A Day in Cumberland, Maryland-Washington’s Headquarters, Trains, C&O Canal, and much more!
This was written before the Covid 19 outbreak. But even without the train and the museums. This is a great town to learn more about history while walking around and social distancing. Plus it has some great hiking trails around.
Cumberland, Maryland is just a quaint little town to enjoy your day or spend a weekend. Take the train for a ride to another town and enjoy both. I enjoyed so many little things about Cumberland, Maryland but take your walking shoes as parking at the Railroad Station and walking around is much more fun than trying to find parking at each new stop.
Start your day at C&O Canal National Historical Park and Visitors Museum and go around the town. The Railroad Station is on top of the Canal Museum. Across the tracks is George Washington’s Headquarters then across the street and up the hill is where Fort Cumberland once stood and a stop for the Underground Railroad. Then back down to downtown and see the Allegheny Museum which is across the street from the Canal National Historical.
Check out the park to the left of the C&O Canal Museum as you can walk down and see part of the Canal.
C&O Canal National Historical Park and Visitors Museum
This is a great little museum especially if you have children in your group or you have a childlike carefree attitude. As you walk into the museum, you walk into a canal like tunnel and throughout the museum the interactive and educational displays are fun to play with from a boat that you can play on to barrels with questions that you can lift the lids and find the answers.
If you are not childlike, then it still is very educational and interesting to go through. You can learn the about the canal system. And they have some very corny jokes. Like, “What has 74 locks and no door? Lift the barrel lid and find the answer.
The museum is about not only the about the canal system but the mining and coal industry that the canal system supported.
Brief History
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal also called the “Grand Old Ditch” was operated from 1831 to 1924. The canal once run goods from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington DC. Construction started in 1828 and the 50 mile stretch was completed in 1850.
The canal required 74 canal locks, 11 aqueducts, 240 culverts, and the 3,118 feet Paw Paw Tunnel (check out my hike to the Paw Paw Tunnel and seeing other parts of the C&O Canal system.). The final construction cost was 11 million.
On the first day of business, October 10, 1850, the C&O canal carried more coal then the Lehigh Canal did in the first year of business. They continue to operate with little competition until the opening of the B&O Railroad.
But until the mid-1870’s, the canal was cheaper then rail until technology in locomotives and other railroad related improvement final made the cost less then the canal.
During the Civil War, improvements and repairs did not get done on the canal and the canal was being used less. But in 1889, a disastrous flood made the canal company had to close and the B&O Railroad Company bought it to keep the right away from other rivals. B&O put a bit into repairs and keep the canal going.
But in 1924, another flood caused major damage to the canal. Part of the canal was repaired and operated for a bit of time but the canal was never fully functioning again.
In 1936, another flood did even more damage to the mostly abandoned canal but it also destroyed many of the lock houses, levels, and other structures. Two years later, the Federal government took over and what is now the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park.
Western Maryland Scenic Railroad Station
The Maryland Scenic Railroad Station goes from the train station in Cumberland to Frostburg. The ride will take you around hair bend turns, up mountains, in tunnels, over bridges, and much more. The train was not available on the day that I visited but I hope to go back and do this ride some day.
The Railroad offers several ways to take a ride with several prices but book in advance. Starting at $30 for a classic ride to $115 Valentines Special for lovers with a dinner or Murder Mystery Train or Moonshine Train. The train will take an 1 hour to get to Frostburg, lets you get off to explode the area while they turn the train around, and then an hour back to Cumberland.
They even have a $522 ride that last an 1 hour. But here is the thing, you get to drive the train with an experienced engineer. You have to be 18 years or older to have this experience but if you are a train lover or have a train lover in the family. This would be the best present that you could get them. It also has to be prebooked.
If you have a corporation, nonprofit, school, a large family, or other group; they have specials for the train to be rented out. Check with them because that would be a fabulous trip for those with a group.
Brief History
In 1853, construction began from Owings Mill with the intent to build a rail station from Baltimore to Washington County, Maryland. The company was called Western Maryland Rail Road Company.
The rail road made amazing quick progress but then the Civil War delay progress and the tracks only made it to Hagerstown by 1872. But by 1876, a connection was built to Williamsport to control the coal traffic from the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The coal help America to manufacture goods, power steamships, to make iron and steel, and grow to a world power that we are today.
The rail road kept expending over time until the 1950’s with a decline of use rail roads as cars became the new way to travel. Passenger service which began in 1859 and ended in 1959. At the height, passenger’s miles were over 26 million per year.
In 1968, the Western Maryland Rail Road was dissolved and bought by two other companies. But the company leaves a legacy of portions of the tracks that are still being used by many different rail road companies, for the Baltimore Metro Subway, rail trails for bikers and hikers, and a former warehouse was repurposed as a public storage building.
Fort Cumberland Trail with George Washington’s Headquarters and the Braddock’s/National Road
As you walk across the bridge to George Washington’s cabin watch for signs about the Fort Cumberland Trail. These signs will send you for a walk around and give you information on Fort Cumberland.
An interesting note, Colonel Joshua Fry was thrown from his horse and died in Cumberland. Upon his death, George Washington became the new Colonel. From Cumberland, he moved his troops up to Pennsylvania and was at the first fight of the French and Indian War. (See Fort Necessity Post for more information.)
Fort Cumberland was built around 1754 but the only remaining structure is George Washington’s cabin whuch has been move down the hill to this spot. Washington used this one room cabin while he was an aide to General Braddock and was built between 1754 and 1755.
To enter the cabin, it is by appointment only but I did not really see a reason as you can hear by pressing a button and see just by looking in the window most of what you would want to know.
It was Washington’s first military command. Original this cabin was on a hill were the current Court House stands.
