Weird Western Maryland

  Claims that giant skeletons from prehistory had been dug up and delivered to scientific institutions are not hard to unearth in 19 th -century U.S. newspapers. Such tall tales were popular in part because they underscored White prejudices that Native Americans were an exotic inhuman species, their extermination worthy of no more human sympathy that, say, the fate of the passenger pigeon; and because believers in a literal, inerrant Bible could claim these ancient behemoths as evidence for the multiple Old Testament references to giants, most famously the demigods of Genesis 6:4: There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. (KJV via BibleGateway.com) Sometimes, however, the bones of long-dead people of unusual heights (anomalously tall or short) are indeed found – unsurprisingly, given the remarkable, everyda...

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!  

Previously, I listed the two Garrett County locations covered by Roadside America . The site has seven Washington County locations, though three no longer exist. Never fear, we will do better than that! Cautionary note: Some of this information I'm linking to is out of date, or was in error to begin with, as we shall see ... Boonsboro: Doug Bast’s House of History . " The museum's most talked-about relic is a shriveled human arm, displayed in a blood-red showcase, with a Civil War bullet lodged near where its elbow used to be." Boonsboro: White Frog Colony (Gone). " Anyone have further info on this one? Somebody's grandparents must have visited here on their honeymoon." Clear Spring: House of Hocus Pocus (Gone). " Knepper's House of Hocus Pocus was a roadside attraction ... . Closed in the 1960s." Hagerstown: Giant Coke Bottle . " Large Coca Cola bottle on the roof of a bottling building." Hagerstown: Giant Crab o...