Washington County MD

Hours: Box Office hours are Tuesday-Thursday 11am-6pm, Friday and Saturday Noon-5pm

The Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children’s Theater presents Broadway style musicals and comedies year round. The experience begins with a salad bar, hot buffet, dessert, and full bar followed by the stage show. Shows for young audiences are performed on select Saturdays. New owners Shawn and Laura Martin have been acting and directing professional and semi-professional theater for their entire adult lives. Come to The Playhouse for high quality entertainment in the heart of Hagerstown’s Arts and Entertainment district.

July 13 – 20, 2019
Sharpsburg Pike, MD

Come walk back in time at Wilson Store. We have the Best Sharp Cheese in town, plus several other types. Candy galore, Hickory Smoked Sweet Bologna

Days Open: Year Round
Hours: 9 AM – Sunset

In Washington County, four miles east of Boonsboro and 1 1/2 miles north of Alternate Route 40 on Monument Road, Washington Monument State Park is named for the first monument in the country erected to the Father of our Country, George Washington. A rugged stone tower was dedicated to the first president by the citizens of Boonsboro in 1827. Picnicing, hiking, historic interests, picnic shelters available with reservation.

Hours: 1-4 PM

Visit the museum located in the barn and operated by the History and Museum Board and observe firsthand the rich heritage and history of Williamsport. Open Sundays, 1PM – 4PM.

Days Open: Saturday & Sundays (other days by Appointment)
Hours: 1:00pm-4:00pm

Depicting the heritage of local farming life, this museum displays antique farm equipment, an authentic turn-of-the-century country store, and model rooms of a typical 19th century farmhouse and a gift shop. Located off Route 65, first building at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center. Any size groups are welcome.

Days Open: By Appointment

African American Heritage site, dedicated to preserving the history of the first black church and Freedmen’s Bureau school, in Sharpsburg, MD. A wayside marker is located on the property for more information.

Days Open: Closed Sundays during the Summer
Hours: Monday – Saturday from 9am-5pm

THE TRAIN ROOM OFFERS MODEL RAILROADING ENTHUSIAST, COLLECTORS AND NOVICE ALIKE A COMPLETELY UNIQUE EXPERIENCE. A LARGE DISPLAY OF LIONEL MODEL RAILROADING ITEMS IN O, 027 AND STANDARD GAUGE. A TWO LEVEL, FOUR TRACK MODEL RAILROAD LAY-OUT. Group rates available for the museum

Days Open: 7 days
Hours: Tue.-Fri. 10am-4pm, Sun. 7am – 1pm

Founded in 1849, St. Mark’s has served the community as a place of worship, education and service.

Days Open: Daily
Hours: 8am to Dusk

Begin your visit of South Mountain Battlefield at the Washington Monument State Park Office and Museum at 6620 Zittlestown Road in Boonsboro; or Gathland State Park in Burkittsville, MD.

Days Open: By Appointment
Hours: By Appointment

A Heritage Room, displaying artifacts of the area, has been established and is open to the public by appointment.

Days Open: Monday – Saturday
Hours: 8:30am-4:00pm. Sat 9am-12 noon.

Rose Hill Cemetery is an active non-profit public cemetery servicing Washington County and surrounding areas. In addition to being the final resting place of over 42,000 individuals, including many local and nationally famous people, it is also the location of the historic Washington Confederate Cemetery. Rose Hill Cemetery offers modern day interment services, monument sales and prepayment options. To learn more about our history, historic walking tours or to receive our e-newsletter visit our website. Cemetery gates are always open.

Days Open: April-November
Hours: 11am-5pm April, May, Oct, Nov; weekends only. June-Sept: daily.

The historic Newcomer House at Antietam National Battlefield is the site of the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area Exhibit and Visitor Center

Days Open: April – December
Hours: Wed-Sat 1-4 PM….Special rates for bus and group tours.

