Washington Co (MD)

This project was inspired by a comment in Thomas F. Hahn’s Towpath Guide to The C&O Canal (25th anniversary edition, 1997, sadly out of print). He wrote of the Rock Run culvert (at Mile Post 8.93): “This culvert is a fine example of one of outstanding structures under the canal which most do not see. Recommended for viewing; carefully work your way down to the stream it carries to see if you don’t agree” (Hahn, 32).

Newspaper articles mainly from Hagerstown, but also Cumberland and Harrisburg, tell the story of activities along the Chesapeake and Ohio canal; the flooding and wash aways, the drownings, slave activities, damage during the Civil War, news of the use of the canal (including how many tons of canal were carried to Williamsport and Georgetown) and other stories.

This collection of photographic negatives of the stone bridges over the Antietam Creek in Washington County, Maryland taken before 1910 was made available by Bob Savitt of the Washington County Historical Society. The collection also includes newspaper articles about the construction of the bridges.

Samuel Webster Piper visited all the known cemeteries in Washington County, Maryland, between 1936 and 1941, drawing up a list of the names of the deceased on the cemetery markers. His hand-written list was typed up by the members of the Conococheague Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) beginning in 1942. A copy of the text was given to the Washington County Free Library in Hagerstown, Maryland. 

Washington County, Maryland tax records for 1803 list the taxes owed by land and lot owners, and all who owned slaves, hogs, horses, carriages, silver and stills.

The 1783 Tax Records for Washington County, Maryland include districts that are in Washington County, Maryland, plus those districts that later became Allegany and Garrett counties. 

The Maryland state constitution barred Jews from holding public office unless they would submit to a Christian oath. This requirement was finally removed with the passage of the 1826 Jew Bill, which was championed by the non-Jewish legislator Thomas Kennedy.  Dan Guzy's book on Thomas Keneedy provides Kennedy's story.

German-Jewish men, among others, who had immigrated to the United States prior to World War II were enlisted by the Army and sent to Camp Ritchie, Maryland, for counter intelligence training. Several trainings and demonstrations focused on preparing the men for a return to Germany where they would interview prisoners, gather intelligence, and urge Germans to prepare for defeat. Other trainings at Camp Ritchie included first aid, interrogation, house-to-house fighting, combat courses, photo interpretation, anti-tank gunnery, and firing ranges.

At the end of the World War I, several of the small Western Maryland towns wanted to honor those who fought for their country and those who died. Some towns named on the monument all who went off to war, others emphasized those who died. Garrett and Washington Counties have a countywide memorial, in Garrett located in Kitzmiller, in Washington County in Hagerstown. Each memorial is unique, telling the story of their town and the sacrifices of their sons and daughters.

Maryland declared a state of emergency because of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 5, 2020. These photographs document some of the experiences of life under COVID in Western Maryland. They were taken by residents of Allegany and Washington Counties.