Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area

Carroll, Frederick, and Washington Counties

Frederick, Washington and Carroll Counties played a critical role in the Civil War since the beginning. From the invasion routes over which Robert E. Lee twice led his Army of Northern Virginia into the North, to Antietam and the single bloodiest day of the conflict, to the events leading to Gettysburg, the “high water mark” of the Confederacy, to Monocacy, the “battle that saved Washington,” and to the field stations and hospitals that dotted the region for much of the war, Maryland's Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area encompasses events, landscapes, sites, and structures of immense national significance and emotional power.

The Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area (HCWHA) includes portions of Carroll, Frederick, and Washington Counties. The HCWHA is ideally positioned to serve as a “base camp” for driving the popular Maryland Civil War Trails and visiting the battlefields and sites of Antietam, Gettysburg, Monocacy, South Mountain, Harpers Ferry, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. As travelers and tourism service providers plan for the upcoming 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the HCWHA provides an ideal location.

Management

The Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area operates under the auspices of the Tourism Council of Frederick County, with oversight by the HCWHA Advisory Board which is composed of representatives from government entities and private organizations in Frederick, Washington, and Carroll Counties.

Management Plan

Preparation of a management plan approved by the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority is a requirement for becoming a Maryland “Certified” Heritage Area. The approved Management Plan includes information on the boundaries of the Certified Heritage Area and “Target Investment Zones,” and presents the heritage area’s vision and goals and the strategies, projects, programs, actions, and partnerships that will be implemented to accomplish them.

Click here to view the management plan

Contact Information

Ms. Elizabeth Scott Shatto
Frederick Historic Sites Consortium
Tourism Council of Frederick County, Inc.

19 E. Church Street
Frederick, MD 21710

301-644-4042
301-644-4044 (fax)

Email: lshatto@fredco-md.net
Website: www.heartofthecivilwar.org