Parr's Ridge is a

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

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 Plain and the Blue Ridge Mountains, stretching from New York in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont Province i ...

region in the U.S. state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. The ridge, a gentle summit in contrast to Maryland's Appalachian ridges to the west, extends from southwest to northeast through Montgomery,

Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...

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 fu ...

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

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, Mount Airy (where

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

crosses the ridge),

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

Cranberry Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to long and in height; they have slender stems that are not th ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, and Lineboro.

References

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