Washington Monument State Park - Boonsboro, MD
N 39° 30.028 W 077° 37.393
18S E 274444 N 4375601
On the Appalachian Trail, deep in the woods of South Mountain lies the first memorial dedicated to George Washington in the United States and an important Maryland Civil War Trails historic site.
Waymark Code: WMC9F4
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 08/12/2011
Views: 16
An official Civil War Trails sign (see gallery) welcome you to this Trails site. The Washington Monument here was the first to honor the first president, but forty some years later, because of its amazing and strategic view and location, it was used by both sides during the war as an observation post. The main parking area (N 39° 29.930 W 77° 37.412) is located near the visitor center/museum and has material on the Battle of South Mountain.
This important site is also referenced in the America Guide Series:
Right on this macadam road through Zittlestown, 0.2 M., so named for the large Zittle family here, to WASHINGTON MONUMENT STATE PARK (free picnic grounds). A monument was erected here on July 4, 1827, was completed in one day by the citizens of Boonsboro. During the Antietam and Gettysburg campaigns in the Civil War this mound, which has almost fallen to pieces, was patched with logs and used as a Union signal station. In 1934, ten acres of land, including the monument, was deeded to the State and additional land was subsequently acquired for a State Park. From the tower, reached by an interior stairway, the Hagerstown, Potomac, CUmberland, and Middletown Valleys, and parts of neighboring states are visible.. --- Maryland: A Guide to the Old Line State, 1940; page 335.