Maryland Portion of Journey Through Hallowed Ground Receives National Scenic Byway Designation

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WATERFORD, Va., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Journey Through Hallowed Ground is pleased to report the Federal Highway Administration today designated the Maryland portion of the Journey, also known as the Catoctin Mountain Highway, a National Scenic Byway at an official ceremony in Washington, DC.

"Our vision is to have the entire 175-mile Journey, from Gettysburg to Monticello, designated as a National Scenic Byway, and this first national designation for Maryland is extremely well deserved. We are immensely grateful to our Maryland partners for leading the way," said Cate Magennis Wyatt, executive director, The Journey Through Hallowed Ground. "This designation will help heritage tourism initiatives along The Journey Through Hallowed Ground corridor and gives us yet another compelling reason to invite all Americans to take the Journey and see where America happened."

The Catoctin Mountain Highway, the portion of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground that follows Route 15 through Maryland, is known for its historic as well as its natural resources. "This road is the thread that weaves a path through the historic Main Street Communities of Frederick and Thurmont, to the historic areas of Emmitsburg, Point of Rocks and Brunswick, to the natural beauty of the Catoctin Mountains and Cunningham State Falls," said John Fieseler, executive director, Tourism Council of Frederick County.

With this designation, the Maryland partners in the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Initiative will be eligible for additional federal funding, plus technical assistance and support. It means that The Journey Through Hallowed Ground's Catoctin Mountain Highway will be included in future American Byways maps published by the Department of Transportation, with the benefit of boosting tourism to the area. "This is a tremendous cultural and promotional opportunity for the Frederick area," said Fieseler.

[There are over 30 sites of interest along this portion of The Journey Through Hallowed Ground. See http://www.hallowedground.org/ for a complete list and description.]

The National Scenic Byways program is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. This program is a grass-roots collaborative effort established to help recognize, preserve and enhance selected roads throughout the United States. The program was established in 1991. Since 1992, the National Scenic Byways Program has provided almost $300,000,000 funding for 1,665 State and nationally designated byway projects in 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation recognizes certain roads as American Byways -- All-American Roads or National Scenic Byways -- based on one or more archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic intrinsic qualities. There are 125 Scenic Byways in the United States.

[The Journey Through Hallowed Ground has just received a one million dollar grant through the recently passed Federal Transportation Bill that will seed the corridor management plan and implementation primarily for the Virginia portion of the Journey, linking through Maryland and Pennsylvania.]

The Journey Through Hallowed Ground is a public-private partnership and 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to raising national awareness of the heritage and cultural resources along the US Route 15 corridor, often referred to as the Old Carolina Road, from Gettysburg, Pa., to Monticello, Va. This 175-mile historic corridor was designated as one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by The National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2005. The Journey Through Hallowed Ground is Where America Happened -- a corridor that holds more American history than any other swath of land in the United States. For more information, visit The Journey Through Hallowed Ground's web site at http://www.hallowedground.org/.



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