Journey Through Hallowed Ground Byway

Emmitsburg sprawls under the mountain amid a lovely New England landscape.

A beautiful sunny day among verdant fields belies the July 9, 1864 chaos of the Battle of Monocacy; the Civil War clash considered the battle that saved Washington D.C.

Monocacy Aqueduct, the largest aqueduct in the famed C&O Canal System, is reflected below in slowly drifting waters.

One of Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway's highlights, the Shrine to Elizabeth Ann Seton rises above bright green landscaping.

Bronze statues memorialize those who have passed in this downtown cemetery in Frederick, Maryland.

Situated at the end of an expansive front lawn and framed by a colorful perennial border, Monticello – the home of Thomas Jefferson – is a testimony to the builder’s creativity and architectural skills. Based on the classical style of Palladian architecture, it sits on an 850-foot mountain and offers stunning views, gardens, and walkways.

As the Journey Through Hallowed Ground approaches Charlottesville on VA-20, the Southwest Mountains rise up in the distance.

With the historic Governor’s Mansion in the distance, an equestrian guides his horse through Poplar Puddle and over a hurdle during one of the many horse races held every year at Morven Park’s International Equestrian Center.

The remains of a home that Thomas Jefferson built in 1822 for his friend Governor Barbour evokes the designer’s genius and is a striking site on the grounds of the Barboursville Winery.

The violet Blue Ridge Mountains rise up beyond gently rolling fields of corn at Somerset Plantation along VA-20.

The stately red brick home of James Madison, Father of the Constitution, has recently been restored; it sits on a hill with a wide lawn before it and a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

As participants in the Journey Through Hallowed Ground’s Extreme Summer Camp, children gather on the porch of Gilmore Cabin at Jame Madison’s Montpelier.

A park ranger talks to a group of three female visitors at the brand-new visitors center and museum, which interprets the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War with 11 exhibit galleries and a historic Cylorama.

Union and Confederate troops reenact the July 3, 1863 action known as Pickett’s Charge, which marked the last gasp of Confederate efforts. It turned the tide in favor of the Union and affected the outcome of the war.

Surrounded by a black iron fence with a simple, engraved stone marker, the grassy Lincoln Cemetery is the resting place of 30 members of the U.S. Colored Troops as well as many of the town's earliest black residents, reinterred when the town’s “Colored Cemetery” was cleared for development.

Located in the heart of Gettysburg, this redbrick home-turned-museum appears much as it did in 1860 when it was built as the home of George and Hettie Shriver.

Serving as the place where Thomas Johnson produced iron for munitions for the Continental Army, the glowing stone furnace stands amidst a summer-draped Cunningham Falls State Park.

The yellow-painted brick Lincoln Train Station where Lincoln arrived to deliver the Gettysburg Address has been carefully restored and is now open to the public.

Lincoln Square, in the heart of downtown Gettysburg, features the imposing Gettysburg Hotel and the Wills House where Lincoln stayed before delivering the Gettysburg Address.

South Mountain appears blue in the distance across the gently rolling green fields of Adams County.

A park ranger speaks to a group about the Eisenhower National Historic Site, home and 690-acre farm of the former president, which is set amidst views of gently rolling farmland and the distant South Mountain.

Leesburg’s historic district is a bustling downtown brimming with history and charm, exampled by King Street’s brick sidewalks lined with shops, restaurants and galleries ready to welcome visitors.

Winding through Orange and Albemarle Counties, Virginia Route 231 is a two-lane rural road with scenic views that alternate between the shady enclosure of a leafy green tree canopy and the sun-lit expanse of gently rolling pastures and fields.

The National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton stands against a clear blue sky on Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway.

The source of cannonballs for Washington's army in the Revolutionary War, Catoctin Furnace still stands today.

Travelers examine the remains of Catoctin Furnace on a sunny spring day.

Saint Anthony Shrine near Our Lady of Lourdes National Shrine has intriguing architecture and intricate glass panes.

This viewpoint in Catoctin Mountain Park provides a sweeping view of open land on a crisp fall day.

In this statue, firefighters raise a flag in memory of the tragedy of 9-11.

Travelers cruise along Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway against a light green backdrop.

Sporting the America's Byways logo, a Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway sign stands against the vast background.

A sign along Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway advertises an orchard and roadside market.

The Point of Rocks Railroad Station's spire points heavenward, toward a bright blue sky.

Museum visitors read a plaque before a life-size display of Civil War soldiers treating their injured.

Bright green foliage surrounds Fountain Rock Nature Center near the Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway.

A traveler takes a closer look at a panel depicting the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico's patron saint.

A visitor leaves an old cabin near the Our Lady of Lourdes National Shrine.

Sunlight filters through bright green leaves in this tranquil spot in Cunningham Falls State Park.

Visitors examine the various trappings of worship in the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto.

A young girl basks in the sun near the Cunningham Falls' pool.

A group of travelers enjoy a pleasant summer day at Cunningham Falls.

Through autumn leaves, Rose Hill Manor, on the north end of Frederick City, exemplifies a combination of the late Georgian architectural style of Tidewater Maryland and the Greek Revival style.

The imposing architecture of the Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton is impressive red brick and includes a basilica, offices, and several wings surrounded by wide green lawns and a high-flying US flag.

This mural captures the special character and quality of the Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway.

Bright red apples on a tree are emblematic of the Catoctin Mountain Orchard, which is adjacent to the Journey Through Hallowed Ground, just north of Thurmont, Maryland. The orchard’s gently rolling terrain is part of the agricultural landscape in the foreground of Catoctin Mountain.

