8 Best Sights in Frederick, Frederick and Western Maryland

From an outstretched hand to a Constellation shaped like a drinking gourd, dozens of images and symbols are woven into this sweeping and remarkable trompe-l'oeil mural, which makes a humble concrete bridge appear ivy-covered and made of intricately carved stone. The public art is the work of nationally known artist William Cochran who used ideas submitted by Frederick residents and others nationwide as inspiration. The bridge and the waterway it spans are part of the multimillion-dollar construction, development, and renovation efforts that revitalized the Carroll Creek Park area. Restaurants offer outside seating along the walkways that flank the creek and bands play during summer festivals. Thousands of visitors now enjoy this area's charms year-round.

Named for a prominent family that helped settle Frederick, this former historic flour mill overlooking Frederick's Community Bridge now houses art exhibits as well as art classes and programs—and admission is free. A gift shop sells fine jewelry and local crafts and the new sculpture garden is well worth a visit.

After more than three decades in a previous location, a new Frederick Visitor Center is expected to open in early 2011 near the new I–70 interchange on East Street. The Tourism Council of Frederick County is renovating the circa-1899 industrial warehouse; as of this writing, construction was well underway. In addition to maps, brochures, and displays highlighting regional attractions and amenities, the new center will boast a 2,200-square foot exhibit area, an orientation film about Frederick County, and expanded restroom facilities. Guided 90-minute walking tours will leave from the center on weekends (Saturday at 11 am; Sunday at 1:30 pm), from May through October.

Francis Scott Key—who penned "The Star Spangled Banner"—Barbara Fritchie, and the state's first governor, Thomas Johnson, rest in this cemetery, which dates to the 1850s. Tidy rows of graves (some inscribed to unknown children), pay tribute to Union and Confederate troops who perished in the battles of Antietam and Monocacy.

The critical role that early medicine played in the Civil War is front and center at this museum, believed to be the only one of its kind. Housed in a former funeral home that prepped the bodies of soldiers who died at Antietam, it's said that ghostly footsteps sometimes echo in the night. By day, a soundtrack of moans and groans plays as visitors wander past a life-size tableau of soldiers preparing to amputate a comrade's leg. A Civil War ambulance, hospital tent, and various surgical instruments testify to the advances in technology that the war fostered. The museum also highlights the documented but barely-known role of black Civil War doctors and nurses, and camp life for black soldiers. Finally, letters written by wounded patients illustrate humanity amid the tragedies of war.

Taney began his law career in Frederick, but is best known as the Chief Supreme Court Justice who wrote the controversial 1857 Dred Scott decision. Taney's opinion, which said that slaves were not citizens and therefore had no Constitutional rights, helped move the country toward Civil War. The brick Federal-style home turned museum offers insight into Taney's life (his wife was the sister of his law partner, Francis Scott Key), middle-class life in the late 1800s, and the slaves he owned. A bust of Taney stands at Frederick's City Hall Plaza, a few feet from a plaque explaining the Dred Scott ruling.

The home of Maryland's first governor, Thomas Johnson, the mansion has been reinvented as a children's museum. Costumed interpreters lead kids through the house and grounds, where they can dress up in period clothing, weave on a loom, and play with reproductions of toys from the 1700s and 1800s. Visitors can also explore a collection of carriages, a log cabin and blacksmith shop, herb gardens, and a smokehouse.

Believed to be the oldest house in Frederick, this unusual stone structure was built in 1756 by German immigrants. Spared from the wrecking ball two decades ago by preservation-minded citizens, the house-turned-museum is considered one of the finest examples of German architecture in Colonial America. The privately owned home is staffed by volunteers; open days and hours vary.