The fine old brick mansion at 135 West Washington Street in Hagerstown is the headquarters of the Washington County Historical Society. Research indicates that the main structure of the house was built for William Price, a prominent young attorney, who acquired the property in 1823. The mansion is a typical town house of the late Federal period. In the entrance hall is the original hanging stairway rising in a graceful curve to the third floor. There are several bedrooms with furnishings from the 1850s through the 1870s. Exhibits include papers and historic items from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War and the C&O Canal. A wonderful clock collection may also be found within the walls of Miller House showcasing clocks large and small from local clockmakers of yesteryear. Simms Jamieson Historical and Genealogical Library is open year round in lower level of the Miller House from Tues-Sat 9am – 4pm.

Days Open: Tours by appointment

Kennedy Farm, Maryland a national historic landmark, used during the summer of 1859 by John Brown and his Provisional Army of the United States. From this house in 1859, John Brown, the storied abolitionist, seized the Federal Armory at Harpers Ferry, just across the Potomac River. Recently restored, this log house is on the National Registry. Open summer weekends.

Days Open: April – October
Hours: Friday and Saturday 10am-4pm, other days by appointment

Located in beautiful Hagerstown City Park, the Jonathan Hager House is the original home of Jonathan Hager, the founder of Hagerstown. Built in 1739, the Hager House was uniquely erected over two springs, on a 200 acre tract called Hagar’s Fancy. In 1740 Jonathan presented the newly constructed house to his bride Elizabeth Kershner. Hager was an active participant of the community as a farmer and gunsmith. During the French and Indian War he served as a Captain of Scouts. He died in a construction accident in 1775 during a time when he served on various pre-Revolutionary War committees. He is considered not only the founder of Hagerstown, but also as the founder of Washington County.

Days Open: Tuesday – Sunday
Hours: Tues. – Sat. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sun. 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The museum highlights through a series of photographs, models and other material, the 70-year history of aviation and aviation-related manufacturing in the Hagerstown area.

Days Open: Open year-round on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and 2nd and 4th Sundays
Hours: 1-5 PM

Museum has thousands of items pertaining to Hancock, thousands of antiques, transportation museum pertaining to C & O Canal, National Pike, and Western Maryland Railroad. We also have many, many antique tools. We have a library for research of many historical buildings, businesses, clubs and churches. We have a complete listing of cemeteries in an around Hancock, also a great place for genealogy research.

Days Open: Park open year-round and museum open April-October on weekends
Hours: Museum open April-October on weekends from Noon-5 PM

Astride the ridge known as South Mountain, near Burkittsville at Crampton’s Gap, lies Gathland State Park. The home of an unusual man, Gathland was an architecturally unique estate made up of as many as 20 structures, many of them built of rugged stone, individual in purpose and design. A number of buildings still stand, and the remains of others may be seen by visitors to the park. The park’s museum includes exhibits on Townsend’s personal life, Gathland’s past and tells the story of the Battle of Crampton’s Gap. A self-guided walking tour of the estate is available by contacting the park.

American history from the colonial period to the present can be discovered at Fort Frederick State Park. Our 585 acre park features a unique stone fort that served as Maryland’s frontier defense during the French and Indian War.

The park borders the Potomac River, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal passes through the park. The park also features a boat launch, campsites, camp store, fishing, flat water canoeing, a hiking trail, interpretive and educational programs, picnicking, a playground, and a shelter.

Days Open: April-October
Hours: Friday and Saturday 10am-4pm, other days by appointment

Located in City Park, the Hagerstown Railroad Museum features hundreds of signs, signals, bells, telephones and tools that were used by railroad workers every day. Most of the items in this significant collection came from the Western Maryland Railroad Company. Of special interest are an 1885 Pump Car and an 1875 Velocipede; both vehicles transported workers to rails or rail cars to make repairs. The crown jewel of the museum is Steam Engine 202. This Locomotive was built in 1912 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works and it carried passengers and baggage between Baltimore and Hagerstown. It was retired in 1953. Totaling 77 feet in length, the engine weighs 415,000 pounds. Steam Engine 202 is the only Western Maryland road-type steam locomotive in existence. In addition to the locomotive and its coal tender, eight cabooses are also on display.

