My Search for the Black Rock Hotel.
I'm fascinated by History. From my office I am at the foothills of South Mountain and can view Black Rock. (I want to take a picture the opposite way from there to my office - how cool would that be?) In talking to some church members, they gave me some history. One is a man whose father, built a log cabin from the lumber of South Mountain. He generously gave me these two pictures to scan. (I haven't found any others online and just some scarce history about the ole Black Rock Hotel)
"Black Rock is located just over the crest of the Mountain, over looking Washington County and Hagerstown to the west. About 20 years after Reason’s return visit to Wolfsville the Black Rock Road was built across the mountain toward Hagerstown, passing to the northside of
Black Rock. This was in 1876 while Wolfsville’sDaniel Biser was a County Commissioner.About four years later Jacob Drill Wolfe built a
hotel at Black Rock Spring. Both this hotel andthe second “Black Rock House” built about1906 on the same site fell victims to mountain fires."
Source
Black Rock, MD
By the time Jack D Wolf, whose family gave its name to nearby Wolfsville, had opened the Black Rock Hotel here in the mid 19th century, the name Black Rock was already in currency. The hotel prospered until it burnt in 1880. Shortly afterwards, Wolf's wife and daughter died. Despondent, Wolf moved to NY, where he grew wealthy marketing a formula for tapeworm medicine. In 1907, he returned to Wolfsville and rebuilt the hotel. It was considered fine accomodations, but was too remote to prosper once again. It fell into disrepair, then was destroyed by arson in the 1920s. Source: Appalachian Trial Names by David Edwin Lillard
My goal is this Spring to hike the A.T. (Lord, willing)and find the remains of where the hotel was near Black Rock. Anyone want to join me? HT to the Huntsberrys for these photos.
Comments
Thanks