Emmitsburg travel guide

Emmitsburg was founded in 1785 and is in Frederick County, Maryland, just south of the Mason-Dixon line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania.
Emmitsburg was the site the Union had originally fortified to stop the Confederate invasion of the north in June of 1863. Half the town was burned to the ground in a mysterious fire on the night of June 23. Folklore has it that 'The Great Fire,' as it was known, was started by a Union sympathizer to prevent advancing Confederates from taking supplies from the town. However fate spared the town a battle - which took place 12 miles north of it in the adjoining town of Gettysburg. The town was briefly held by the retreating Confederates on July 4th.
Emmitsburg's population was 2,290 at the 2000 census. It is the home of Mount St. Mary's University. The National Fire Academy is also located in Emmitsburg on the former campus of St. Joseph's College - today known as the National Emergency Training Center.
The current mayor of Emmitsburg is James E. "Jim" Hoover. The town's newspaper is The Emmitsburg Dispatch. (...) more....