State to use Old South Mountain Inn to focus on Civil War Battle of South Mountain

While plans for a visitor's center at the Old South Mountain Inn are still fluid, the Maryland Park Service hopes to use the historic building to educate visitors about the Battle of South Mountain, a precursor to the brutal Battle of Antietam during the Civil War.

The South Mountain State Battlefield is among the parks included in the South Mountain Recreational Area. But Sarah Milbourne, acting Western Region manager for the Maryland Park Service, said the visitor center would benefit all five of the state parks in the area.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources completed the purchase of the inn and 3.15 acres surrounding it last month.

The South Mountain Recreation Area includes the battlefield, South Mountain State Park, Gathland State Park, Greenbrier State Park and Washington Monument State Park. The property adjoins South Mountain State Park.

"We want it to be a central point for the battlefield and even have visitor services that would benefit likely Greenbrier and the complex itself," Milbourne said, "but primarily, it's going to focus on the South Mountain battle and the battlefield."

But there isn't a timeline yet for when the center would open. "We don't want to move too quickly without consulting stakeholders and partners in the area," Milbourne said.

"That's a big thing for us; we're very fortunate to have great relationships with many partners who are also telling the similar stories that we are, and we want to make sure to involve input from the community, input from those stakeholders, input from tourism."

Milbourne said the park service wants to move forward with a thought-out, planned process, "to make the best of that gorgeous building."

She said the park service is working with other state agencies to make any repairs and help park officials "with historic preservation and understanding what we should do with that building.

"So that's part of that stakeholder meeting process, like ... what do people think about that and moving forward? Can we keep the integrity of the building by allowing that to remain, or do we explore other opportunities to bring it back to its former glory, if you will."

Those things wouldn't be decided without consulting with other divisions within DNR or with the Washington County community, she said.

The inn was founded as early as 1732 — the year George Washington was born — and served initially as a wagon stand for traffic passing on the National Road, as a private residence from the 1870s to 1920s, then later as a tavern and restaurant, according to records from the Boonsboro Historical Society.

The property, at 6132 Old National Pike south of Boonsboro, is near Antietam Battlefield and Washington Monument State Park.

Right now, Washington Monument State Park is the main place to go for information on the South Mountain battlefield. But that will shift to the inn when the center is opened, Milbourne said.

"We're working to create places for people to go to to get as much information as they can, not just about (South Mountain Recreation Area), but there also will be opportunities to explore or to gather information about other state parks in the general area, Milbourne said, including state parks in Frederick County.

But "predominantly, it's going to be about South Mountain and the surrounding parks that are under that complex," she said.

The immediate strategy, however, is to protect and maintain the building even before plans for the center are finalized.

Those plans will be made once DNR officials hear from local partners and the public, she said.

"As a state agency, public input is incredibly important to us because it is about really what Washington County wants to see this very old building become, and it matches with what the Department of Natural Resources wants to do," she added.

"We're desperately trying to find more lands and more places" to ensure access to historic places, "but also more recreational opportunities as well."

DNR purchased the property for nearly $2 million.

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This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: State seeks local vision for visitor center at Old South Mountain Inn