7606 Main Street
Main Street, Sykesville, Charlie Joe's Clothing in center with blue windows and an orange door.
History
7606 is part of the section of Town known as “The McDonald Block,” built in 1878. The structure today was rebuilt after a major fire in 1937, but the business immediately adjacent was not rebuilt until the construction of the Samsara hair salon (which as of 2025 shares the 7606 address, but is an entirely modern building on the footprint of what would have been considered 7608). Before the fire, this building served as a post office, confectionary, and music store. At the time of the fire, it was a carpenter’s shop with a residence on the top floor lived in by the family of Edward Barnes. After the fire, the Barnes family moved back in and opened a pool hall in the main floor of the building.
The pool hall closed in 1963 and the site later became a framing shop, a church, a restaurant, furniture store, and various boutiques.
See the photos below to learn more!
Architectural Details
(Awaiting from SHDC)
1913 Postcard--Main Street
In this photo postcard, 7606 is to the right of the store labeled "Drug Store" (Photo ID: 3453a GHM)
1983
Rick's Place Restaurant
(photo: gift of Thelma Wimmer 2024.005.004)
1996
Three Treasures Health Services was one of many businesses located at this site. (photo: gift of R. Berry)
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
1911 Sanborn Map
location "101" showing a large drug store on Main Street. A High resolution color version of this full map is available at the Library of Congress through this link.
1924 Sanborn Map
This excerpt from the 1924 Sykesville Fire Map shows an addition at location 101 on Main Street, with the location itself still serving as a drug store. A full copy of this map can be found at the Maryland State Archives online here.
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 October 22, 2025:
1900-1910: Post Office (Asa Hepner, Postmaster), convenience store, music store
1911: A drug store is shown at this location on the 1911 Sanborn Fire Map (see above). This is probably the Swain Drug Store of Robert Swain, which operated through the 1920s before becoming Dr. H.A. Barnes office, and later the Henry Forsyth Food market.
c. late 1920s-1930: Day's Market (Sykesville Herald, 1 May, 1930)
1930: Kate Brown operates a restaurant in the Hepner store building "in the space formerly occupied by Day's Market" (Sykesville Herald, 1 May, 1930)
1931: A tea room is opened by Mrs. Joseph Hughes as part of the Asa Hepner store (Sykesville Herald, 24 December 1931, p.3)
1937 (before fire)--carpenter shop on the first floor (William Mason Jones), Edward Barnes family lives on second floor("Sykesville Past and Present A Walking Tour," Greenberg, 2012)
(1937 Fire destroys original building)
1940-1963: Edward Barnes opens a pool hall (formerly located at 7602 Main Street)("Sykesville Past and Present A Walking Tour," Greenberg, 2012)
1963: Pat Winston's Framing shop ("Sykesville Past and Present A Walking Tour," Greenberg, 2012)
1981: B&L Pizza and Chicken (Carroll County Times, May 27, 1981, p. A2); Apartment resident: Douglas Wilson (Carroll County Times, Sept. 29, 1981, p. A3).
1980s: Rick's Place (Gate House archive photos)
late 1980s: Think Oak ("Sykesville Past and Present A Walking Tour," Greenberg, 2012)
1987: Maria's Restaurant ("Sykesville Past and Present," Barrow, 1987)
c. 1995-1996: Three Treasures Health Services (Carroll County Times, March 11, 1995, p. A2; Carroll County Times, Jan. 12, 1996, p. A2)
2004: Contrary Mary's (2004 Centennial on the Tracks Tour Map)????-c. 2019: LibertyShop (Carroll County Times, Feb 3, 2020, p. A1)
2019: Design of Mind, an interior decorating business owned by Sarah and David Dudek arrived in November, replacing "LibertyShop." (Carroll County Times, Feb 3, 2020, p. A1)
2025 (present): Charlie Joe's Clothing (presently open)
NOTE: in 2002, a new structure immediately adjacent to 7606 Main Street was added to the left, which shares the same street address. At this address:
2003-present (2025): Samsara Salon and Spa (Carroll County Times, Nov. 23, 2006, p. A4)