Weird Western Maryland

The Washington county community of Big Pool is not named, as some like to imagine, for a high-stakes poker game, but for the literal Big Pool, a body of water created before the Civil War by construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal: Three and a half miles above Lock No. 50 and opposite Fort Frederick the canal passed through a piece of low, swampy land, which immediately filling up to the canal level, formed what is known as the “Big Pool,” a beautiful sheet of water of an average width of seven hundred feet, abounding in fish and a favorite resort of water fowl. (Williams 212) The original Big Pool. (Wikimedia Commons) Today, the pool is one of the attractions of Fort Frederick State Park, and it still abounds in fish and wildlife, according to the C&O Canal Trust. Besides its name, Big Pool has a few other distinctions, all of which we'll detail later: Fort Frederick itself was an active post during three wars, but was never attacked -- though it is, allegedly, haun...

Previously, I listed the sole Garrett County location covered by Atlas Obscura . The site has five locations in Washington County. Never fear, Washington, we will do better than that! Big Pool: Fort Frederick . “A star fort along the C&O Canal in western Maryland that protected America in three wars.” Boonsboro: Crystal Grottoes Caverns . “Bizarre Cavern.” Knoxville: The Sign Above the Tunnel . “This advertisement for talcum powder was painted on the rock face and has since defied removal.” Sharpsburg: Killiansburg Cave . “A cave on the Maryland border where civilians took refuge during the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.” Smithsburg: Abandoned Hang-Gliding Launch Pad . “A labor of love built by local hang-gliding enthusiasts, this ideal launch spot was outlawed by the authorities and has since been largely abandoned.” Next: Frederick County in Atlas Obscura!