Watkins Slave Cemetery historical signpost

At this site, anonymously buried slaves were found during road construction in 1960.

Many soldiers from Antietam are buried here.

The graves of Francis Scott Key; Barbara Fritchie, about whom the Whittier's Poem was written; Thomas Johnson, the first Maryland Governor; as well as over eight hundred Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the battles at Antietam and Monocacy are located here.

Surgeon General's Hauntings

Various Revolutionary War soldiers seen throughout the house which once belonged to Dr. W. M. Brown, a surgeon general.

To the youngest sometimes go the spoils, good and bad.

Back during the early 1800's a couple was living near the Gunpowder river. The couple had six girls and one boy. The husband left his wife and ran off with another woman. The wife was left alone to raise the children. The woman worried about money to raise five children. She resented the youngest child who was the son. She disliked the boy because he looked like his father, and she was sure that he would grow up to be like his father. People who visit the area have heard a little boy screaming. Some people have said that they saw a little boy running across the road. Someone has placed a sign on the road that says "listen." People have heard voices in the woods and the sound of screams.

Boom!

A cannonball was lodged into the wall of the house during the War of 1812. This is how the house got its name.