Walking Tour of Historic Funkstown
The Plan for a village named “Jerusalem” was unveiled by Mr. Funck in 1767. The town boasted 177 lots, each being 82 feet, 6 inches in length. The town was then in Frederick County. Early residents referred to it as “Funck’s Jerusalem Town”. By the beginning of the 19th century, it was referred to as Funck’s-Town and was incorporated as Funkstown in 1840. At the age of 67, Mr. Funck moved his family to Jefferson County, Kentucky, where he died in 1794.
- St. Paul’s Lutheran Church – 24 East Baltimore Street
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church was originally part of a Union Church that was located on Cemetery Street and dates back to 1771. St. Paul’s separated from the Union Church and built on its present site in 1850. Due to structural problems with that building, it was torn down and the present one was built in 1981. - Old Funkstown Post Office – 4 East Baltimore Street
The Funkstown Post Office was located in this building for forty years. It moved to its new location on Frederick Road in 1989. The first post office in Funkstown was opened December 25, 1816. - Joshua Williams House – 2 East Baltimore Street
This large brick house was the home of Joshua Williams. Mr. Williams was a southern sympathizer during the Civil War and tended to Rebel soldiers in his home during the Battle of Funkstown in 1862. - Boerstler House – 13, 17 West Baltimore Street
This log and stone house, circa 1792, was the property of Dr. Christian Boerstler. - Junior Order Hall – 30 West Baltimore Street
The old fire hall, Junior Order Hall, is where the present fire company was formed on May 20, 1930. It was the second location of the fire company. The restored log house was built with Chestnut logs in 1790 and was once a cabinet shop. - Stone House – 32 West Baltimore Street
This house was built in the late 1700’s to house mill workers. Originally it was a double house. There was an 1840 addition. Later it became the home of the original Krumpe’s Donut Shop. - Davis House – 29 West Baltimore Street
The Davis House, built about 1790, played an active role during the Civil War. Joseph Davis was born in Boonsboro and in 1857 he married Angela Davis, born in Batavia, New York. Although Angela was considered a Yankee by the locals, she cared for both Union and Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. - Jacob Funck House – 35 West Baltimore Street
This stone house built by Jacob Funck in 1769 is the oldest permanent house in Funkstown. Jacob Funck lived there with his wife, Ann, and their four daughters and two sons. The house is believed to have been South’s Inn in later years. It is also believed that John Brown stayed here on his way to Harper’s Ferry in 1859. - Kershner/Smith House – 46 West Baltimore Street
This house, circa 1860, is an intact example of the Italianate style. - Third Fire Hall – corner of Westside and Baltimore Streets
The Fire Company began in 1930 and was relocated to this site in 1950. The first fire company incorporated in Maryland was the Funk’s-Town Fire Company on February 28, 1827. The present company was formed in 1930. - Mill Site – behind Fire Hall
Since its beginning, Funkstown was known for its mills. The first mill was built in 1762 by Henry Funck. By 1785, Jerusalem was home to an iron furnace, brickyard, powder factory, grist and woolen mills and a host of inns and shops. The last mill was a flour mill run by the Antietam Mill Company. It burned in September of 1929. - Stone Bridge 1833
Next to the mill site is a stone bridge built over the Antietam Creek in 1833 by George Weaver. It played a large part in the operation of the mills in that it had an oak dam above it that raised the level of the Creek. This in turn allowed the water to run down a millrace and turn the water wheel and operated the mill. One of the unique features of the bridge is its three arches. They are graduated in size, small to large from east to west. A replica of the bridge and one of the mills is on sale at Town Hall. - Dunkard Church – 6 North Westside Avenue
The Funkstown Apartment building was the Dunkard Church in the 1890’s. It was the Redman Hall until it was purchased by the American Legion in 1954. A fire destroyed much of the interior of the building in 1967 and the American Legion moved to its present location. After the Legion sold the building, it became the Funkstown Apartments. On the building is a plaque recording an elevation of 479 feet above sea level at this spot. - Stone Bridge 1823
The West Side Avenue stone bridge was the first stone arch bridge over the Antietam Creek and was built by James Lloyd. It was defaced in 1931 when it was widened to accommodate traffic. This road is part of the original National Turnpike mandated by President George Washington. - Methodist Church – 102 North Antietam Street
The Methodist Church was built in 1843. Prior to its construction, the congregation met in the Union Church. The bell in the Church belfry was the first Funkstown fire alarm. The bell is now in possession of the Funkstown Fire Company. The reformed congregation met in this church when the Union Church on Cemetery Street burned in 1859. They then built the new church on Baltimore Street. - Swinging Bridge (no longer there)
At the end of North Antietam Street was a swinging foot bridge that crossed the Antietam Creek to an amusement park. - Site of Amusement Park (no longer there)
