Discover Millersville: Agricultural History, Nature, and Trails

Millersville combines open landscapes, agricultural history, and historic buildings with opportunities for walking. The character of the place is particularly vividly presented at Kinder Farm Park: The 288-acre park combines a working farm, exhibits, and animals. Those planning a trip can combine culture and outdoor activity here without limiting themselves to just one way of exploring.

Kinder Farm Park: Experience Agriculture and Enjoy the Outdoors

Kinder Farm Park offers opportunities for walking while also showcasing past and present agricultural practices in Anne Arundel County. Pigs, goats, and alpacas live on the working farm; quail and turkeys are added seasonally. This gives families with children of different ages various reasons to include the park in their daily plans: A walk can be combined with observing animals and gaining insight into regional agriculture.

The indoor areas also complement the outdoor experience. The visitor center presents interpretive exhibits about farm life in the early 20th century. The collection includes, among other things, a large wooden tobacco press and agricultural equipment. The visitor center's exhibit hall is open during office hours. This allows visitors to focus their visit more on historical content or on the outdoor areas, depending on their travel plans.

Millersville's History in Buildings and Family Stories

The history of the place is closely connected with the Kinder family, a German immigrant family that acquired land in Millersville several times starting in 1898. In 1979, Henry Sr.'s four sons sold the remaining 288 acres to Anne Arundel County. The goal was to preserve the area's agricultural history and open spaces. In 2010, it was decided to restore the ground floor of the Kinder Farmhouse so that it would resemble a typical early-20th-century farmhouse. The individual dates make clear that today's park is rooted in a longer, evolving local history.

Another historical focal point is the Childs Residence. The complex includes a timber-frame house dating from around 1840, a large timber-frame addition from around 1852, a timber-frame smokehouse and dairy dating from around 1840, and a timber-frame store dating from around 1920. The residence was the home of Millersville's first postmaster and served continuously as a post office and community store for 130 years. Millersville was named after this first postmaster, George Miller. The Childs Residence was added to the National Register on March 6, 1986.

The ensemble has undergone relatively few changes and has preserved its architectural integrity. As a result, it conveys a concrete impression of time and place instead of telling history only through dates. The historic Kinder Farmhouse Museum is open for tours on the second Saturday of each month from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This regular date is especially suitable for visitors who want to focus their stay on a specific historical tour.

Trail Planning and Choosing Accommodation

The South Shore Trail is also relevant for active days. It is planned as an 11-mile shared-use rail trail and is intended to run from Annapolis to Odenton. Between Annapolis and Odenton, it mostly follows the abandoned rail bed of the WB&A Railroad. The trail is open from sunrise to sunset. Since it is a separate trail project with a historical railway connection, it can complement a different travel concept than the cultural and historical focus of Kinder Farm Park.

When searching for a vacation rental in Millersville, you can therefore first consider which of these aspects should shape your stay: walks and animals at Kinder Farm Park, exhibits and agricultural history, or historic buildings and tours. The available information does not specify distances between the individual locations; you should therefore check them separately when planning specific days. Millersville is suitable as a destination for travelers who want to combine accommodation with a thematically varied stay.

Other Places for Your Travel Planning

If you would like to compare other places in addition to Millersville, you can also include Linthicum, Annapolis Junction, Odenton, Deale, Arnold, Glen Burnie, and Annapolis in your further search.

For the overarching travel overview: Anne Arundel.