Around Town // Worthington Farm Hike

This transitional period between summer and fall is one of the best times of year to hike. The weather is balmy and cool, with a slight breeze that provokes the half-hearted consideration of a light jacket. The fields and trees still maintain their lush summer greenery, but a few maples have begun their slow transformation into gold and crimson. Here and there, scattered leaves punctuate the still-green lawns, a herald of the approaching torrent of color that will soon blanket the earth.

Last weekend, Mark and I revisited Monocacy Battlefield to hike the trails at Worthington Farm. This past spring, we walked around Thomas Farm and the battlefield welcome center, but we had not yet paid Worthington Farm anything more than a passing visit. In my opinion, this farm afforded walking trails more beautiful and secluded than Thomas Farm, resulting in one of the most enjoyable hikes I've had in a while. Mark and I agreed that the farm is hands-down one of the loveliest places we've found in Maryland. Around every corner, we stumbled upon some brace of trees, river bend, or harvested field that just took your breath away, as if nature had put more effort into this little spot.

I can only imagine how beautiful this place will be once autumn begins in earnest. Mark and I both think the river edge here is the perfect place to relax with a book. It's hard to imagine that land so beautiful was once someone's home.

Monocacy National Battlefield

Worthington Farm

4632 Araby Church Rd.

Frederick, MD 

Park Visitor Center

5201 Urbana Pike

Frederick, MD 

Our Weekend in Photos // Monocacy Battlefield

On Friday, winter dealt a final sucker-punch: four slushy inches of snow. (Final? It better be the final one, let's just say.) I awoke to yet another weather delay and moaned Not again. But on Saturday and Sunday, spring responded with sunshine and birdsong. The broad blue sky and tee-shirt weather begged us to spend some time outdoors, baring our winter-white arms. Sun-thirsty, we hiked not just once, but twice this weekend. 

Sunday, we explored one of the nearest historical parks Monocacy Battlefield. Plugging it into our GPS, we were startled to realize the battlefield was only seven minutes away from our house. We were even more startled when we realized it was practically right behind our local Target. Who knew that while I was buying Method dishsoap and Threshold throw pillows, there was a field of forgotten memories and buried musket shells only a few feet away?

We spent the day exploring the park's various sections. Split by the timeless Monocacy River and  the new Interstate 270, the battlefield consists of six regions: Monocacy Junction, Gambrill Mill, Best Farm, Thomas Farm, and Worthington Farm.

When reading about Civil War battlefields as a kid, I tended to visualize a wide, open field with grey-suited soldiers on one side and blue-suited soldiers on the other. As if the country had designated war-sites. Okay, here you go, this is a good spot to fight. Instead, the Civil War happened in people's backyards, across their farm fields, and literally on their front porches. The owners of the three farms barricaded themselves in their cellars with buckets of drinking water, hid, under blankets, and prayed that their homes didn't collapse under artillery fire. In fact, the first full account of the Monocacy Battle was written by a young man who, at the age of six, watched the battle unfurl from the slats of his cellar window.

As we walked between the farm houses, outbuildings, and slave quarters, I tried to imagine what it looked like then. Tried to imagine the smoke and the explosions and the yelling. It was so quiet and still while we walked across the barely-green grass. The only sound the winter-tinged wind and the distant rush of cars. Something tumultuous and life-changing and loud happened here hundreds of years ago, yet now it was so serene, Empty yet not empty. Like a graveyard, the battlefield seemed full of whispers and memories.

We laughed and walked in the sunshine. But every now and then, the portent of the place would settle over us, bidding us to just take a moment, listen to the wind, and consider what happened here.

Living in Maryland does have its perks. Like having historical landmarks only five minutes away. Have you ever visited a Civil War battlefield? If so, where? Did it make you a little goose-pimply or were you totally bored?