Published: August 30, 2008 11:55 pm         

Braddock Stone will sit in new gazebo

FROSTBURG — Finally. Well, almost finally, the Braddock Stone has a home.

Once the appropriate gazebo is built alongside the Frostburg Museum at the old Hill Street Elementary School, the one-ton, engraved rock from the mid-1700s will finally be pulled out of storage and put on public display.

The stone indicated distances to places such as Fort Cumberland (11 miles) and Capt. Smyth’s Inn & Bridge Big Crossing (29 miles). It is currently being stored by the Allegany County Board of Education after attempts to place it in the old Beall High School and then in the new Mountain Ridge High School did not come to pass.

The stone is named for Gen. Edward Braddock, who marched with 2,000 soldiers through Western Maryland to a disastrous end.

The expedition against Fort Duquesne took place during the French and Indian War. The troops took a path that George Washington had marked two years before, but were surprised by 900 French and Indians near Fort Duquesne. Braddock died of wounds received there. More than half of his troops and most of his officers were killed or wounded.

Frostburg Museum Curator Garry Ritchie is looking for donated materials and manpower to build the gazebo. Ritchie points out that such donations are tax-deductible.

Contact Ritchie at (301) 689-1195.