By 1923 much of the town of Smithsburg had been built, and now, a century later, not much has changed. Pleasantly, Smithsburg retains its 19th-century charm and the town center is largely unencumbered by modern development. The town boundaries have been pushed out to accommodate some housing developments over the years and that has brought the population to…

It’s the thrill of the hunt. Whether stalking game for supper or the day’s best bargain, finding what you seek is always satisfying. While some folks insist only new things will do, others turn a savvy eye to second-hand shops for “new-to-me” treasures.

KIX guitarist Brian Forsythe was sitting in a jail cell thinking about how it could all go so wrong. “I had visions of being on an arena stage, and here I was,” says Forsythe, who had been arrested on drug charges. “I couldn’t believe that my life had changed so much.”

Humans are wired to crave sweets. It makes us happy, if not just a little buzzed. From our ancient ancestors’ yen for berries and honey to the modern-day candy isle, everyone needs a treat every now and then. When hunting for sweets, Olympia Candy Kitchen in Hagerstown is a great place to start.

Whether you’re in the market for fine antiques, a cozy stay at a bed and breakfast, an accountant to do your taxes, or just a good beer, we’ve got it in our annual reader’s poll list of the best of Hagerstown and Washington County. Here are the restaurants, businesses, professionals, and entertainment venues that our readers picked as the best.

Diane Smith and her family were living in Rockville, Maryland, when they purchased a fixer-upper in Big Pool. One day, Smith drove through Hancock on an errand and saw that the Lockhouse restaurant on East Main Street was for sale.

Airline food may be fodder for comedians, but The Grille at Runways is no joke. This destination restaurant boasts first-class fare and some of the best views around for aviation enthusiasts.

The new look of professional baseball in Hagerstown extends beyond a new name, new uniforms, and a new stadium. The league the Flying Boxcars will play in when they take the field in the spring of 2024 is different from the Minor League Baseball system that the Hagerstown Suns played in from 1981 to 2020.

“Life in the Ukraine was very disturbing—sirens sound every day and this means that missiles and suicide bombers are flying somewhere over the city,” says 76-year-old Svitlana Rochniak. “You don’t know where they will fly. Rockets flew into our city, suicide bombers came into the park next to our house. The facility in the factory where my brother works was bombed, and the research institute where my mom worked was bombed.”

Winter offers us a chance to spend evenings by a cozy fire or curled up on the couch watching a good Netflix series. Of course, when the days get longer and the nights colder, cabin fever can sometimes set in and those quiet evenings at home become mundane.

Hagerstown’s love affair with baseball spans nearly the entire history of the sport, although like most relationships, it has been a somewhat up-and-down affair. The Western Maryland Historical Library tells us the Hagerstown Base Ball Club was…

As a native of Hagerstown, Mayor Tekesha Martinez has seen the ebbs and flows of the economic development of Hub City.
“I grew up going downtown with grandfather,” remembers the 45-year-old.“ Downtown was where you’d go to get pizza. I would go to McCroy’s to get my school supplies…

Josh Goldman has stuff. Lots of stuff. Lots and lots of old stuff. He loves stuff. He keeps it all in his 20,000-square-foot…

A decade ago, if you wanted a bottle of wine, a six-pack of beer, or smooth whiskey in Washington County, you headed to a liquor store and bought something from France, Milwaukee, or Scotland. Today, your options aren’t limited to mass-produced bottles or cans from far-away places. No matter where you live in Washington County, it’s only a short drive to great…

For decades, staff and many visitors at Antietam National Battlefield knew too well about the notorious support column that stood inside the front entrance of the park’s visitor center. The pole’s awkward placement, in the middle of a busy lobby, was more than an eyesore.

Shirley Liu and her husband Reggie are the owners and operators of a quaint little Asian restaurant hidden away on John F. Kennedy Drive in Hagerstown. If you aren’t looking for it, you might easily miss it…

Every year in the US, there are tens of thousands of new business start-ups, only a fraction of which will become successful companies. Business incubators- special programs combining office and work space, specialized training and mentorship - can guide these entrepreneurs as they turn their dreams into reality.

There’s a saying when it comes to writing: Write what you know.

For author Roberta L. Greenwald of Williamsport, that’s setting novels in Washington County and also Ocean City, Maryland, places familiar to her.

Understanding community and the importance of sustaining it is what makes a community thrive. In North Hagerstown there sits a 3-story refurbished bank barn that is doing just this—helping sustain a thriving and diverse community. The Market Hub, conceived by owner Jill Hudson, is home to 103 local vendors…

Franklin D. Roosevelt became President in 1933, and immediately sent to Congress an ambitious legislative package designed to get the country back on its feet. In FDR’s program was the establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps, a public works program, which put otherwise unemployed young men…