During its 174 years, Carroll County has been the scene of war, growth, disaster, betrayal and more. Much of its history has faded into obscurity, but some pieces remain, just waiting to be rediscovered. Here are a few:
Railroad Ties
The Western Maryland Railway Historical Society works to preserve the records and artifacts of the WMRR, which began as the Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Railway in 1852. In the Union Bridge building that had for many years served as the main offices for the Western Maryland Railway, you can tour a free museum maintained by the society. On view are bells, lanterns, pictures, model train layouts and more.
“The scale-model layout we have represents the Western Maryland route from Union Bridge to the high bridges just west of Thurmont,” said Society President Dennis Wertz.
The second floor of the building also has a research room containing the railroad’s records and publications.
Because the museum is run by volunteers, it is only open on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Where can you find it?
On the Web: www.westernmarylandrhs.com
Address: 41 N. Main St., Union Bridge
Phone: 410-775-0150
GPS Coordinates: N39° 34.2452′, W077° 10.6168′
 
Russian Royalty in Taneytown
Demetrius Gallitzen was born in 1770 to a Russian ambassador to the Netherlands and a Prussian princess. Prince Demetrius was educated as a member of the Russian Greek Schismatic Orthodox Church, but when he was 17 he entered the Catholic Church.
When he arrived in America in 1792, he decided to join the priesthood. On March 18, 1795, he became the second priest ordained in the United States. He was also the first parish priest for St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Taneytown, which is the second-oldest parish in the Baltimore diocese.
“He served Catholics in Harper’s Ferry; the Winchester, VA, area; Cumberland; Hagerstown; Chambersburg, Path Valley and Huntington, PA, traveling a 250-mile radius on horseback,” said Helen Arnold Gorman of Taneytown, who compiled an early history of St. Joseph’s Church. “After his appointment as pastor at Taneytown, he continued to serve these areas. He also preached to German Catholics in Baltimore.”
The church has begun the canonization of Father Gallitzen.
Where can you find it?
On the Web: www.st-joseph-taneytown.com
Address: 44 Frederick St., Taneytown
Phone: 410-756-2500
GPS Coordinates: N39° 39.5375′, W077° 10.7137′
 
Carroll’s Cold War Spies
Whittaker Chambers, one of the key figures in the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, lived on a farm near Westminster during the 1940s and ’50s. He was at one time a Communist and editor of Time magazine.
Whittaker Chambers accused Alger Hiss, a former State Department official with access to sensitive documents, of being a Russian spy.
Chambers said that Hiss had been involved in espionage against the U.S. in the 1930s, and to support his point, he retrieved microfilm hidden in a hollowed-out pumpkin on his Carroll County farm. Hiss had given Chambers the microfilm to pass on to a Soviet agent.
Hiss was convicted of perjury on January 20, 1950, and imprisoned for denying his activity before a grand jury. The Chambers-Hiss story is detailed in Chambers’ 1952 autobiography titled, Witness. The National Park Service has listed the Pipe Creek Farm as an historic landmark, although the Chambers family still owns it and public access is limited.
Where can you find it?
On the Web: www.whittakerchambers.org/pipecreekfarm.html
Address: East Saw Mill Road, Westminster
GPS Coordinates: N39° 40.0282′, W076° 59.0069′
 
Rural Free Delivery Mail
At one time, if you lived in the country, you had to come into town to pick up your mail – usually at the general store.
On December 20, 1899, the system changed in Carroll County. For the first time in the United States, your mail was delivered to your home no matter where you lived.
Thirty-five years later, mail was sorted at and delivered from a new central post office at 83 E. Main Street, Westminster. The historic building is now occupied by Kohn Creative, which publishes Carroll Magazine.
“We were the first county in which mail was delivered to everyone,” said Cathy Baty, collections curator for the Historical Society of Carroll County. “We were a test county.”
Baty also pointed out that the idea was not universally popular at first, particularly among shopkeepers who thought they might lose business because people would not have to come into their stores for mail.
Where can you find it?
On the Web: unionmills.org/rfd/rfdhistory.htm
Address: An historic marker at the intersection of Main Street and Longwell Avenue in Westminster.
GPS Coordinates: 39° 34.411′ N, 76° 59.64′ W
 
The country’s first highway
The National Road was the country’s first major public works project. It ran from Cumberland to Vandalia, OH, and celebrated its bicentennial year in 2011.
Although Carroll County was not part of the original route, the road’s success at opening up Western trade led to the building of private turnpikes that connected Baltimore (Ever wonder why Route 40 is called Baltimore National Pike?) to the National Road in Cumberland. Today, those turnpikes now make up parts of U.S. Route 40, Alternate U.S. Route 40 and Maryland 144.
A small section of the National Pike passed through Carroll County. An original milestone still exists, although it is about 130 feet south of its original location, according to the State of Maryland. The historic plaque on Maryland Route 144 also notes another piece of the county’s hidden history. The small piece of the National Pike helped create Parrsville and Ridgeville, which have now been incorporated into Mount Airy.
Where can you find it?
On the Web: www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=4933
GPS coordinates: 39° 21.87′ N, 77° 9.668′ W
 
Mining Metal
Although Maryland mining operations are generally believed to be limited to Western Maryland coal, the state has also had a number of smaller operations that mined metals and other minerals.
“Sykesville was a popular area for copper mining, but most of it was done in the early 19th century,” said the Historical Society’s Baty.
Copper was dug from the Springfield Mines and Mineral Hill. The shafts at Mineral Hill could go as deep as 400 feet. Springfield’s shafts were more than three times that depth.
Where can you find it?
On the Web: hscc.carr.org/research/yesteryears/cct2008/080113.htm
GPS Coordinates: 39°22’60″N 76°58’40″W