Garrett County is the westernmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland completely within the Appalachian Mountains. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,806, making it the third-least populous county in Maryland. Its county seat is Oakland. The county was named for John Work Garrett (1820–1884), president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Created from Allegany County, Maryland in 1872, it was the last Maryland county to be formed.
The National Road was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the 620-mile (1,000 km) road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main transport path to the West for thousands of settlers. When improved in the 1830s, it became the second U.S. road surfaced with the macadam process pioneered by Scotsman John Loudon McAdam.
Grantsville is a town in the northern part of Garrett County, Maryland, United States, near the Pennsylvania border. The population was 968 as of the 2020 census.
Fort Frederick State Park is a public recreation and historic preservation area on the Potomac River surrounding the restored Fort Frederick, a fortification active in the French and Indian War (1754–1763) and the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). The state park lies south of the town of Big Pool, Maryland. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal runs through the park grounds. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973.
The National Register of Historic Places in the United States is a register including buildings, sites, structures, districts, and objects. The Register automatically includes all National Historic Landmarks as well as all historic areas administered by the U.S. National Park Service. Since its introduction in 1966, more than 90,000 separate listings have been added to the register.
The Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge across the Little Patuxent River at Savage, Maryland, is one of the oldest standing iron railroad bridges in the United States and the sole surviving example of a revolutionary design in the history of American bridge engineering. The 160-foot (48.8 m) double-span was built in 1852 at an unknown location on the main line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It was moved 35 years later to its present location, where it replaced the very first Bollman bridge. Today, it carries the Savage Mill Trail.
The Thomas Viaduct spans the Patapsco River and Patapsco Valley between Relay, Maryland and Elkridge, Maryland, USA. It was commissioned by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O); built between July 4, 1833, and July 4, 1835; and named for Philip E. Thomas, the company's first president. Some claim it to be the world's oldest multiple arched stone railroad bridge. However, the Sankey Viaduct on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was opened in 1830, and finally completed in 1833.
Swallow Falls State Park is a public recreation area located on the west bank of the Youghiogheny River nine miles (14 km) northwest of Oakland in Garrett County, Maryland, in the United States. The state park features Maryland's highest free-falling waterfall, the 53-foot (16 m) Muddy Creek Falls, as well as smaller waterfalls on the Youghiogheny River and Tolivar Creek. The park is notable for its stand of old hemlock trees, some more than 300 years old, "the last stand of its kind in Maryland."
U.S. Route 40 in the U.S. state of Maryland runs from Garrett County in Western Maryland to Cecil County in the state's northeastern corner. With a total length of 221 miles (356 km), it is the longest numbered highway in Maryland. Almost half of the road overlaps or parallels with Interstate 68 (I-68) or I-70, while the old alignment is generally known as US 40 Alternate, US 40 Scenic, or Maryland Route 144. West of Baltimore, in the Piedmont and Appalachian Mountains / Blue Ridge region of the Western Maryland panhandle of the small state, the portions where it does not overlap an Interstate highway are mostly two-lane roads. The portion northeast of Baltimore going toward Wilmington in northern Delaware and Philadelphia in southeastern Pennsylvania is a four-lane divided highway, known as the Pulaski Highway. This section crosses the Susquehanna River at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay on the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a government agency in the state of Maryland charged with maintaining natural resources including state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, wildlife, and recreation areas. Its headquarters is in Annapolis.
Patapsco Valley State Park is a Maryland state park extending along 32 miles (51 km) of the Patapsco River south and west of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. The park encompasses multiple developed areas on over 14,000 acres (5,700 ha) acres of land, making it Maryland's largest state park. In 2006, it was officially celebrated as Maryland's first state park, its first formation being in 1906. Patapsco Valley State Park is managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The Union Arch Bridge, also called the "Cabin John Bridge", is a historic masonry structure in Cabin John, Maryland. It was designed as part of the Washington Aqueduct. The bridge construction began in 1857 and was completed in 1864. The roadway surface was added later. The bridge was designed by Alfred Landon Rives, and built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers under the direction of Lieutenant Montgomery C. Meigs.
The B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing is a 15-acre (6.1 ha) historic site where a set of railroad bridges, originally built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, span the Potomac River between Sandy Hook, Maryland and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 14, 1978, for its significance in commerce, engineering, industry, invention, and transportation.
U.S. Route 40 Alternate is the U.S. Highway designation for a former segment of U.S. Route 40 (US 40) through Garrett and Allegany counties in Maryland. The highway begins at US 40 near exit 14 on Interstate 68 (I-68) and runs 31.80 miles (51.18 km) eastward to Cumberland, where it ends at exit 44 on I-68. Alt US 40 is maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA).
Trunk Line Bridge No. 1, also known as Peshekee River Bridge, is a bridge adjacent to US Highway 41/M-28 (US 41/M-28). It was the first of many trunkline bridges designed by the Michigan State Highway Department. It was built in 1914, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Savage River State Forest is located in the north and northeastern part of Garrett County, in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state forest has many waterways, including Savage River Reservoir, which was built in 1952 by the U.S. Army. The dam was built as an emergency water supply for Washington, D.C. Savage River State Forest is known for its hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking trails.
Stanton's Mill is a historic grist mill complex located at Grantsville, Garrett County, Maryland, consisting of five interrelated buildings and structures. The Stanton's Mill building dates from about 1797. It is two stories and constructed of heavy timber frame with a gable roof; an addition was constructed in 1890. The complex includes a stone-faced, mid-19th-century timber crib dam and raceway, natural earthen tailrace, and a small, single-span stone arch bridge, dating to 1813, constructed as part of the National Road. Also on the property is a frame storage building, constructed about 1900.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of Maryland:
Savage Mountain is an anticline extending from Bedford County, Pennsylvania southwest into Western Maryland. It is the western side of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, and the eastern portion of the ridge forms the border of Garrett and Allegany Counties of Maryland.
Buckel's Bog was a 160-acre, shallow periglacial lake or a glade that occupied the headwater region of the North Branch of the Casselman River in Garrett County, Maryland, during the late Pleistocene epoch. It is the remnant of the only known natural lake in Maryland.
