Parr's Ridge is a ridge which forms the summit of the

Piedmont Plateau The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the Eastern United States. It is situated between the Atlantic coastal plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New York in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont ...

region in the U.S. state 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 ...

. The ridge, a gentle summit in contrast to Maryland's Appalachian ridges to the west, extends from southwest to northeast through Montgomery, Howard and Carroll counties. The highest point in Maryland east of the Appalachian Mountains, Dug Hill in northern Carroll County, at an elevation of just over 1100 feet (335 m), is a mile or two to the west of the ridge. The Patuxent and Patapsco rivers both have headwaters on the ridge. The South branch of the Patapsco's headwaters point is dubbed Parr's Spring, and is the meeting point of four of Maryland's counties: Howard, Carroll, Montgomery, and Frederick. The Spring is submerged beneath a pond on the grounds of the eponymous "Four-County Farm." The area was surveyed by John Parr in 1744, patenting the land as "Parr's Range".

David McMurtrie Gregg David McMurtrie Gregg (April 10, 1833 – August 7, 1916) was an American farmer, diplomat, and a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War. Early life and career Gregg was born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. He was the first cousin of fut ...

marched his troops through the area during the civil war on the way to Gettysburg. Maryland State Route 27 follows the course of Parr's Ridge. Communities along Parr's Ridge include, from south to north, Damascus, Mount Airy (where

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

crosses the ridge),

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

Cranberry Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus '' Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species '' Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, and Lineboro.

References

Ridges of Maryland Landforms of Montgomery County, Maryland Landforms of Howard County, Maryland Landforms of Carroll County, Maryland {{MontgomeryCountyMD-geo-stub