Washington used the cabin during the French and Indian War and once again in 1794 as the Commander in Chief to review troops to put down the Whiskey Rebellion.
To the left of this cabin is the National Road. In 1751, Braddock Road opened between Fort Cumberland and Fort Duquesne.
In 1806, President Thomas Jefferson authorized the construction of the Cumberland Road which was to replace the Braddock Road and was later expanded and called the National Road.
Keep following the signs up the hill to where Fort Cumberland once was. It is a nice walk and with lots of informational signs about the Fort.
Also, look for other historical items along the way such as the 1842 home site of Governor Lowndes for local and state history.
Or the church in the picture below was was most likely used by the British for troops just outside the fort.
Brief History
In early 1750, the British and the French were pitting their colonies against each other with the Native Indian as allies. The French and Indian war became the American theater for the seven year war which had battles as far away as Australia.
In 1754, Fort Mount Pleasant was built in anticipation of the war with the French and used as an important military center for the duration. A year later, the name was changed to Fort Cumberland. It also became the significant because it help a young British officer, George Washington, in his early career.
George Washington was at Fort Cumberland under Colonel Fry to gather troops to go up to Pennsylvania to meet the French. Colonel Fry fell off a horse and died which put George Washington as the new Colonel.
George Washington then took the troops up to Pennsylvania and was in one of the first skirmish of the French and Indian War. Check out my visit to Fort Necessity for more of the story about a 21 year old snot nose kid who become a Colonel and 20 some years later became the first President of the United States.
The fort was once the westernmost outpost of the British Empire in America. It was the jumping off point for General Braddock’s expedition against the French at Fort Duquesne (Currently Pittsburgh). The expedition was a defeat for the British and accelerated the global conflict.
The expedition also saw General Braddock’s death from a gun shot. Washington fell back to Fort Necessity and buried Braddock. He then lead the troops back to Fort Cumberland.
Washington became the highest ranking officer at the Fort. But Captain Dagworthy, a Royal Commission officer of the Provincial Troops, clashed with Washington over control due to the fact that Washington was only in the Virginia militia.
Captain Dagworthy would later become the brigadier general during the American Revolutionary War. But he was in command while the fort was built.
Fort Cumberland would help supply Fort Ohio, Fort Sellers, Fort Ashby, Fort Cocke, and Fort Pleasant.
Allegheny Museum
The Allegheny Museum is across the street from the Railroad and the C&O Museum. It show cases the commercial, cultural, and geographic heritage of the Appalachian in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The museum is free but do leave a donation so that they can do more reconstructions and obtain more artifacts.
The museum did a major reconstruction to the second floor which was designed by R. Holt Hitchins for federal government to be used as a US Court House and Post Office which was opened in 1932. Designed in the Art Deco and Neoclassical styles. The museum includes a Grand Courtroom with marble and walnut. It is gorgeous. Plus other wonderful touches, so look around at the walls and ceiling when your here.
It is on the second floor but use both the elevator and the stairs. Both are wonderfully and architectural interesting. Don’t forget to ask about seeing the men’s room. It is very interesting as well for its architecture.
The museum has a collection of over 50,000 items tracing Allegany County history from the first Native America residents to early settlers to the American industrial era.
This museum has a bit of everything for everyone. From Native American Artifacts for 7,000 BC to a glass collection from the local factories to B&O Railroad items to Kelly Springfield Tire Company items to a wagon to items used by the fire department through the years to Old German Beer memorabilia to the first wooden water lines system.
This is a museum that everyone can find something to enjoy. Even how a still works as George Washington amassed troop for the Whiskey Rebellion in Cumberland.
My favorite was the wonderful arrowhead collection that they have. But closely followed by a great puppet show case of Sleep Beauty.
Brief History
The museum is about Cumberland and the surrounding area but this brief is about Cumberland itself. Cumberland was names after King George II son Prince William the Duke of Cumberland.
The Native Americans had abandoned a lot of lands just after the Europeans started making contact with them. Many believe that this was due to the smallpox, measles, and other diseases arriving with Columbus and other Europeans and working it way through the new world.
It is estimated that between smallpox, measles, and flu viruses over 90% of the Native population died.
The Cumberland area was settled for thousands of years by Native Americans and was part of the Great Indian Warpath which was a system of footpaths used to for commerce, trading, communication between tribes before the Europeans invaded the Americas.
The Europeans took over these foot paths as the Native Americans did from the animals who carved these paths traveling to the salt licks in the region. Cumberland was first occupation by a trading post. Then in 1754, Fort Cumberland was built (see above for more information).
During the 19th century, Cumberland became a hub and the second largest city in Maryland. Cumberland was the key road, railroad, and canal junction. The surrounding areas and hillsides were harvested for timber and both coal and iron ore was mined.
Cumberland would help supply the industrial revolution. The city also developed as a major manufacture itself. The industries included glass, tires, breweries, fabrics, and other items. (See the Allegheny museum for their collection.)
During 1850’s, Cumberland was also along the underground railroad. A maze of tunnels left under the Fort and over the Emmanuel Episcopal Church was the final stop on the underground railroad before the final five mile trip to Pennsylvania and freedom for many African American fugitives.
But following World War II, major industrial plants closed or relocated as part of a widespread industrial reconstruction. In 1987, the Kelly Springfield Tire Plant closed. It was the last major manufacturing plant. Cumberland lost half its population since 1940. It is projected to have even a lower population after the next census as the youth moves away for better jobs and the retirees of the last plants pass away or move to warmer climates.
Other Things to Do
I only spent a day in Cumberland but they also have the Canal Place, Gordon Roberts House, and Wills Creek. Check out them out. Also, if you walk down to the left of the C&O Canal Museum, they have shops and other touristy things to do.
In addition, you can walk along the canal. Plus they have a few signs with other historical information on Cumberland.