Weverton, Maryland facts for kids
Weverton is a small community in the southern part of Washington County, Maryland, United States. It's located close to the Potomac River. About 500 people live here. Weverton is found where two roads meet: MD Route 67 and U.S. Route 340.
Nearby towns include Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, which is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the west, and Brunswick, about 2.7 miles (4.3 km) to the east. Weverton is about 410 feet (125 meters) above sea level.
The Weverton Cliffs are a famous spot on the Appalachian Trail. These cliffs are at the end of South Mountain, where the Potomac River cuts through. Many hikers know these cliffs because they are almost halfway along the long Appalachian Trail.
Weverton is also the starting point for a 79-mile (127 km) train line called the Metropolitan Subdivision, which runs all the way to Washington, D.C.. This line is used by CSX Transportation.
Weverton's Past: A Look at Its History
Weverton was started in the 1820s. People hoped it would become a busy town with mills that used the power of the Potomac River. They also planned to use the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal for transportation.
The community was created by Caspar Wever. He was a main engineer for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Caspar Wever was very good at building arch bridges made of stone, and some of his bridges are still used today! Later, plans for selling land didn't work out, and floods damaged a factory and other businesses.
Several homes in the area were built before the American Civil War. During the war, small battles happened nearby, and different army groups passed through Weverton. This included soldiers involved in the Battle of South Mountain and the Battle of Antietam.
The Weverton community you see today is not exactly where the original town was. The old site is now partly under the CSX train tracks and partly under the modern U.S. Route 340. Weverton even had its own post office until 1951. After that, its mail services moved to the Knoxville post office in nearby Frederick County.
Weverton's Unique Soil: The Weverton Series
Scientists at the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) have named a special type of soil after Weverton. It's called the Weverton Series. This soil is often found on the ridges of the upper Blue Ridge Mountains. It's made up of rocky, loamy soil with a top layer of leaves and other plant material from hardwood trees.
