Near Hancock in Washington County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Millstone & Moffet Station
Western Maryland Rail Trail
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 23, 2016
1. Millstone & Moffet Station Marker
A small community originally called Millstone Point, but later changed to just Millstone, grew up along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Andrew Jackson (General and later U.S. President) met a committee from Hancock here. Harpers Monthly relates the following incident: "Some excavations were being made in the neighborhood and several blasts were fired in honor of the occasion as ‘Old Hickory’ approached. ‘Didn't the detonations alarm your horse, general?' inquired a solicitous committeeman. ‘No sir,' said Jackson emphatically; ‘My horse and I have heard a similar sort of music before’.”
During the Civil War several companies of the First Regiment Maryland Infantry were stationed at Millstone Point to protect the C&O Canal from Confederates. In 1909 Millstone was reported to have a population of 100 and a general store and post office, a harnessmaker, distiller, mason, several carpenters, a teacher and a blacksmith. There are also numerous farmers in the area.
The Moffet Station was constructed nearby when the Cumberland Extension of the Western Maryland Railway came through this location.
(captions)
Millstone School,
this page online
Moffet Station, Photo courtesy of the Western Maryland Historical Society, Inc.
Erected by Western Maryland Rail Trail.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Railroads & Streetcars • War, US Civil.
Location. 39° 40.614′ N, 78° 5.371′ W. Marker is near Hancock, Maryland, in Washington County. It can be reached from Hollow Road south of Millstone Road (Maryland Route 615). Located on the Western Maryland Rail Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hancock MD 21750, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Western Maryland. It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic, in Appalachia, and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in 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.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Little Pool (approx. 0.9 miles
via Maryland Department of Natural Resources, unknown
2. Western Maryland Rail Trail
Maryland Department of Natural Resources website entry
Click for more information.
Click for more information.
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 23, 2016
3. Western Maryland Rail Trail (WMRT)
Credits. This page was last revised on April 20, 2022. It was originally submitted on July 26, 2016, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,303 times since then and 72 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on July 26, 2016, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 2. submitted on April 20, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. 3. submitted on July 26, 2016, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.
