Frederick County Characters: Innovators, Pioneers & Patriots of Western Maryland

Since its founding in 1748, Frederick County has been home to some of the nation’s most celebrated and dynamic historical figures. The quaint towns and farmlands with their serene mountain vistas of the Catoctin Ridge have played host to the likes of the famed Francis Scott Key and Thomas Stone, one of Maryland’s signers of the Declaration of Independence. Later, Dr. John Tyler–Frederick’s pioneering oculist–established his practice on the town’s West Church Street and performed the first cataract operation in the region. Burkittsville’s Outerbridge Horsey gained fame by producing over ten thousand barrels a year of America’s finest rye whiskey from his warehouse distillery. In the twentieth century, beloved local educator Emily Johnson helped cultivate generations of young minds. With this collection of the best of his articles from Frederick Magazine, local author John W. Ashbury profiles the most remarkable and fascinating figures in the history of Frederick County.