Spring-green grass and dormant trees surround the stony ruins of the Catoctin Furnace.

Fertile green hills lie below billowy clouds in this view from Chimney Rock.

Chimney Rock, a formation of vertical rocks at the top of Catoctin Mountain, offers views to distant blue hills.

A stone pathway runs along breathtaking 18th- and 19th-century architecture in Historic Downtown Frederick, MD.

This view of the northern Catoctin Mountains looks west from the Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway.

The Potomac River serenely flows by green forests lining the Virginia bank, while the classic and graceful Point of Rocks Bridge spans the river.

Towering above the dense green trees of the area, the Lady of Lourdes monument surveys the surrounding area.

One of the oldest replicas of the french monument, the Our Lady of Lourdes shrine towers above trees and gravestones.

The frothing waters of Cunningham Falls are a popular attraction in the Catoctin Mountains near Camp David in Maryland.

A new visitors center at the Monocacy National Battlefield stands across the grassy field behind a stone support holding a sign marking the location of the critical 1864 battle at Monocacy.

Ancient headstones lie under dark green shade trees under the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Vivid green trees spread their branches over the the rushing waters of the highest waterfall in Maryland, Cunningham Falls, which boasts 78 feet of cascading water.

A striking bronze statue of Francis Scott Key stands atop a cylindrical pedestal in honor of the author of our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

A historical marker adjacent to the byway marks the site of the Battle of Brandy Station; the site of the largest cavalry battle of the Civil War.

Located near Charlottesville, the estate of James Monroe, fifth President of the United States, and his wife Elizabeth, features a sweeping front yard filled with living history enactors.

Immediately adjacent to the byway in Loudoun County, rail fencing divides the gently rolling terrain into pastures. Here visitors experience the scenic beauty of the Virginia Piedmont’s horse country.

The expansive farmland extending beyond the snake rail fence at Cedar Mountain Battlefield creates a tranquil, scenic view along the byway.

At Oatlands Plantation, the Greek Revival-style mansion looks out over a formal, terraced lawn.

Monuments, peach trees, and fences dot the Gettysburg horizon at dusk.

The Jennie Wade House, located in urban Gettysburg, was the home of the only civilian killed during the Battle of Gettysburg and now serves as a Civil War Museum.

The name plate on the outside of the red brick Roger Brooke Taney House shares information about Chief Justice Taney and his wife Anne Keys.

The graves of more than a dozen unknown soldiers rest in the Ball's Bluff National Cemetery, the nation's third smallest at 50 feet square.

Now a serene river scene, dozens of Union soldiers were pushed into the Potomac River during the Battle of Ball's Bluff.

Culpeper's Confederate Soldier Memorial commemorates the service of southern soldiers from the city.

The Loudoun Museum contains several Civil War displays, including a period dress and household items.

Two young girls pose as prisoners in the "stocks" in the yard of the Old Jail Museum. The "stocks" are actually a sign, indicating the original name of the building (Old Gaol Museum) and the year it was constructed (1778.)

A monument of a soldier stands outlined against a glowing sunset on the field of Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg National Military Park.

The Union forces advance amid gun powder and smoke at Ball's Bluff Battlefield during the battle's 150th anniversary.

Union soldiers fire their weapons across the grassy battlefield at a Gettysburg reenactment.

American flags frame the stained, white gravestone of Edward D. Baker at the National Cemetery at Ball's Bluff. He was the only US senator to die on a battlefield.

A steep "path" behind the ruins leads to a scenic overlook of the Catoctin Furnace area.

Once the posh home of the furnace manager, this house still stands to remind travelers of a bygone era.

South Mountain rises in the distance behind the Gettysburg Monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield , which contains broad fields where Union and Confederate troops clashed during one of the most critical turning points in the Civil War.

Lincoln re-enactors, accompanied by fifes and drums, camp followers, and dignitaries, march down Route 15, Gettysburg’s main street, as the entire town turns out in full force for the Remembrance Day Parade.

A few curious travelers examine some large millipedes at Cunningham Falls State Park.

As it flows between lampposts, brick walkways and restored commercial buildings, Carroll Creek provides a soothing note to a pedestrian mall area.

Bright flowers adorn the front steps of a historic Frederick building.

Ornate headstones grace the path to St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

Green fields seem to extend forever in this scene from Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway.

Classic homes line the street in downtown Thurmont, a Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway community.

An ivy-covered stone wall encloses the vast grounds of Rose Hill Manor near Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway.

The extensive farmland areas north of Frederick provide an attractive foreground to the more distant Catoctin Mountains.

The Catoctin Mountains come into view as the traveler proceeds northward.

The Catoctin Furnace Trail links the historic site with the Manor Area and visitor center in Cunningham Falls State Park. The trail includes interpretive displays and a bridge over US 15 connecting the two sides.

The Catoctin Furnace supplied cannonballs and shot for the Continental Army.

The C&O Canal National Historic Park preserves an early 19th Century canal.

The highest waterfall in Maryland, Cunningham Falls boasts 78 feet of cascading water.

Market Street in the Frederick Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Mature trees brighten the path along Clay Street in Point of Rocks.

The byway's many state and national parks are all easily found from the byway through recreational wayfinding signs directing travelers to the appropriate turns.

The Point of Rocks Railroad Station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Station is being considered for the future visitor center.

Above the lovely valley of Emmitsburg, situated high on the mountainside where nature displays itself in all its wild and picturesque glory, sits the National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes, which traces its lineage to the very beginnings of the spread of Catholicism in America.