Dozen Distinctive Destinations
Frederick, MD
Year Listed: 2002
Located just 48 miles from Washington, D.C., in the rolling hills of central Maryland, vibrant, historic Frederick has much to offer. The city boasts fine restaurants, art galleries, antique shops galore, more than its share of Revolutionary and Civil War ghosts, and a plucky, long-deceased heroine named Barbara Fritchie. Fritchie was the 95-year-old Civil War patriot who is reputed to have stared down Stonewall Jackson as she brazenly waved her American flag in the face of Confederate soldiers. Fritchie's deed was immortalized in a poem by the Massachusetts abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier, who recorded her bold challenge to Jackson: "Shoot if you must this old gray head, but spare your country's flag." According to Whittier's account, the general was so impressed with Fritchie's spunk that he spared both the flag and the city - fortunately for the many travelers who are drawn to Frederick's treasure trove of 18th- and 19th-century architecture. Other famous residents of Frederick include Francis Scott Key, the composer of "The Star Spangled Banner," and his brother-in-law Roger Brooke Taney, the chief justice of the Supreme Court responsible for the 1857 Dred Scott decision.
Storefronts in downtown Frederick.
Credit: Tourism Council of Frederick County
A member of the National Trust's Main Street program, Frederick has worked successfully for many years to revitalize its downtown and preserve its superb collection of Federal, Georgian and Victorian buildings. Today, the centerpiece of the city's 50-block historic district is the magnificent Court House square, described as one of the most beautiful squares in the country. A few blocks away, the Weinberg Center for the Arts, housed in a renovated 1926 movie theater, hosts a year-round variety of music, drama and dance performances. Frederick is home to the Rose Hill Manor Children's Museum, a museum of 19th-century life that offers tours and hands-on activities in the mansion, blacksmith shop and carriage house. Baker Park, a 44-acre park with biking and jogging trails and an amphitheater used for free theater performances in the summer, is another local attraction. Civil War buffs will be drawn to the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and to nearby Monocacy National Battlefield, which played a pivotal role in the defense of the capital city in 1864. Both Harper's Ferry and Antietam National Battlefield are also within easy driving distance.
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