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Things to See
While in the Thurmont Area
Catoctin Iron Furnace
A good grade of
hematite ore was discovered in the Catoctin Mountains in the
1770's by Thomas Johnson Jr., who later became the first
governor of Maryland. Thomas Baker and Roger Johnson constructed
the Catoctin Furnace to produce pig iron. In 1776, the
production of pig iron began. The fuel for the furnace was
initially charcoal and the Catoctin forest provided the fuel for
the furnace until 1873. Then the furnace was converted from
charcoal fuel to coal. The remains of these iron works still lie
at the base of the Catoctin Mountains in Cunningham Falls State
Park, in Frederick County, Maryland.
Catoctin
Mountain Park
Catoctin Mountain Park lies within the
mountainous area known as the Blue Ridge Province. This
5,810-acre hardwood forest park, with its refreshing streams and
scenic vistas, offers a rare haven in a rapidly developing area
of the country. However, Catoctin Mountain Park hasn't always
looked this way. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the land now
known as the Catoctin parks was extensively logged to support
local agriculture practices and to produce charcoal for the
nearby iron works furnace. In 1933, the land was set aside as
the Catoctin Recreation Demonstration Area with its purpose
being to rehabilitate "sub-marginal" farmland. In 1954, the
Recreation Demonstration Area was divided, with half of the area
becoming Cunningham Falls State Park and the remaining half
becoming Catoctin Mountain Park. This venture, known as the
Catoctin Project, was an example of a cooperative effort between
State and Federal officials.
Since then, the land has rejuvenated
itself, transforming a disturbed environment into an excellent
model of a second growth forest ecosystem. Today, a mixed
hardwood forest covers nearly 95% of the park. Catoctin Mountain
Park is also part of a larger forested public lands complex that
includes Cunningham Falls State Park, Frederick and Thurmont
Watersheds, and Gambrill State Park. Many plants and animals,
including several Maryland Threatened and Endangered species,
thrive within this forest sanctuary. The high gradient streams,
Big Hunting Creek and Owens Creek, run clean and support healthy
populations of "wild" brown and brook trout.
Catoctin Mountain Park is a very diverse
place that offers respite to the plants and animals that depend
on its existence. Its peaceful environment also provides a
needed escape from the everyday hustle and bustle of city life
for all people, including, on occasion, the President of the
United States.
Cunningham Falls State Park
Cunningham Falls State Park, located in
the Catoctin Mountains, is known for its history and scenic
beauty, as well as its 78-foot cascading waterfall. The
Cunningham Falls is located one half mile from the lake in the
Houck Area via the Falls Trail.
Before the first Europeans arrived, many small Native American
tribes farmed, hunted and fished the area. Tradition says the
name Catoctin came from the tribe, the Kittoctons, who once
lived at the foot of the mountains near the Potomac River. By
the time the settlers began to arrive in the Monocacy River
Valley, Native Americans were seldom seen.
Early settlers used timber from the forests to make charcoal to
fuel the Catoctin Iron Furnace. Too many years of clear-cutting
and unscientific farming practices contributed to the overuse
and destruction of the land.
In 1954, the area was divided into two parks, divided by
Maryland Route 77. The northern 5,000 acres is now Catoctin
Mountain Park, a unit of the National Park Service. The
remaining 5,000-acre parcel was named Cunningham Falls State
Park.
There are two main developed areas in the park, the William
Houck Area and the Manor Area.
National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes
The National
Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, located behind Mount Saint Mary
College and Seminary, is a replica of the famed Grotto of
Lourdes in France and is the oldest such shrine in America. A
place of pastoral beauty and spiritual inspiration, the Grotto
draws approximately 500,000 religious pilgrims and tourists
annually.
Above the lovely
valley of Emmitsburg, situated high on the mountainside where
nature displays itself in all its wild and picturesque glory,
sits the National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes, a shrine that traces
its linage to the very beginnings of the spread of
Catholicism in
America.
Indelibly linked
with Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton,
the Shrine is one of the oldest American replicas of the revered
French shrine, dating from about two decades after the
apparitions at Lourdes (1875)--although the site had been known
for its earlier "Grotto," which had already been in use for more
than seventy years as a place of prayer and devotion.
This holy mountain
sanctuary of historic importance has been devoutly tended
thought the years and attracts thousands of pilgrims from all
parts of the world for prayer and meditation.
Fallen Firefighters' Memorial
Conceived as a
tribute to America's fire service, the National Fallen
Firefighters' Memorial is one of this country's most
beautiful monuments to courage and unselfish service. It was
constructed in 1981 on the campus of the National Emergency
Training Center (NETC) in
Emmitsburg, Maryland, just 10 miles north of
Thurmont. NETC houses (on the former campus of
St. Joseph College) both the National Fire
Academy-now renamed the United States Fire Administration (USFA)-and
the Emergency Management Institute (EMI). The Memorial was
officially designated by Congress in 1990 as the national
Memorial to career and volunteer fallen firefighters. It is
a symbol of honor for those who carry on the tradition of
service to their communities.
The highlight of the Memorial is a sculptured bronze Maltese
cross. Throughout the centuries, the Maltese cross has been
adopted as a symbol by groups who provide aid in times of
distress. The cross rests atop a 7-foot stone cairn,
denoting its importance as a landmark monument. An eternal
flame burns at the base of the cairn, representing the
spirit of the firefighter-past, present, and future. A plaza
in the shape of a Maltese cross surrounds the Memorial.
Plaques listing the names of firefighters killed in service
to their communities since 1981 encircle the plaza. The area
is framed on two sides by a 6-foot stone wall that dates
back more than 100 years.
The Memorial is open to the public throughout the year.
Thousands of students attending classes at the USFA and EMI
visit the Memorial each year. When a firefighter dies on
duty, local fire officials notify the USFA. A notice of the
death is immediately posted on the Memorial grounds, and the
flags over the Memorial are flown at half-staff in honor of
the fallen firefighter. If the established criteria are met,
the fallen firefighter is honored at the annual memorial
service.
GETTYSBURG NATIONAL PARK
Located 20 miles
north of Thurmont,
the small town of
Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, was
the site of the
largest American
Civil War battle and
the largest battle
ever waged in the
Western Hemisphere.
The Battle of
Gettysburg opened on
July 1, 1863, and
closed two days
later with the
climactic "Pickett's
Charge." It resulted
in a Union victory
for the Army of the
Potomac and
successfully turned
back the second
invasion of the
North by General
Robert E. Lee's Army
of Northern
Virginia. Over
51,000 soldiers were
killed, wounded or
captured making it
the bloodiest battle
of the Civil War. It
was also a major
turning point in the
war. Historians have
referred to the
Battle of Gettysburg
as the "High Water
Mark of the
Confederacy." It was
the last major
effort by Lee to
take the fighting
out of Virginia and
into northern
states. The
Soldiers' National
Cemetery at
Gettysburg contains
more than 7,000
interments including
over 3,500 from the
Civil War. It was
here that President
Abraham Lincoln
delivered his
immortal Gettysburg
Address on November
19, 1863.
Post-battle
preservation efforts
saved small portions
of the battlefield
as a memorial to the
Union victory. On
February 11, 1895,
congressional
legislation was
signed to establish
Gettysburg National
Military Park as a
memorial dedicated
to the armies that
fought that great
three-day battle.
Gettysburg National
Military Park
incorporates nearly
6,000 acres, with 26
miles of park roads
and over 1,400
monuments, markers
and memorials.
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