1944 Map of Keddysville

About this map

Antietam National Cemetery and the surrounding Sharpsburg countryside define this wartime landscape, captured just as the Soil Conservation Service and the War Department coordinated mapping for military readiness. The terrain is structured by the sharp rise of South Mountain to the east and the winding course of Antietam Creek to the west. Evidence of the region’s nineteenth-century infrastructure remains prominent, from the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal following the Potomac River to the Baltimore and Ohio railroad connecting small rural hubs like Rohrersville Station and Keedysville. Local life is anchored by family-named landmarks and small crossroads such as Eakles Mill, Zittlestown, and Mt Briar. The map also preserves early 20th-century recreational and navigational markers, including the Appalachian Trail ridge walk and several towers like the USFS Lookout Tower and the Lambs Knoll station.