Serving several needs over its long history

Columbia Hospital for Women, which closed in May 2002, was one of the oldest hospitals in Washington, DC and had occupied this site since 1870. Shortly after the Civil War, the Secretary of War E. N. Stanton authorized funds to establish a 50-bed hospital, stipulating that 20 of these beds be reserved for the wives and widows of U.S. soldiers. This was in response to a desperate need for a health-care facility for women who were arriving in the city in search of missing relatives.

Dark bridge, even in sunlight.

There is a covered bridge near Lewistown that spanned the Fishing Creek. The river beneath the bridge is a spot that local kids used as a swimming hole. A young boy drowned in the river in 1872 when he was 17 years old. People reported that his ghost haunts the bridge.

The entire second floor and one particular room are reportedly haunted by a girl.

The entire second floor and one particular room are reportedly haunted by a girl. Students alone on the floor or in the one room have reported seeing the ghostly visitor. Identity is unknown.

Be careful what you set down where.

An odd haunting at this cemetery involves a spirit which apparently delights in taking the belongings of visitors. The identity of the spirit or reason of its orneriness remain a mystery.

Rest stop for workers on the old National Road.

There is an old log cabin located in West Friendship that was used to house some of the workers who built the old National Road through Howard County. The cabin is wood-shingled and is at least 175 years old. The cabin door is very short, only about three and one half feet high. The door was made short to help protect the workers from highway thieves of that time. This made the thieves crouch low to enter, which gave the people inside the chance to hit them over the head.