Grantsville
A Heritage of Hospitality
When the National Road came through here in 1815, this settlement was a half mile away along the old Braddock Road. This “New Grantsville” developed just west of the Casselman Bridge, completed a few years earlier. About a dozen buildings were moved from “Old Grantsville” to take advantage of the new road and the prosperity it would bring.
Entrepreneurs built several hotels, allowing weary travelers to rest. The National Hotel opened its doors right across the street, at the center of town, in 1837. The Casselman Drovers Inn followed in 1842. Between 1843 and 1852, as many as 14 stagecoaches a day were rolling through in both directions.
As late as 1892, a traveler staying nearby noted “there would be thirty-six horse teams, one hundred Kentucky mules, one thousand hogs and as many fat cattle in adjoining fields. The music made by this large number of hogs eating corn on a frosty night I will never forget.”
(photograph legends)
The Casselman Hotel, 1907, located just east of here. Driving sheep, cattle, geese and even turkeys to the big city markets in the east, hearty drovers welcomed the inn's large pens and corrals as well as hot food and a real bed after a long day on the National Road. Open since 1824, the Inn still welcomes travelers.
Henry Fuller built the National Hotel, the finest in Grantsville, in 1837. The hotel, which survived until 1984, was still a popular stop when this photograph was taken in 1909.
Grantsville, with the Victoria Hotel on the left, c. 1912, by Leo Beachy. Grantsvlle was lucky to have a gifted photographer in Leo Beachy (1874–1927), who was a lifelong resident of the town.
Marker is at the intersection of Main Street (Alternate U.S. 40) and Bittinger Road (Maryland Route 495), on the right when traveling east on Main Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
