Washington Memorial/Appalachian Trail/Dahlgren Chapel - Boonsboro, Maryland

A funny thing happened on the way to Antietam. With fifteen minutes left of a three hour ride I looked around on Route 40, aka, Old National Pike and saw a whole bunch of interesting sites, markers, trails and monuments. Welcome to Washington Monument State Park.

The first thing I noticed were a series of Civil War tablets as well as 4 separate wayside makers, also Civil War related. Next, I realized I was riding over the Appalachian Trail which runs over the road. I immediately veered into the Appalachian Trail parking lot, put fresh batteries into the camera and went to work.

The first thing which attracted my attention is an old stone church next to The Trail. The Dahlgren Chapel is a smallish, stone church which sits high up on a hill overlooking the National Pike. The chapel was built around 1881 by Madeline Vinton Dahlgren, widow of Admiral John A. Dahlgren, USN, Inventor of the Dahlgren Gun, the armament used by the USS Monitor against the CSS Virginia, formerly the steam frigate USS Merrimack. Today, the chapel is rented out for weddings and other ceremonies and affairs. On my visit, there was a large group of twenty something hikers resting on the grassy hill, in front of the church.

My close friends at Wiki told me the Dahlgren Chapel is located at the summit of Turner's Gap in western Maryland between Middletown and Boonsboro. The Gothic revival stone chapel was built in 1881 and consecrated as the Chapel of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Most of the building materials came from the immediate area of the site, while a marble altar was imported from Italy. SOURCE The church falls within the Turner's and Fox's Gaps Historic District, but as a non-contributing structure, owing to its post-Civil War construction, which places it outside the historic district's time of historic emphasis. Dang it!

After snapping my requisite of correctly angled pictures, I hopped back in the Altima and made my way into the park, driving the one mile to the visitor center parking lot.

There were some nice interpretives on nature and the indigenous bird populations as well as one concerning the namesake of the park. I took a quarter mile winding trail to the monument. Along the way are these wooden markers which highlight specific points of Washington's career. Neat stuff. I walked about 8 minutes, maybe left, crossed over the Appalachian Trail, saw the official markers and then the trail opened up into a large, circular clearing, where, in the center, was the object of my sweat...the Washington Monument in all its stony glory. I immediately was drawn to the rear where I was afforded the most incredible view of the valley below, which I was aided in understanding by two orientation tables high above in the tower.

The Monument

The 34-foot stone tower was built by the citizens of Boonsboro, Maryland, in honor of George Washington. The tower was dedicated on July 4, 1827. The monument often fell into disrepair, and was rebuilt at least twice during its history - mostly recently by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936.

The monument is currently maintained by the Maryland Park Service. I absolutely loved coming here, loved the view, the history and the feeling of connecting a little more with my country. All good stuff. I surveyed the entire area and was able to spot Antietam, 10 miles away. West Virginia was also out there as well. Afterward, I walked back and visited the visitor center/museum. If you are into park stamps, they have two there for visitors.

Naturally, any visit to such an eclectic and dynamic place (speaking from a waymarking point of view) gets the mind working about the category possibilities. I anticipate about creating at least thirty-five waymarks covering 25 categories including some elusive ones such as the Route 40 and Appalachian categories as well as CCC, & Lookout Towers. The tower just itself is covered in Wikipedia, CCC, Civil War Sites, Washington, Lookout Towers, Scenic Overlooks (or whatever the heck that is called), Then & Now, Picture Postcards, SIRIS, Date Stones, Official Tourist Attractions, Orientation Tables (Well not really part of the tower but located atop the tower, NRHP, Benchmarks, & Superlatives. In case you lost count, that is 14 categories (not including the orientation table) which would become 15 with the Lucky 7 I will most definitely make! Holy cow!

I left, feeling pretty good I actually saw something most people don't even know about. This important historical link to our cultural history as a country is worthy of an NRHP slot and is a must for a bucket list. As I drove on Route 40/The National Road, I began to really reflect on what it must have been like here in 1862. I thought of the battles, the deaths, explosions and the ensuing battles to occur, eventually culminating the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg.

Next Stop: Sharpsburg & Antietam. Stay Tuned...........