Frederick Junction, 1872

Maryland Historical Society

Frederick County (pop 2005 est. 220,700) offers a rich and colorful history that remains an important part of the lives of its residents today. The National Road, Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroad, and Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal that traverse the county, all had important affects upon it.

Geography
Frederick County is bounded on the north by the Mason-Dixon Line, forming the county’s border with Pennsylvania; the Potomac River, forming the border with Virginia; and South Mountain creating the western border with Washington County. With 663 square miles of land area, the county has the largest land mass of any county in Maryland.

History
When Frederick County was created in 1748 from Prince George’s County, it included all of the current counties of Washington, Allegany, Garrett, and Montgomery, and part of Carroll County. Frederick County’s history offers a study of the nation’s history in microcosm. During the French and Indian War, Frederick County experienced fighting on its frontier and was the location from which General Edward Braddock planned his ill-fated assault upon the French at Fort Duquesne. As a prelude to the Revolutionary War, the 12 judges of the Frederick County Court repudiated the unpopular Stamp Act in 1765 by issuing court documents on unstamped paper. This was one of the first official acts of defiance against the British, occurring seven years before the Boston Tea Party.

During the Revolutionary War, Frederick County supplied men and materials in support of the war effort. Barracks, originally constructed to serve as an arsenal and housing for the Colonial forces, later served as a prison for German mercenaries and British troops captured in battle. A portion of the Hessian Barracks stands today on the campus of the Maryland School for the Deaf in Fredrick.

Francis Scott Key (1779-1843), a native of Frederick County, made a lasting mark upon American culture during the War of 1812. While observing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry on September 14, 1814, Key penned a poem that became our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” A monument to Francis Scott Key adorns his burial site in Frederick’s Mount Olivet Cemetery.

As the young nation struggled to expand westward, Frederick County’s vital passages, the C&O Canal, B&O Railroad, and the National Road played vital roles in moving men and materials beyond the Allegheny Mountains into the rich Ohio River Valley. In the years leading to the American Civil War, Frederick County again influenced national events. Roger Brooke Taney (1777-1864), as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, wrote the court’s majority opinion in the Case of Dred Scott v. Sanford, a decision served as one of the sparks to ignite Civil War. Taney began his legal career in Frederick County and lived in Frederick from 1801 to 1823. A home he owned on South Bentz Street is today preserved and operated as a museum by the Historical Society of Frederick County.

County Saw Civil War Fighting and Was Haven for the Injured
During the violent years of the Civil War, Frederick County was the scene of troop movements, battles, and skirmishes and was an important hospital site for treating the sick and wounded from both armies. During September of 1862, Confederate general Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia passed through Frederick County and occupied the City of Frederick. On September 14, some of the war’s most intense fighting took place around the mountain gaps of South Mountain on Frederick County’s western boundary--a prelude to the bloody carnage at Antietam a few days later. Although the Battle of Antietam was fought in neighboring Washington County, dozens of buildings in Frederick County were used as hospitals in the days and weeks following the September 17 battle.

In late June of 1863, the Union Army of the Potomac returned to Frederick County, in pursuit of Lee’s Confederates. While headquartered at Prospect Hall, southwest of Frederick, Union general Joseph Hooker was relieved of command of the army and replaced by Gen. George Meade. In the days leading to the Battle of Gettysburg, masses of Union troops, their wagons and horses, clogged the roads of the county. In the battle’s aftermath, Frederick County again became a place of recovery and convalescence.

The Battle of Monocacy, often referred to as “The battle that saved Washington,” was fought on the banks of the Monocacy River, south of Frederick on July 9, 1864. During this raid into Maryland, Confederate general Jubal Early held both Middletown and Frederick for ransom. Visitors to the county can experience the Civil War by going to Monocacy National Battlefield, South Mountain Battlefield State Park, or the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.

Agricultural Prosperity and Railroad Boom
In the decades following the Civil War, Frederick County enjoyed relative prosperity through its rich agricultural lands, abundant natural resources, and ease of access to markets. The town of Brunswick experienced a boom during the 1890s when the B&O constructed a large classification yard around the town. During the early years of the twentieth century, the county became a center for the canning of vegetables. Camp David, located in Frederick County’s Catoctin Mountains near Thurmont, has served as the presidential retreat since President Franklin Roosevelt approved the site, originally naming it Shangri-La in 1942.

With its vibrant economy and proximity to the major metropolitan centers of Baltimore and Washington, D.C., the county has experienced consistent population growth. Its 2005 population of over 220,000 was an increase of over 13 percent from the 2000 Census. In addition to the county seat of Frederick, other municipalities in the county include Brunswick, Burkittsville, Emmitsburg, Jefferson, Middletown, Mt. Airy, Myersville, New Market, Point of Rocks, Rosemont, Thurmont, Walkersville, and Woodsboro.

Education, Biotechnology, and Manufacturing
The county’s three institutions of higher learning, Hood College, Mount St. Mary’s University, and Frederick Community College provide outstanding educational opportunities. Today, Frederick County is a center for biotechnology research and manufacturing. Research facilities at Fort Detrick are leading the efforts to cure cancer and respond to biological threats. Frederick County also is the headquarters of the Airline Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). National and international companies such as Bechtel, Wells Fargo, United Health Care, and CitiMortage have significant business presences in the county.

Gordon, Paul and Rita. A Textbook History of Frederick County. Frederick, Md.: Board of Education of Frederick County, 1975.

Heidenrich, Chris. Frederick: Local & National Crossroads. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2003.

Quynn, William R., ed. The Diary of Jacob Engelbrecht. Frederick, Md.: Historical Society of Frederick County, 2001.

Williams, Thomas John Chew and Folger McKinsey. History of Frederick County, Maryland, With a Biographical Record of Representative Families. N.p.: L.R. Titsworth and Co., 1910.