Wandering South Toward Home – Sights Along the Way

…continuing with our August 2018 exploration of parts of the northeastern United States. 

On day 20, we departed from Scranton Pennsylvania with our next overnight stay set for the Hampton Inn in Charles Town West Virginia.

An accident or some other serious blockage on I-81 South caused us to go “back roads” for a while.  No issue since we prefer staying off the Interstate System if time allows.  We exited on US Hwy 30 west to Chambersburg Pennsylvania and then turned south on US Hwy. 11.  The latter is known as Kingston Pike in Knoxville or Dixie Highway in the south…

In any case, when we got to Greencastle Pennsylvania, I went looking for the old railroad depot that I’d marked on my planned route map.  I almost always mark such ‘attractions’ on our trip map just in case we have extra time…or we’re diverted for some reason.

The High Line Passenger Station was built by the Cumberland Valley Railroad.  It opened in 1909 with the last passenger service to Greencastle in 1959.  The line was used by daily passenger trains between Hagerstown Maryland and Harrisburg Pennsylvania.  Today the depot serves numerous community youth organizations including the Boy Scouts of America.  Norfolk Southern Railway currently operates the tracks passing the old depot.

The Cumberland Valley Railroad was originally chartered in 1831.  At one point the line operated from Harrisburg Pennsylvania to Winchester Virginia.  During the Civil War this rail line was strategically important, supplying Union troops in the Shenandoah Valley. 

Note:  In 1839, the Cumberland Valley Railroad operated the first passenger sleeping car in the United States.

I couldn’t find anything about the Greencastle Presbyterian Church at 57 West Baltimore Street.  This congregation traces its beginning back to 1737 but this big and handsome church…although fairly old…is a much newer structure.

As we wandered toward one of our historical objectives of the day, I spotted a sign for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park.  When we got to the ‘canal’, I had to take a photo of this attractive old building boasting a sign which reads Taylor’s Landing Canal Towage Co.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park is 184.5 miles long, stretching from the District of Columbia and Georgetown Virginia to Cumberland Maryland.  The park with its canal and towpath was established in 1961 as a National Monument by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.  In 2013, the tow path along the old canal was designated as the first section of U.S. Bicycle Route 50.

These photo show the remnants of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal at Taylors Landing.  Apparently wharf's had been constructed along one side of the canal at this location.  When the canal was operating, 3 barges at a time could be loaded or unloaded at a time. 

There isn’t much to see any longer at this location.  The canal bed and tow path are visible but as you can see there isn’t any water in the channel at this point along the long narrow route of this National Historical Park.

Construction on the canal began in 1828, ending in 1850 when the canal reached Cumberland Maryland.  The original goal was to build the canal all the way to Pittsburg…even tunneling through the Allegheny Mountains.  The fact is that technology caught up with the canal project.  The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad actually reached Cumberland 8 years before the canal did.  By the 1870s, improved locomotives priced the canal out of most business.  It did operate until 1924, primarily transporting coal from the mountains to Washington D.C.  Floods in 1924, put the final nail in the canal’s operational history. 

To learn more about attractions in this park, go to the National Park Service’s website at https://www.nps.gov/choh/index.htm.

 

For more about the history of the canal, you can go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_and_Ohio_Canal_National_Historical_Park.

Before visiting our next attraction along the way, we decided to stop for lunch.  We chose Captain Bender’s Tavern – Public House and Eatery in Sharpsburg Maryland.  This tavern has been here since 1936.  During the 1800s, a Chesapeake and Ohio Canal boatman, Captain Raleigh Bender was the proprietor of this tavern.

My photo of the dining area, just to the left of the bar shown above, did not come out well so I didn’t include it.  Suffice it to say, this is not a fancy restaurant and it truly is a tavern!  There is a nice selection of snacks, appetizers, sandwiches and entrees…but one look at the bar really defines this place.

Laurie went for one of her favorites for lunch.  This was her French Dip Sandwich…thinly sliced house roasted prime rib topped with smoked provolone cheese on a French roll and accompanied with plentiful Au jus for dipping. ($11.95) For her side, Laurie chose potato chips.  It was a good sandwich with lots of beef and lots of flavor!

I decided to order the Black and Bleu Burger, 8 oz. of Black Angus ground beef, blackened and topped with Maytag Bleu cheese. ($9.95) I was a good if not great burger…just a tad over cooked. 

Captain Bender’s Tavern was a good place to stop for lunch.  The server/bar tender was very friendly and helpful.  This tavern/restaurant is located at 113 East Main Street in Sharpsburg Maryland.  Their website can be found at http://captainbenders.com/.

This Classical revival influenced building is occupied by the Sharpsburg Town Hall and library.  It was built in 1911 for the Improved Order of Redmen… It is part of the expansive Sharpsburg Historic District.

I had to look up the IORM…not a clue.  This was a fraternal organization that was established by and for white men.  Their rituals and regalia are modeled after those that white men of the time assumed were used by Native Americans.  By 1935, the group claimed a membership of about 500,000 but apparently it has now declined to ca. 15,000 members.  Learn more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improved_Order_of_Red_Men.

The Sharpsburg Historic District is especially significant for its role in the American Civil War and the Battle of Antietam aka the Battle of Sharpsburg which is what it was known as in the South.  Although most of the battle took place on farm land east of town, the town did form the Confederate Forces rear.  Artillery and small arms fire screamed across roof tops and embedded in the walls of buildings.  Two of the churches were used by snipers and were heavily damaged during the battle.  Many of the same churches and many homes were used as hospitals…first for the Confederate forces and later the Union army. 

Next stop…the Antietam battlefield itself. 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave