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NEWS
July 14, 2024
By Zach Brooks and Abigail Koontz There’s a new exhibit at the Miller House Museum in downtown Hagerstown that recalls one of the most dramatic incidents in the city’s history. As if July were not hot enough, in the summer of 1864, the fourth summer of the Civil War, Confederate Brig. Gen. John McCausland rode into town and demanded $20,000 and 1,500 sets of clothing for his cavalrymen. And if Hagerstown’s residents did not meet the demand within four hours, he promised to burn the whole town down. By the afternoon of July 6, McCausland — who was part of a Confederate contingent led by Lt. Gen. Jubal Early and bent on taking the war straight to Washington — had taken control of Hagerstown. Mayor John Cook, a merchant, had fled north. McCausland convened with Councilman Matthew S. Barber, who also was treasurer of the Hagerstown Bank, and bank teller John H. Kausler at Byer’s Drug Store in Public Square; and then again, joined by Hagerstown Bank president and former Congressman James Dixon Roman, at the Washington County Courthouse. They reached an agreement to raise the $20,000, though there was a dispute over the provision of 1,500 suits of clothes. Eventually, McCausland […]
June 17, 2024
Article Author: Abigail Koontz (This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail July, 2024) While American gangsters Al Capone and Bugs Moran were terrorizing Chicago, over 631 miles away in Washington County, local moonshiner Harry “Snap” McCoy was busy distilling and selling illegal liquor in Hagerstown and the surrounding communities. McCoy’s story captures the turbulent years of Prohibition and the history of moonshiners active in Washington County during that time. McCoy was born Jan. 7, 1870, to blacksmith Elbert McCoy and Emma (Ardinger) of Williamsport. In 1878, Elbert died of tuberculosis, leaving Emma to care for five children. McCoy’s childhood in Williamsport was a bustling, novel one. The Cumberland Valley Railroad reached the outskirts of Williamsport in 1872. The following year, the Western Maryland Railroad ran directly into Williamsport, connecting to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The railroad had a profound effect on McCoy. Although he only completed the fourth grade, by age 30 he worked as a conductor for the WMRR in Williamsport. A 1906 photograph in the Washington County Historical Society collection captures McCoy posing for the camera beside his friend, Sam McClannahan, at the train station. An oncoming train is visible just over their shoulders. In January 1919, […]
May 28, 2024
Explore Washington County’s Potomac River history on Saturday, July 27, as the Washington County Historical Society travels back in time to visit sites connected to this unique part of our county’s landscape and heritage. WCHS’s Executive Director Andy Stout, together with WCHS staff and board members, will guide our group for the day as we meet up with others along the way. We’ll start our trip at the JC Penney parking lot located on the East side of the Valley Mall in Hagerstown, MD. The group will depart from this location by bus at 9:00 AM. Guests should plan to arrive 15 minutes prior to departure. After a brief bus ride, we’ll arrive at our first stop of the day at Cushwa Basin C&O Canal Park. Here we’ll visit the Visitors Center and meet up with NPS staff for a brief introduction to a few of the many features found around this portion of the C&O Canal. We’ll take a short walk around the area to visit the Conococheague Aqueduct, Bollman Bridge, Lockhouse 44 and other sites. Next, we’ll head across Williamsport to visit the collections and exhibits of the Williamsport Museum at Springfield Farm where we’ll also have lunch. […]
May 28, 2024
To commemorate the 160th Anniversary of the Ransom of Hagerstown, the WCHS will be offering a walking tour of Downtown Hagerstown as part of our our June 29, 2024, Public History Day. Stephen Bockmiller, author of Follow the Money: The 1864 Confederate Ransom of Hagerstown, Maryland, will lead guests through the streets of downtown Hagerstown, recounting historical events as they took place on July 6, 1864, when Brigadier General John McCausland and 1,500 Confederate soldiers entered Hagerstown and held the town ransom. The walking tour will cover a little under a mile of walking distance, roughly 7 blocks of downtown Hagerstown around Public Square, lasting 50 to 60 minutes.
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