Main Street was known over time as the Great Wagon Road, Conewago Road, Reisterstown and Baltimore Turnpike, and Reisterstown Road. In the 1750s and 1760s, John Reister bought more than 100 acres along this road, built a house and tavern, and sold lots to encourage growth. Before his death in 1804, he gave land and houses to his children, and Reister's-Town took shape. By the late 1800s, Main Street had become the commercial hub for surrounding farming communities. Goods that had once moved up and down the turnpike later went by the Western Maryland Railroad, and electric streetcars shortened travel time between Reisterstown and Baltimore. Later, the automobile reshaped Reisterstown as a suburban bedroom community, while its historic Main Street remained an anchor.