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April 13, 2026
Published by Zach Brooks at April 13, 2026
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The Fate of the S.S. Hagerstown Victory, a WWII Victory Ship

By Abigail Koontz, WCHS Curator & Programs Manager Originally appeared in The Herald-Mail, Sunday, April 12, 2026 By January 1945, the United States was deeply embroiled in World War II. Over six thousandsoldiers from Washington County served at home and abroad. Washington County families lostloved ones who were killed, taken prisoner, or assumed missing in Germany, France, Italy, andthe Pacific. In Hagerstown, Fairchild Aircraft adopted the “Hagerstown System,” subcontractingover twenty-five businesses to produce military aircraft for the war effort. This spirit of exuberant mobilization and the immeasurable loss of lives did not go unnoticed. OnDecember 19, 1944, the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard in Baltimore laid a keel for a Victory shipnamed the S.S. (Steam Ship) Hagerstown Victory, in honor of Hagerstown’s contributions to thewar effort. Since 1939, the U.S. Maritime Commission, and later the War Shipping Administration, oversawa large-scale emergency shipbuilding program. Established in 1941, the Bethlehem-FairfieldShipyard was owned by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company and Bethlehem Steel Corporation ofBethlehem, PA. By 1945, the shipyard employed over 27,000 employees who produced Libertyships, Victory ships, and Landing Ship Tanks (LSTs). Manufactured first, Liberty ships were mass-produced cargo vessels that traveled 11-12 knotsand carried 10,200 tons of cargo such as jeeps, tanks, and ammunition. Victory ships, […]
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May 9, 2024
Published by Robyn Sumner at May 9, 2024
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The curious case of the gravestone in the basement

Article Author: Abigail Koontz (This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail October 2022) Tucked away in a corner of the Miller House’s basement lies a gray headstone. It rests against a shelf filled with fossils, wheel bands and antique lantern frames. The inscription on the front of the stone reads “Here lies the Remains of JACOB FRIEND.” Who was Jacob Friend, and how did his gravestone come to rest in the Miller House Museum basement? Jacob Friend was born Sept. 18, 1738, not far from the mouth of the Conococheague Creek, and passed away on Feb. 10, 1802. He was the son of Charles Friend, considered the first permanent European settler in Washington County. In 1738, Charles settled in what is now known as Williamsport, right by the Potomac River. Charles Friend was the brother of Israel Friend (1693-1753), the first European settler to journey through Washington County. Israel is noted as having acquired land from Native American chiefs residing in the area in 1727; he settled more permanently on the West Virginia side of the Potomac. The area saw frequent travel by Native Americans, as well as settlers moving south along the Great Wagon Road. It wasn’t until 1787 […]
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June 29, 2021
Published by Brett Peters at June 29, 2021
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Did you see that Fairchild sports car race in ’55? We want to hear from you!

Back in October, we told you about the Fairchild National Sports Car Races that took place at the airport in 1955. If you weren’t around in ’55 — or you were, and you’d like to relive those glory days — we’re going to give you the chance this fall. Make plans now to join the Washington County Historical Society and Hagerstown Aviation Museum on Oct. 23 for a special event that will commemorate the Fairchild National Sports Car Races. In addition to a vintage car show featuring several vehicles that participated in the races, the event will include lectures, guided tours of the Fairchild Aircraft flight test hangars and factory building, and a commemorative start-stop on the historic runway. To quickly recap the event we’re celebrating, the Fairchild National was the 12th race in the 1955 SCCA National Sports Car Championship season, taking place at what was then the Hagerstown Municipal Airport on Oct. 16, 1955. It was the first event of its kind to take place in Hagerstown, and was made possible by members of the Fairchild Aircraft Employee Recreation Association. Seven individual races were run on a makeshift, 2.4 mile closed circuit track built on the airport runway. Although it wasn’t […]
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June 1, 2021
Published by Anna C. at June 1, 2021
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Hagerstown, a History

Established in 1762 by Jonathan Hager, Hagerstown has a far more interesting history than you might realize. Starting with the early settlement period, this article will explore Hagerstown’s development as a crossroads of history and commerce. Read on to learn more. The land on which Hagerstown currently stands was originally settled by various East Coast Native American tribes, including the Susquehannock, Piscataway, Catawba, and Lenni Lenape. The first known non-Native American visitors to the Hagerstown area included land surveyors and fur traders.  By 1739, the area’s cheap, fertile land and plentiful natural resources had attracted farmers and craftsmen like the German-born Jonathan Hager, who patented a tract of land in the vicinity of present-day Hagerstown City Park called “Hager’s Fancy” from Charles Calvert, the 5th Lord Baltimore. It was here that Hager built a house that would double as a fort and trading post.  In 1762, Jonathan Hager, by now a leading citizen and French and Indian War veteran, laid out and established Elizabethtowne, named for his beloved wife, Anna Elizabeth Kirschner Hager. Elizabethtowne would be formally renamed Hagerstown in 1814.  By the mid-to-late 1760s, Jonathan Hager had acquired several thousand acres of land in the city, which he proceeded […]
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