Hagerstown (HAI-guhrz-toun), city (1990 pop. 35,445), Washington co., NW Md., on Antietam Creek, near its junction with the Potomac R., in the fertile Cumberland Valley; 39°38'N 77°43'W. Shipping and processing center for agr. prods. Its diverse mfg. includes pipe organs, aircraft, and furniture. The 1st settler was Jonathan Hager, a Westphalian German, who built a home here in 1737, which is now a mus. Most of the other settlers were also German. Occupied both by Northern and Southern troops during the Civil War; the bloody battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) was fought nearby. The Baltimore and Ohio RR reached here in 1867, and for many decades the town was the junction of 4 RRs. Fort Ritchie, 13 mi/21 km NE on Pa. state line scheduled for closing. Was major center for Intelligence Training in World War II. Inc. 1791.
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Washington co., NW Md., on Antietam Creek, near its junction with the Potomac R., in the fertile Cumberland Valley; 39°38'N 77°43'W. Shipping and processing center for agr. prods. Its diverse mfg. includes pipe organs, aircraft, and furniture. The 1st settler was Jonathan Hager, a Westphalian German, who built a home here in 1737, which is now a mus. Most of the other settlers were also German. Occupied both by Northern and Southern troops during the Civil War; the bloody battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) was fought nearby. The Baltimore and Ohio RR reached here in 1867, and for many decades the town was the junction of 4 RRs. Fort Ritchie, 13 mi/21 km NE on Pa. state line scheduled for closing. Was major center for Intelligence Training in World War II. Inc. 1791.
