South Mountain Log House c.1850

Settled in the fertile Middletown Valley at the eastern base of South Mountain, Burkittsville, Maryland, boasts a rich history spanning over two centuries as an agricultural, commercial, and Civil War crossroads.

Early Settlement and Founding (1700s–1828)

English and German immigrants began acquiring land grants in the region during the early-to-mid 18th century, drawing on fertile soil for wheat farming and orchards along older Native American trail intersections. The town owes its earliest growth to Joshua Harley, who opened a post office at a prominent crossroads around 1824, leading the hamlet to be known briefly as “Harley’s Post.” Following Harley’s death in 1828, neighboring landowner Henry Burkitt expanded the town’s footprint, laid out lots on his property, and officially named the village Burkittsville.

Rural Commerce and Antebellum Growth (1830s–1860)

Throughout the antebellum period, Burkittsville flourished as an essential commercial hub for the surrounding agricultural community. Blacksmiths, tanneries, dry goods stores, wheelwrights, and churches—such as the Resurrection Reformed Church (1829) and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church (1859)—were established to support the growing population.
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CRAMPTON”S GAP HISTORIC DISTRICT

The Crampton’s Gap Historic District is a nationally recognized historic landscape spanning 3,494 acres across Frederick and Washington Counties, Maryland. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 12, 2011, the district encompasses the battlefield, road networks, structures, and surrounding agricultural terrain associated with the Civil War Battle of South Mountain on September 14, 1862.

Historical Significance & Military Context

The district is eligible under National Register Criterion A in military history as the southern theater of the Battle of South Mountain, fought three days prior to the Battle of Antietam. Major General William B. Franklin led the Union VI Corps up the eastern slopes of South Mountain via Burkittsville to assault Confederate troops defending the mountain pass at Crampton’s Gap. The successful Union breakthrough forced a Confederate retreat into the Pleasant Valley. Following the engagement, surrounding farmsteads, residences, and churches across the gap and village were commandeered as field hospitals.
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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COMMUNITY OF COATSVILLE

Situated along the base of South Mountain just south of Burkittsville along Maryland Route 17, Coatsville is a historic post-Civil War African American hamlet in Frederick County, Maryland. Its history and cultural significance are deeply intertwined with the legacy of slavery, emancipation, and the self-determination of Black rural communities in the Middletown Valley.

Origins & Historic Background

Before emancipation, much of the land that became Coatsville consisted of timber tracts and woodlots held by wealthy landowners in the surrounding Merryland Tract and local plantations, such as the nearby Needwood plantation. Beginning in the years immediately surrounding the Civil War and continuing through the Reconstruction era, freed families who had formerly been enslaved on local estates acquired small parcels carved out of these timber lots to construct their own homes and establish an independent community.
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THE CIVIL WAR BATTLE OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN

Fought on September 14, 1862, the Battle of South Mountain—encompassing the key mountain passes at Turner’s, Fox’s, and Crampton’s Gaps—was a critical turning point in Robert E. Lee’s first Northern invasion during the Maryland Campaign.

Strategic Trigger: The Lost Order & A Divided Army

After General Lee divided the Army of Northern Virginia to capture the Federal garrison at Harpers Ferry, Union Major General George B. McClellan unexpectedly discovered a lost copy of Lee’s operational plan (Special Order 191). Realizing Lee’s forces were separated, McClellan launched a rapid advance west toward the South Mountain range to force his way through the gaps and defeat the Confederate segments individually.
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RENOVATION LOAN PROPOSAL

Restoration Opportunity: 5506-B Burkittsville Road, Burkittsville, MD

Offered at $275,000

This c.1850 farmhouse sits on 1.12 acres next to state parkland at the foot of South Mountain. It has three bedrooms, two baths and original wood floors, wainscoting and built-ins. Restoration is already partly done, and there is a barn ready to be brought back.

One loan for the purchase and the restoration

With a renovation mortgage, you can roll the purchase price and the remaining restoration costs into a single loan.

Loan programs to ask your lender about

• FHA 203(k): for owner-occupants, with a low down payment.
• Fannie Mae HomeStyle and Freddie Mac CHOICERenovation: conventional renovation loans for primary homes, second homes and some investment properties.

The lender reviews your contractor’s bids and an appraisal of the house’s value after the work is done. The money for the work is held after closing and paid out to the contractor in stages as the work is completed.

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