The amusement park operated under several names in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s: Watts, Willow Grove, Woodley and Electric. Electric Park came into existence in 1897 when Hagerstown Railway, owned by the Potomac Edison Company, extended trolley service to the Antietam Creek at the Funkstown Bridge. The trolley track was extended through Funkstown in 1901. - First Fire Hall – Garage
This building housed the first fire apparatus, a hand-drawn hose reel, and a little later a used chemical truck purchased from Frederick, Maryland. - Cemetery
In 1768, Jacob Funck deeded lots 138 and 139 to the residents of Jerusalem Town for a church and burial ground. Over the years, the Cemetery expanded to include almost a whole block. The oldest grave is dated 1759. A portion of lot 138 was used for burying paupers and unknown persons. It was known as “”Grace Land”. There is one gravestone that has the dates backwards. It reads, “Infant to John Shaeffer, born 1889 – died 1885”. The iron fence around the Cemetery was erected in 1905.During the Civil War, Funkstown was under military control by Company H the 6th Maryland Volunteer Infantry Regiment, formed in Washington County. Many Union and Confederate soldiers were killed in the Battle of Funkstown in 1862 and were buried in this Cemetery, but were later moved to the Cemetery at Sharpsburg and Rose Hill Cemetery in Hagerstown. - Union Church Site – North side of Cemetery Street (across from the Cemetery)
In 1771, the Lutheran and Reformed congregation, a Union congregation, bought lot 156 to erect a church. A log building was built in the summer of 1771. A large room was to be used as a sanctuary. The belfry housed a bell cast in England in 1773. To the west of the Church, a two-story log structure was added and served as a village schoolhouse. The schoolmaster lived in the lower story. The second floor was a classroom with a small room at the end which housed Funck’s Town Library. - Cinderella’s Grave – East side of Cemetery
Cinderella Morgan’s grave is marked by a large flat slab of marble bearing this inscription, “Cinderella, wife of William F. Morgan, who departed this life Saturday, June 26, 1852; age 19 years ( ) months and 11 days. The grave hath taken thee. I shall hear the rush of music and the voices of the young and life will pass me in its mantling blare. But thou no more with thy sweet live will come to cheer me Cinna.” - Edmar Manor
Edmar Manor was built in 1790 of limestone and log construction. It is believed to have been the fourth major house constructed in the town. Some of the more notable residents of the Manor were Dr. Boerstler, who treated Major McDaniel and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Later the Ball family, distant relatives of Martha Washington, occupied the Manor. It is said that some of Martha’s chine was used in this house. The property originally housed ninety-nine slaves, but the only remaining quarters, the cook’s kitchen, is now attached to the Manor house with a large gathering room. The Manor is now a bed and breakfast. - The Chaney House – 41 East Baltimore Street
The Chaney House was used as a field hospital during the Civil War. Joseph Stonebraker, a prominent citizen wrote, “The wounded were brought into town and Mrs. Chaney’s large dwelling was taken for a hospital. The surgeons had a table in the yards under some trees and amputated arms and legs like sawing limbs from a tree. It was a terrible site.”
Since 1938, the Chaney House has been Ruth’s Antique Shop. - Keller House – 32 East Baltimore Street
The front of the Keller House was the site where Major Henry Dickerson McDaniel of the Confederate 11th Georgia Infantry was laid on the sidewalk. He was wounded during the fighting near Stouffer’s barn east of town and was not expected to survive. John Stonebraker said he had “a fearful wound in his abdomen, the entrails protruding to an alarming extent.” When the army doctor was unable to help him, the town physician, Dr. Boerstler, stepped forward and dressed the wound. Two days later, Major McDaniel was captured when Union troops took possession of the Town. He was held as a prisoner of war in Ohio until his release on July 25, 1865. After returning to Georgia, Major McDaniel entered politics and was later elected Governor of Georgia. Town citizens cared for the wounded and later buried the dead where they lay. Some were buried in Funkstown Cemetery. Those bodies were later removed to Antietam or Rose Hill Cemetery. - Town Hall (formerly Christ’s German Reformed Church) – 3 East Baltimore Street
Christ’s German Reformed Church was part of the original Union Church. When the Church on Cemetery Street burned in 1859, construction began at this site in 1860. Construction was delayed a few years by the Civil War. The Church burned in 1930 and was rebuilt in 1931 at a cost of $8,000.00. The building now houses the Town Hall. - War Memorial
On July 23, 1921, at the conclusion of World War I, a war memorial was dedicated honoring those serving during the war. On July 22, 1990, the memorial was re-dedicated to all persons serving our country. - New Post Office – 29 Frederick Road
The new post office opened in May 1989 replacing the Baltimore Street office. - Town Park
The Town Park was opened in 1951. It was dedicated to Henry J. C. Harp, a long-time Funkstown resident and council member in 1986. The Civil War Battle of Funkstown re-enactment is held here annually. The Park is also the site for an annual Day in the Park Celebration in conjunction with the National Pike Days Wagon Train Festival. The land was donated by Howard Hebb.