[BSW] New field trip Saturday, April 17 at 10am to Ferry Hill

[KATHY BILTON]

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 4 at 7pm.
Speaker: Ivalú Cacho
Topic: Caribbean Slipper Spurges

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A 4th spring field trip for Saturday, April 17 at 10 am has been added, 
this one to Ferry Hill, across the Potomac from Shepherdstown, WV.  (From 
Rockville, it's just over an hour away.)

The circuit trail is about 1.5 miles and while not rugged there are a few 
hills through the woods towards the end of the trail. If one did not want 
to do the whole circuit, one could leave once the towpath section of the 
trail had finished.

I've been thinking of suggesting this trip for years, and was spurred on 
Friday when I saw the Shooting Stars just beginning to bloom. It should be 
quite showy by next weekend. Lots of spring ephemerals should still be in 
evidence, including Mitella diphylla and eye-level Asarum canadense.

Among the many things to see are the Atlantic White Cedars that Larry 
Morse wrote about in a 1983 article for Castanea:
http://botsoc.org/Larry_Thuja_MD.pdf

Another site could be visited later in the day if people were interested. 
Some possibilites: Snyder's Landing (4 miles), Snavely Trail (5 miles), 
Shannondale (30 minutes).

Things to bring: lunch, water, binoculars, handlens, field guides, 
sunscreen, mask, walking stick

Please email me to let me know you are planning to come and to find out 
the specific meeting spot. The trip will be limited to 10 people. 
kathy at fred.net

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Ferry Hill is the name of the mansion built in 1820 which overlooks the 
Potomac River and Shepherdstown.

Ferry Hill witnessed the Civil War firsthand with Union troop encampments 
on the hill and officers enjoying the comforts of the house. Just prior to 
the Battle of Antietam in 1862, Henry Kyd Douglas gazed across the Potomac 
from Shepherdstown and saw Ferry Hill over-run by Union troops and his 
parents held captive in their own home.


History notes regarding the bridge below Ferry Hill:

January 29, 1819 Maryland passes "An act incorporating a Company to erect 
a Toll Bridge across the Potomac River, opposite Shepherd's-Town"

1850s construction begins on a covered bridge on stone abutments across 
the Potomac that is completed prior to 1852. Total cost of $21,255.

Over the years, the bridge at this spot was destroyed 3 times by war or by 
flood.  The current James Rumsey bridge was opened in 2005, shortly before 
the 1939 bridge was demolished.