A Catoctin Furnace PhotoJournal

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Recently a friend sent Flat Stanley to visit us in Maryland, so yesterday Kennady and I decided to go for a drive and take Stanley to see some of the local sights.

Our first stop was just a few minutes from our house, at the house where Francis Scott Key (who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner) lived. The estate was called Terra Rubra when the Key family lived there. It is now a private residence, but does have this monument and flag out front. 

From there we headed to Westminster, through Uniontown, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. It's also a stop on the Carroll County Barn Quilt Trail. There are over twenty of these large quilt squares mounted on barns around the county.

Stanley was sweet enough to treat us to Starbucks in Westminster! 

Next stop was in Frederick. We paid a quick visit to the baseball stadium where the Frederick Keys play - yes, they are also named for Francis Scott Key. Of course, there was no baseball being played yesterday so it was very quiet there, but we got a couple of pictures before carrying on.

Time for a little Civil War history! We took Stanley to see Monocacy National Battlefield.  This battle has been called 'The Battle that Saved Washington, DC' because the Union troops were able to delay the Confederate march towards the capitol. Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early led about 15,000 men on a campaign to threaten Washington, DC.  Agents of the B&O Railroad learned of the troop movement and informed Union Major General Lew Wallace, who quickly brought together a force of 6,550 men at Monocacy Junction.  The Union forces were outnumbered and ultimately had to retreat, but were able to delay Early's forces by a full day, giving Union forces enough time to prepare for the defense of the capital.  Read all the details.)

We then headed back to our neck of the woods, with a stop at Loys Station Covered Bridge. It's only a few minutes from our place, and a lovely spot for pictures. A friend of ours had some of her wedding pictures done here, actually.

Our final stop on our circle tour of Carroll and Frederick counties is the site for which I titled this PhotoJournal - Catoctin Furnace. Catoctin Furnace is a little village near Catoctin Mountain state park with an interesting history. Hematite ore was discovered in the area in about 1770, and a furnace for producing pig iron began operating in 1776. They also produced household tools, including the Catoctin (or Ten-Plate) Stove, and the Franklin Stove. Cannons and cannonballs for George Washington's army were produced by the furnace, and towards the end of the Revolution, an order was placed for ten inch mortar shells, and it is believed that a portion of these shells was used in the Battle of Yorktown. The furnace initially operated on charcoal fuel and was later converted to coal. Iron production continued here until 1903. 

This is the furnace itself.

Flat Stanley wasn't the only one posing for pictures!

And this is what remains of the Forgeman's House, just up the hill.

And a little further down the trail that would lead to Cunningham Falls Park, we crossed the bridge that had originally been located at the creek crossing not a mile from my house.

I hope you enjoyed this quick photo tour of a few of the interesting places near us!

This post will be linked at Sometimes Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Tots and Me . . . Growing Up Together!

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