Weird Western Maryland

Cumberland's Commandments. To promote his huge, and hugely expensive, 1956 epic The Ten Commandments -- at the time, the most expensive movie ever made -- veteran Paramount Pictures producer/director/showman Cecil B. DeMille partnered with the Fraternal Order of Eagles to erect granite Ten Commandments monuments nationwide.  This was great, low-cost publicity in every corner of the land, even if DeMille, Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner were not on hand for the unveilings (as they mostly were not). And the erections continued for many years, long after the movie's initial theatrical run. I don't know how many of these originally were erected in Maryland, but apparently only two remain, both in Western Maryland, and both erected after the movie's premiere 8 November 1956. One is in Memorial Park in Frederick, and was erected in 1958; the other, erected in 1957, is on the lawn of the Washington Street courthouse in Cumberland. Interestingly, the best current tally of these...

Previously, I listed the five Washington County locations covered by Atlas Obscura . The site has six locations in Frederick County. Frederick: National Museum of Civil War Medicine . “A Civil War Museum with some notable medical antiques.” Also at Roadside America . Frederick: One-Million-Liter Test Sphere . “This four-story steel sphere in Maryland was used to test biological weapons.” Jefferson: War Correspondents Memorial . “One of the only memorials dedicated to journalists who died in combat.” Middletown: The (First) Washington Monument . “Built by the patriotic residents of Boonsboro in a single day.” Thurmont: Lawyer’s Farm . “This Maryland farm is known for its amazing corn mazes and its 30-foot junkbots.” Also at Roadside America . Thurmont: Catoctin Furnace . “A pre-Industrial Age iron furnace and the site of a nearly-forgotten piece of Black history.” Next: A project dedication!    

Previously, I listed the seven Washington County locations covered by Roadside America . The site has 14 Frederick County locations, the most of any Western Maryland county, even if we subtract the two defunct locations. We should keep in mind that of the counties in our remit, Frederick, being the farthest east, is the closest to Baltimore and D.C., so it's as far into Western Maryland as many day-trippers ever get. Never fear, Frederick, we will do much better even than 14! Burkittsville: Spook Hill . “ Defying the laws of gravity and common sense, vehicles appear to roll backwards up a hill.” Emmitsburg: Big Jinxed 9/11 Statue of Flag-RaisingFirefighters . “ Ended up here after three cities rejected it as too big, or too impractical, or too much of a tourist attraction.” Emmitsburg: Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton . “ American saint entombed in an altar, but not on display.” Frederick: Dog Almost Melted for Bullets . “Black-painted cast iron sculpture of a grey...

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...