The Town of Hancock is living history. The photo to the right is
Main Street in 1906, and you will recognize many of these buildings
today. Hancock was built astride the Old National Pike, and it was
one of the principal stopping off places for stagecoaches and Conestoga
wagons headed west. Renovation of one of the National Pike Toll
House stations is due in 2002. The C&O Canal reached Hancock
in 1839, and the Western Maryland Railroad arrived in 1904. The
remains of the Roundtop Cement Company, which began operation in
1837) can still be viewed along the C&O Canal and Western Maryland
Rail Trail. And there's so much more, so please don't forget to
visit our Town History link.
Begin your tour of Hancock history at the Hancock Museum (301-678-7377).
It's located at the Town Hall on High Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
It's also the home for the Hancock Historical Society. And don't
forget to visit the C&O
Canal Visitors Center located on East Main Street and operated
by the National Park Service. If your are a railroad history buff,
check out this site for the history of the Western
Maryland Railroad.
For a history and geology lesson, travel just 5
miles from Hancock to the Sideling
Hill Exhibit Center on Interstate 68.
Visit our friends in Berkeley
Springs (Town of Bath), where George Washington not only slept
there, but frequently bathed there (they still have his "tub"
at the Berkeley Springs State Park), just 8
miles from Hancock.
Head east from Hancock only 14 miles
and visit Fort
Frederick, a stone fort that was restored to it's 1758 appearance.
It's the site of Maryland's frontier defense during the French and
Indian War (1754-1763).
Just 31 miles from Hancock, there
is the amazing Paw
Paw Tunnel that was built through a mountain to handle the C&O
Canal. You can still walk through the 3,118 foot long tunnel, but
we suggest that you not forget to bring a flashlight.
And while the immediate Hancock area is rich in Civil War history,
we always recommend that you try to visit the Antietam
Battlefield. It's only an hour's drive away.
This only scratches the surface concerning the historic sites in
our area. So again, please start your visit at the Hancock Museum
or the C&O Canal Visitors Center for a wealth of information
about other historic sites in the area that you can explore.
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