Days Open: May-Sept Sundays Only
Hours: Sun. 1-5PM and by appt.

“One of the best little museums in America” and “a miniature Smithsonian. The museum houses a vast and unique collection of historical objects of local and national importance. From ancient Egyptian artifacts to objects found on local Civil War battlefields, there is something for everyone at the Boonsborough Museum of History. Just a few of the things visitors will see include: a letter written by Clara Barton, a chair used in the Lincoln White House, a large collection of firearms from around the world, a one-of-a-kind collection of carved bullets from the Civil War, objects associated with local folklore and magic and beautiful antique glassware and pottery.

Days Open: Open by appointment only, April – November.
Hours:

Operated by the Washington County Historical Society. Authentically refurbished turn-of-the-century one-room schoolhouse and museum. Special rates for youth and group tours. Group tours may call for appointments on unscheduled days.

The mission of the foundation is to preserve land(s) on which the battle was fought. Nearly 7,000 Union cavalry and light artillery attached Gen. Robert E. Lee’s rear guard of almost 3,000 infantrymen near Williamsport, MD, on the morning and early afternoon of July 14, 1863. Much of the battle was fought approximately two miles from the Falling Waters crossing over the Potomac River. Only 11 days after “Picket’s Charge” in Gettysburg, it is considered the final battle of the Gettysburg Campaign. It is sometimes confused with the unrelated Battle of Falling Waters (Hoke’s Run) in West Virginia two years earlier.

Days Open: 7 days a week
Hours: 8:30 AM – Dusk

At Sharpsburg, the site of the bloodiest single day battle in American history. Casualties totaled more than 23,000 on September 17, 1862. Clara Barton cared for wounded soldiers here. Visit Dunker Church, Bloody Lane, Burnside Bridge and the Visitor’s Center. Open year round. Admission to Visitors Center. Driving tours.

Days Open: Daily
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Park Grounds are open daylight hours.

The Bloodiest One Day Battle in American History where 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862. The Battle of Antietam ended the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia’s first invasion into the North and led to Abraham Lincoln’s issuance of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Antietam National Battlefield is one of the most pristine Civil War battlefields in the country.

Originally built to move goods from Washington DC to the west, the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal is now a hub of recreational activity, with hiking, biking, bird watching, horse-back riding and more. Williamsport, MD is its geographical center, and visitors here can experience the Canal first-hand with ranger-led boat rides and towpath tours. Stay at a Lock House to experience life as it was “back in the day” and scarf up a healthy lunch at Desert Rose Cafe while there. In Hancock, MD, visitors can pick up the Rail Trail, a paved portion that runs alongside the towpath, to Fort Frederick State Park. But first, grab some pie at Weaver’s Restaurant or the Blue Goose Fruit Market & Bakery!

The “Bloodiest Single-day of Battle” of the Civil War took place at Antietam, near Sharpsburg. Park living history programs at Antietam National Battlefield provide a glimpse into the lives of Civil War soldiers. Learn about Civil War medicine at the Pry House Museum. Annual events include an Independence Day concert and December’s Antietam Memorial Illumination, with 23,110 lights placed along a five-mile driving route.

As the autumn of 1862 approached, President Abraham Lincoln felt he needed a decisive Union victory to ensure that there would be support for a yet-to-be-announced proclamation freeing the slaves. It’s still debatable just how decisive the slaughter at Antietam – remembered as “The Bloodiest Single Day of the Civil War” – truly was. By sheer numbers, the Sept. 17 battle ended in a draw, with 10,7000 Confederates and 12,4000 Union soldiers killed, wounded or missing in action. However, General George McClellan’s Union army thwarted the Rebel advance north, and a few days after the cannons fell silent, Lincoln visited the battlefield.

This byway roughly follows the chronology of events beginning Sept. 4, as General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Potomac River into Maryland, and ending two weeks later as Lee’s forces limped back into West Virginia. The byway brings you face to face with both familiar and lesser-known Civil War stories, while also placing you among breathtaking scenery and convenient recreational opportunities.

126 miles – Allow 4 hours to drive the byway.