Thurmont in Frederick County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
A Fractured Landscape
Catoctin Furnace Iron Trail
Photographed by Allen C. Browne, October 30, 2024
1. A Fractured Landscape Marker
The country urgently needs a modernized interstate highway system to relieve existing congestion, to provide for the expected growth of motor vehicle traffic, to strengthen the Nation's defenses, to reduce the toll of human life exacted each year in highway accidents, and to promote economic development.
President Eisenhower, in a message to Congress, January 24, 1956.
As you walk over the bridge, look down at the highway below you. In 1962, Route 15 was relocated as part of the plan to modernize the U.S. highway system. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, inspired by the German superhighways he saw during World War Il, imagined a better transportation system that would improve the economy and the national defense.
At Catoctin Furnace, the new highway split the furnace property in half, separating the mountains from the village and forever changing the traditional way of life here. In the 1970s, the highway was expanded to four lanes. The bridge you are standing on was planned with the State Highway Administration to reconnect the historic village with the mountains.
[Captions:]
(Top) The Catoctin area on a 1981 state highway map. Notice the path the new Route 15 takes through the furnace lands.
(Bottom) The Catoctin area
this page online
Erected by Catoctin Furnace Historical Society; William G. Pomeroy Foundation; Maryland Park Service; Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical date for this entry is January 24, 1956.
Location. 39° 35.058′ N, 77° 26.133′ W. Marker is in Thurmont, Maryland, in Frederick County. It can be reached from Catoctin Mountain Highway west of U.S. 15, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 10182 Catoctin Mountain Hwy, Thurmont MD 21788, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Central Maryland. It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Destruction and Renewal (within shouting distance of this marker); A Creek Rediscovered (within shouting distance of this marker); Recreation For All (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); A Lost Pond (about 300 feet away); The Ingredients For Iron (about 400 feet away); Waste Management (about 400 feet away); Walk Through History (about 500 feet away); The Bridge that Moved (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Thurmont.
Other markers no longer nearby. Second Growth Forest (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another
Photographed by Allen C. Browne, July 3, 2017
3. Pedestrian Bridge over Route 15
Photographed by Allen C. Browne, July 3, 2017
4. View of Route 15 from the Pedestrian Bridge
Looking north toward Thurmont.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 18, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 6, 2024, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. This page has been viewed 168 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 6, 2024, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 2. submitted on May 18, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3, 4. submitted on November 6, 2024, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.
