Clarence Hayes family lives upstairs until the 1937 fire destroyed this structure ("Sykesville Past and Present A Walking Tour," Greenberg, 2012)
1982-1986: Two Tyred Wheels bicycle shop (owned by Mark Schlossnagle; source: obituary clipping; Carroll County Times, August 3, 1982, p. B5; Carroll County Times, Aug. 14, 1986, p. A7 )
1987: Remember This Antiques (Grand opening advertisement: Carroll County Times, Aug. 4, 1987, p. B10; "Sykesville Past and Present," Barrow, 1987)
1988: Evelyn's Gift and Novelty Shop (Carroll County Times, Dec. 11, 1988, p.A2)
1991: The Sykesville Emporium (Carroll County Times, April 6, 1991, p. A2)
1993-1996: A.B. Huddleston Portraits (Baltimore Sun, 19 March 1996--article includes reports on renovations done by Jonathan Herman including an upstairs addition)
2000-2010: Purkey's Toy Trains, run by Wiley Purkey (2004 Centennial on the Tracks Tour Map; Carroll County Times, Nov. 3, 2000, p. A3; "Sykesville Past and Present A Walking Tour," Greenberg, 2012)
2013-present: Gypsy Systers moved to this site from 7554/7552 where their business had begun in 2012 (Baltimore Sun, April 2013 unattributed clipping)