Middletown (Central Maryland Heritage League)

History: As the Confederate Army marched through on September 10-11, 1862, it received a chilly reception from the town's strongly pro-Union citizens. When part of Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac marched through town a few days later, the citizens were more welcoming. Following the Battle of South Mountain on September 14, Middletown's churches and dwellings became hospitals for Union casualties.

More to Explore: Today, the town is welcoming to all visitors interested in warm hospitality and local heritage. The Middletown Valley Historical Society's one-room museum is housed in an early 19th-century home with many original features, and the Lamar Heritage and Culture Center was once a turn-of-the-century rural medical sanitarium. Enjoy the top-quality hiking and mountain biking trails at scenic Gambrill State Park, and plan a side trip to Frederick.

Photo Credits: “President Rutherford B. Hayes” Courtesy of Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division; “McClellan for President” Courtesy of: . Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana

A wounded Rutherford B. Hayes, future president, was cared for in Middletown at the home of Jacob Rudy.