Located at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers and resting just below the Mason-Dixon Line in Maryland’s Appalachian Highlands, Hagerstown is a bucolic area of cultivated valleys and low rolling mountains.
Founded the same year as the United States, 1776, Hagerstown is home to Fort Frederick, the only such structure remaining from the French and Indian War, as well as to picturesque 19th-century stone arch bridges and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal.
However, it’s the area’s Civil War heritage that often lures visitors. The city is less than an hour’s drive from Gettysburg and Harper’s Ferry, where John Brown carried out his infamous raid.
Hagerstown’s own major Civil War site is Antietam National Battlefield (where, trivia buffs will be interested to learn, the medical process of triage was born, thanks to Clara Barton, who came here to nurse the wounded soldiers).
After spending several hours at the battlefield, visitors will doubtless be ready for something a bit lighter. The Antietam Highland Wine Trail, with its Red Heifer, Knob Hall and Big Cork wineries, provides just such an excursion.
“Tour operators love us,” says Betsy DeVore, director of marketing and communications for Visit Hagerstown. “We offer a variety of options for any type of group, whether it’s a general group tour or a specialized reunion or wedding tour.”
To get more details, reach out to Audrey Vargason, director of sales for Visit Hagerstown, or go to visithagerstown.com.
Top photo: Burnside Bridge, Antietam National Battlefield
Photo by Scantner Photography
