Fort Ritchie: Abandoned Military

​The area now known as Fort Ritchie started humbly in 1889 when the Bueno Vista Ice company purchased around 400 acres as an investment property.  They had grand plans to put in a man made lake to cut ice from.  They would use the nearby Western Maryland Railroad to transport their ice from this mountain top to the homes in Baltimore, MD and Washington DC.    The first man made lake was completed by 1901 and they installed a spur line off of the Western Maryland Railroad to use for loading their ice product.  However, they did not take into account the ash and soot that the steam locomotives would disperse into the air.  Ash and soot that would land and settle on the ice in their lake.  This made the ice unusable and they had to come up with another plan.  The quickly built a second man made lake and operated successfully for many years.    

​As refrigeration became more popular the areas purpose once again changed directions.  In 1926 the Maryland National Guard built a camp on this site.   The Maryland National Guard controlled the site from the inception of the camp until 1942.    In June of 1942 the US Army turned this National Guard camp into a training camp for Military Intelligence.  The US Army now controlled this base and used it heavily.
In 1995 the Army worked to consolidate and manage their resources and in 1998 Fort Ritchie was decommissioned and the resources were transferred to nearby Fort Detrick. 
In the ensuing years the land has undergone little change.  There is a community center and a park like atmosphere. Washington County manages much of the property and keeps the grass mowed and the property secure but the buildings remain intact.   The property ownership has undergone some changes but has always been fraught with troubles that cause the ownership to remain in the hands of Washington County. 
The roads are a great place to walk and ride bikes.  The buildings stand sentinel along the roads.  As we travelled the roads we noticed that the buildings close to the entrance were well taken care of and locked up.  But as we moved further into the outskirts of the camp we started to notice that buildings were starting to show more and more signs of neglect.  The doors had been busted down and it was possible to walk through the buildings and explore.  We did not break into any building but if the building was open we entered!

​Walking through Fort Ritchie is a great way to get some exercise.  It is a fascinating view into life at a military camp.   We were enthralled and will be back again!