Fort Frederick

In 1756, during the early days of the French and Indian War, the Colony of Maryland built Fort Frederick to protect its western frontier.  The outer walls of the fort were built of stone instead of wood, which was more commonly used at the time.  During the Revolutionary War, Fort Frederick was used to house British prisoners.  It was auctioned off in 1791, and the surrounding land became a farm.  Although Union soldiers were often in the area during the Civil War, as they were trying to protect the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, the fort remained in private hands until it was purchased by the State of Maryland in 1922.  During the 1930s, with the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps, Maryland converted Fort Frederick into a state park.

Today, two barracks remain, each with two levels.  This is the westside barracks.  The upper level of the eastside barracks houses a small museum.

This is the one entrance to the fort, a gap in its southern wall, with top of the southern end of the eastside barracks seen behind it.

Outside of the fort is the gift shop and a few other small buildings.

After leaving Fort Frederick (and stopping by Cumberland, as stated in today's earlier post), I drove up into Pennsylvania, where I saw a lot of these contraptions: