Maryland Route 34 (MD 34) is a
state highway in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. Known for most of its length as Shepherdstown Pike, the state highway begins at the
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
state line at the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...
, where the highway continues south as
West Virginia Route 480
West Virginia Route 480 (WV 480) is a state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Known for most of its length as Kearneysville Pike, the highway extends from WV 115 in Kearneysville north to the Maryland state line at the Potomac Rive ...
(WV 480) through
Shepherdstown. The state highway runs east to
U.S. Route 40 Alternate
U.S. Route 40 has at least eight extant special routes.
Current routes WaKeeney business loop
U.S. Route 40 Business (US-40 Bus.) is a business route through WaKeeney, Kansas, that was recommended in 1979 as substitute for the formerly pro ...
(US 40 Alternate) in
Boonsboro. MD 34 is the main east–west highway of southern
Washington County, connecting Shepherdstown and Boonsboro with
Sharpsburg and
Keedysville. The state highway, which was preceded by the Boonsboro and Sharpstown Turnpike, was constructed as a modern highway in the late 1910s and early 1920s. MD 34's bypass of Keedysville opened around 1960. The western end of the state highway has had three bridges. A 19th-century bridge was destroyed in a 1936 flood and replaced by the James Rumsey Bridge in 1939. The present bridge, also named for
James Rumsey
James Rumsey (1743 – December 21, 1792) was an American mechanical engineer chiefly known for exhibiting a boat propelled by machinery in 1787 on the Potomac River at Shepherdstown in present-day West Virginia before a crowd of local notables ...
, opened in 2005.
Route description
MD 34 begins at the West Virginia State line, where the highway crosses the Potomac River on the James Rumsey Bridge. The highway continues into Shepherdstown as WV 480. MD 34 heads east past an access ramp to the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park is located in the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland. The park was established in 1961 as a National Monument by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to preserve the neglected remains o ...
as two-lane undivided Shepherdstown Pike through a mix of farmland and forest. The state highway descends into an underpass of
Norfolk Southern Railway's
Hagerstown District
Hagerstown is the name of several places in the United States of America:
*Hagerstown, Indiana
* Hagerstown, Maryland
**Hagerstown Metropolitan Area
The Hagerstown–Martinsburg Metropolitan Area, officially designated by the United States Offi ...
line, which crosses the state highway at an oblique angle then parallels the highway northeast past the historic home
Mount Airy. MD 34 splits away from the railroad as the highway enters the town of Sharpsburg. The state highway's name changes to Main Street at its intersection with Mechanic Street. MD 34 passes through the
Sharpsburg Historic District, which contains the
Jacob Highbarger House,
William Chapline House,
Good-Reilly House,
Joseph C. Hays House,
Piper House
The Piper House is a historic home located at the southeast corner of Main and Church Streets in Sharpsburg, Washington County, Maryland, United States. It has a two-story limestone main block, constructed between 1792 and 1804, with a two-stor ...
, and
Tolson's Chapel. At the eastern end of the town, the state highway intersects Church Street, which heads north as
MD 65 through the main unit of Antietam National Battlefield and south as a county highway toward
Burnside's Bridge
Burnside's Bridge is a landmark on the Civil War Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg, northwestern Maryland.
History
Construction
Seeking to improve connections between roads in Washington County, fourteen bridges were commissione ...
.
MD 34 leaves the town of Sharpsburg and passes through the grounds of Antietam National Battlefield. The state highway passes Antietam National Cemetery and passes through open fields before leaving the federal reservation by crossing
Antietam Creek
Antietam Creek () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Potomac River located in south central Pennsylvania and western Maryland in the ...
on the Porterstown Bridge. MD 34 continues northeast, passing the Pry House Field Hospital Museum before heading through Keedysville. The old alignment of MD 34,
MD 845, splits to the east to pass through the center of town as Main Street while MD 34 passes along the edge of town. MD 34 crosses Little Antietam Creek, crosses an abandoned
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad grade, and passes the
Doub Farm and
Baker Farm before receiving the other end of MD 845, Keedy Drive. The state highway passes through a forested area before passing
Crystal Grottoes. MD 34 continues east through farmland before entering the town of Boonsboro and crossing Beaver Creek. The state highway heads east through the town as Potomac Street before reaching its eastern terminus at US 40 Alternate (Main Street). The roadway continues east as St. Paul Street toward
South Mountain.
History
The predecessor highway of much of MD 34 was a 19th-century
turnpike
Turnpike often refers to:
* A type of gate, another word for a turnstile
* In the United States, a toll road
Turnpike may also refer to:
Roads United Kingdom
* A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...
called the Boonsboro and Sharpsburg Turnpike between the two eponymous towns via Keedysville.
The modern state highway was constructed starting in 1918 with a section from Boonsboro to Keedysville.
By 1921, the paved highway was extended west to the Norfolk Southern Railway west of Sharpsburg.
The highway was completed to the Potomac River in 1923.
MD 34 was one of the original signed Maryland state numbered highways in 1927.
The state highway was relocated at its western end following the completion of a new bridge across the Potomac River in 1939. The underpass of the Norfolk Southern Railway between the Potomac River and Sharpsburg was completed around 1940.
MD 34 was reconstructed from the Potomac River to Sharpsburg in 1953 and 1954.
The state highway was rebuilt from Sharpsburg to Boonsboro between 1956 and 1958, including a new bridge over Antietam Creek.
MD 34's bypass of Keedysville opened around 1961; the old highway through town was designated MD 845.
The original river crossing at Shepherdstown was a
ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
downstream from the modern bridge that had various names, including Boteler's Ford, Pack Horse Ford, Shepherdstown Ford, and Blackford's Ford. This ford was utilized by
Confederate forces in their retreat from the
Battle of Antietam.
Around 1755, Thomas Swearingen started a ferry that operated through 1849, when the first covered bridge was constructed across the river.
The first covered bridge was destroyed by forces under
Stonewall Jackson in 1861.
A second covered bridge was constructed in 1871 and lasted until it was destroyed by the same series of floods in 1889 that
devastated Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The piers of the covered bridge remain immediately downstream from the modern bridge.
An iron bridge was constructed just upstream of the present bridge.
This iron bridge was destroyed in the March 1936 series of floods that
heavily damaged Pittsburgh.
A high-level
Wichert continuous truss bridge was constructed at the site of the present bridge and opened July 15, 1939.
The new bridge was dedicated to James Rumsey, an 18th-century pioneer of the
steamboat, who demonstrated his invention on the Potomac River at Shepherdstown in 1787.
Finally, the present bridge, a steel
girder span also named for Rumsey, was constructed starting in June 2003 immediately to the north of the 1939 bridge.
The new bridge opened July 15, 2005, exactly 66 years after the opening of the previous bridge, which was subsequently torn down.
Junction list
See also
*
References
External links
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MDRoads: MD 34Maryland Roads - MD 34
034
Maryland Route 034