Upcoming Events

July 27, 2024 @ 9:00 am – 3:30 pm

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. Here, we’ll meet with Sandy Izer from the Williamsport Historical Association and tour this beautiful 18th century farm.

After the Williamsport Museum, our tour is headed to our final destination of the day, Ft Frederick State Park. Here we will tour America’s only stone French and Indian War fort and meet up with Ft. Frederick State Park Ranger, Robert Ambrose.

Following our tour of Ft. Frederick, we’ll head back to the JC Penney parking lot where we started from, located on the East side of the Valley Mall in Hagerstown, MD. Guests will arrive back at the JC Penney parking lot at the Valley Mall by 3:30 PM.

Price per guest is $50 for WCHS members and $65 for non-members. Non-member tickets include a complementary WCHS individual membership. Contact us at 301-797-8782 or email us at info@washcohistory.org to make your reservation.

We have more WCHS Bus Tours planned for 2024. Stay tuned to our eventbrite and washcohistory.org/events/ for announcements of destinations and dates! $50 – $65

$50 – $65

JCPenny

17301 Valley Mall Road #Ste 400
Hagerstown, Maryland 21740 United States + Google Map
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July 27, 2024
Published by Robin Brooks at July 27, 2024
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Potomac River History Tour

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. […]
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July 14, 2024
Published by Zach Brooks at July 14, 2024
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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 […]
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