Everything OddWay knows about. Narrow it down by what you're after, or where you're going.
Real events too strange to have made the textbook.
Aspen Hill, MD
Established in the early 20th century, Aspin Hill is one of the country's oldest pet cemeteries and contains tens of thousands of animal burials alongside a smaller number of human graves. Elaborate markers memorialize dogs, cats, birds and other pets, and the cemetery is open for respectful daytime visits.
Baltimore, MD
A tiny 19th-century family cemetery survives improbably in the middle of a modern Baltimore neighborhood, a remnant of the much larger property once owned by the Biddison family. Most graves date to the 1800s, and neighborhood volunteers have periodically cleared vegetation from the otherwise easily overlooked burial ground.
Colmar Manor, MD
The fields near old Bladensburg became a notorious place for settling political and personal disputes with pistols during the 19th century, earning the nearby stream the nickname “Blood Run.” More than 50 duels are associated with the area, and a marker now interprets the history from the public grounds.
Savage, MD
This bright iron bridge is the last surviving example of Wendel Bollman's once-influential railroad truss design. Built in the 19th century and later moved to Savage, it now carries a pedestrian trail across the Little Patuxent River and can be walked through freely.
Thurmont, MD
Iron production began at Catoctin Furnace in 1776 and relied in part on enslaved labor before the industrial village expanded through the 19th century. The surviving furnace stack, historic village, trails and Museum of the Ironworker now interpret both the industry's technology and the lives of the people who worked there.
Suitland-Silver Hill, MD
Cedar Hill Cemetery contains a surprising group of 1930s faux-bois concrete sculptures by Dionicio Rodriguez, made to resemble gnarled trees, logs and rustic wooden structures. The cemetery also contains a mass grave connected to the deadly 1906 Terra Cotta railroad wreck, giving the grounds an unusually layered history.
Germantown, MD
A mill operated at this Seneca Creek location from the 18th century until the surviving structure burned in 1947, leaving picturesque stone walls beside the water. The area also has a Lincoln-assassination connection through conspirator George Atzerodt, who was familiar with and sought refuge around the region; reaching the ruins involves park trails and uneven ground.
Ellicott City, MD
Daniels grew around a textile mill on the Patapsco River before the mill closed in the 1960s and Tropical Storm Agnes devastated the remaining community in 1972. Today hikers can find foundations, cemetery remnants and other traces of the vanished mill town inside the Patapsco Valley area.
Laurel, MD
This protected Early Cretaceous fossil site preserves one of the most important dinosaur deposits in the eastern United States, including material from Maryland's state dinosaur, Astrodon. The fenced fossil area is only opened during scheduled public programs and dig experiences, although the surrounding playground and garden have broader access.
Waldorf, MD
Dr. Samuel Mudd treated John Wilkes Booth's broken leg here after Lincoln's assassination, helping make the farmhouse one of the most notorious stops on Booth's escape route. The privately owned historic property operates as a seasonal museum on selected days rather than daily.
Baltimore, MD
Edgar Allan Poe was buried at Westminster Burying Ground after his mysterious death in Baltimore in 1849, then moved to the prominent monument near the cemetery entrance in 1875. Visitors can see both the monument and his original burial place inside the historic graveyard.
Rockville, MD
F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzgerald are buried together in the small cemetery at St. Mary's Catholic Church, beneath a stone engraved with the final line of The Great Gatsby. The graves are easy to visit from the church property but should be treated as an active cemetery rather than a roadside photo prop.
Middletown, MD
Boonsboro residents climbed South Mountain on July 4, 1827 and built a rough stone tower honoring George Washington, making it the first completed monument to Washington in the country. The rebuilt tower stands inside Washington Monument State Park and requires a short uphill walk from the parking area.
Baltimore, MD
Built around the turn of the 20th century as part of Baltimore's coastal-defense system, Fort Armistead later became an abandoned military battery inside a public park. The concrete emplacements are heavily weathered and graffitied; stay in legitimate public areas and do not enter unsafe tunnels, sealed spaces or restricted sections.
Brentwood, MD
This large active cemetery occupies land with layers of history that include Civil War-era Fort Lincoln earthworks, an old spring house, monuments and a sprawling mausoleum complex. Visitors can see the historic features during cemetery hours but should stay on cemetery roads and treat active burial areas respectfully.
Annapolis, MD
Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones died in Paris in 1792, disappeared beneath a later development, and was rediscovered more than a century afterward before being returned to the United States. His ornate black-and-white marble sarcophagus now sits beneath the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel; visitors must follow Naval Academy identification and security rules.
Baltimore, MD
Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth is buried in the Booth family plot at Green Mount Cemetery beneath a small, deliberately unremarkable marker. Visitors often leave pennies on the stone, but the cemetery is an active burial ground and should only be visited during its posted daytime hours.
Sharpsburg, MD
During the Battle of Antietam, local civilians reportedly sheltered beneath this large rock overhang along the Potomac while fighting raged nearby. The site is reached from the C&O Canal towpath near mile 75.7 and requires walking plus a short climb away from the canal, so it is not a drive-up stop.
Nanjemoy, MD
More than 100 wrecks from a fleet of World War I-era wooden steamships remain in and around Mallows Bay, forming one of the largest concentrations of shipwrecks in the Western Hemisphere. The best views come by kayak or other small craft from the public launch, though some remains can also be seen from shore and trails.
Accokeek, MD
The Marshall family built its Potomac River estate here in the 18th century, and the property later became a popular amusement park complete with rides and a roller coaster. The amusement park closed in 1979, but remnants of the old mansion and later recreational history survive within today's Piscataway Park.
Oldtown, MD
Construction of this 3,118-foot C&O Canal tunnel began in 1836 and took 14 years amid unstable rock, funding problems and violent labor disputes. The towpath still passes through the completely dark tunnel, which is reached on foot or bicycle; bring a flashlight and follow any temporary NPS closure notices.
Baltimore, MD
Completed in 1828, the 234-foot brick tower was briefly the tallest structure in the United States and manufactured lead shot by dropping molten metal from its upper levels. The landmark remains standing downtown, with interior access available only during limited tour hours and events.
Fort Washington, MD
A fountain once stood in Washington, D.C.'s Truxton Circle before the traffic circle was removed in the 1940s and the monument seemingly disappeared. Pieces were later identified among discarded stone at Fort Washington Park, where the surviving fragments can be seen in the park rather than at their original D.C. location.
Poolesville, MD
This abandoned quarry supplied the distinctive reddish Seneca sandstone used in major Washington-area buildings, most famously the Smithsonian Castle. Quarry cuts, ruins and related historic features remain within the C&O Canal National Historical Park landscape and are reached on foot.
