Middletown, Maryland

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Middletown is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,668 at the 2000 census. Middletown is a small, rural community steeped in American history. Located in the beautiful Middletown Valley that stretches between the Catoctin Mountains on the east and South Mountain on the west, the town reportedly gained its name from its location midway between those ranges. A young Lieutenant George Washington, while surveying the South Mountain area, reported that the valley to the east was one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen. Later, as a Colonel in 1755, he was to accompany General Braddock on the old Indian Trail that ran through the valley on his way to Fort Cumberland. The early German and English settlers started to arrive in the valley in the 1730s. Among them was Michael Jesserong, who paid £66 for 50 acres. He named his property Middletown and sold the first lots there in 1767, the date officially marked as that of the town’s founding. The history of Middletown is a mirror on the nation’s development. Main Street spread to the west with construction of the National Pike through the town in 1806; the telegraph lines from Frederick to Hagerstown were routed through Middletown in 1854; and in 1896, car 11 of the Frederick Middletown Railway made its first run to Middletown. During the Civil War, both armies passed through the town to the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. In the aftermath of those battles, Middletown opened its churches and homes to care for the wounded. Middletown continues to evolve from a settlement of farmers and ranchers to one of tradesmen, craftsmen, businessmen, clergymen, commuters, and retired folk— without losing its agricultural roots. From the stately old Victorian-style homes and soaring church steeples to the rustic dairy farms and modern housing developments, residents find in Middletown a refuge where they can enjoy small-town life as it used to be.