The Gaithersburg Railroad Station and freight house were built in 1884 as handsome replacements for an adjacent small frame structure that had served as a freight depot when the Metropolitan Branch of the B and O Railroad was extended to Gaithersburg in 1873. The picturesque Victorian brick station house, with separate ladies’ and gentlemen’s waiting rooms on either side of the ticket office, reflected Gaithersburg’s success as a major shipping center and commercial crossroads. The railroad and the impressive station soon attracted businesses and suburban commuter residents to Gaithersburg, spurring the incorporation and growth of Olde Towne and ushering in a new era of progress. The architect was Ephraim Francis Baldwin.