City of Frederick Maryland

One of the first towns settled in northwestern Maryland, Frederick, at the junction of I-70 and I-270 an hour west of Baltimore, was laid out in 1745 by German farmers lured from Pennsylvania by the promise of cheap fertile land. It grew to become a main stopover on the route west to the Ohio Valley, and the bulk of today's tidy town survives from the early 1800s. Frederick is Maryland’s second largest city. Named after Frederick Calvert, sixth and last Lord Baltimore, who was the Proprietor of Maryland from 1751 until his death in 1771 at Naples, Italy. Frederick was home to the Author of “The Star-Spangled Banner”, Francis Scott Key, and Fort Detrick that was established in Frederick during World War II for research in biological warfare.

Frederick is also home to Barbara Fritchie, also Frietchie, a legendary American heroine, who reputedly defied the Confederate troops under Stonewall Jackson as they advanced through Frederick, Md., by waving the Stars and Stripes from an upper window of her home. This story, now considered apocryphal, is the subject of a popular patriotic poem, "Barbara Frietchie" (1864), by John Greenleaf Whittier, and a play, Barbara Frietchie (1899), by Clyde Fitch. You can read more about Barbara Fritchie here, Civil War Camp Chest

Historic sites and museums: Monocacy National Battlefield, Barbara Fritchie House and Museum, Children's Museum of Rose Hill Manor, National Museum of Civil War Medicine

Local Colleges and universities: Hood College, Frederick Community College Frederick has a local Minor League Baseball Team, The Keys.

Nearby parks and recreation are Cunningham Falls State Park, Gambrill State Park, Frederick City Cooperative Wildlife Management Area