The history of the new Republic has flowed back and forth through Frederick for over 250 years. Washington slept here more than once, first as a young surveyor and later as an aide-de-camp to General Bradock during the French and Indian War. This quiet town in the foothills of Maryland has been the site of strongly-held beliefs and actions. In one of the first acts of what would become the War for Independence, Frederick's pre-Revolutionary rebels burned the Crown's stamp-seller in effigy to express their opinion of the new Stamp Act.
Frederick and the surrounding area were in the center of activity throughout the American Civil War years. Harper's Ferry, Gettysburg and Antietam are all within 20 to 35 miles of downtown Frederick. The Monocacy battlefield in Frederick is the site of General Lew Wallace's valiant delaying battle against a Confederate army three times the number of his force. Had the Confederates pushed through to Washington, our flag may have had a different design.
Frederick and the countryside around it are awash in 18th- and 19th-century architecture, and the personal effects of those eras. A good day's journey in the old days, Frederick is only 45 miles, and not many more minutes, from Washington, D.C. these days. The dozens of antique and collectible shops in and around Frederick run the full gamut from fine, high-quality museum European and early American antique shops to those featuring truly off-beat and eclectic accent pieces.
After visiting those shops in Frederick, the serious, undaunted browsers can give the dealers time to restock by visiting a multitude of other shops within a half hour's drive through the beautiful rolling country-side. Along Main Street and the side streets, there are almost thirty small individual antique and reproduction shops in New Market. Self-proclaimed as the Antiques Capitol of Maryland, New Market is only eight miles east of Frederick and has a variety dining and lodging alternatives to tempt you during the times between treasure hunting. Most of the shops are open on the weekend (and "by chance") only, but at least a half dozen open earlier in the week to fit more leisurely long weekend getaways. The last weekend in September is reserved for New Market Days to celebrate the nineteenth-century heritage of this town that appreciates its place in history.
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