Hagerstown, Maryland, United States

🇺🇸 Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States and the county seat of Washington County. Hagerstown ranks as Maryland's sixth-largest incorporated city and is the largest city in the Panhandle.

Hagerstown has a distinct topography, formed by stone ridges running from north-east to south-west through the centre of town. Geography accordingly bounds its neighborhoods. These ridges consist of upper Stonehenge limestone. Many of the older buildings were built from this stone, which is easily quarried and dressed onsite. It whitens in weathering and the edgewise conglomerate and wavy laminae become distinctly visible, giving a handsome and uniquely "Cumberland Valley" appearance. Several of Hagerstown's churches are constructed of Stonehenge limestone. Its value and beauty as building rock may be seen particularly in St. John's Episcopal Church on West Antietam Street and the Presbyterian Church at the corner of Washington and Prospect Streets. Brick and concrete eventually displaced this native stone in the construction process.

Hagerstown anchors the Hagerstown metropolitan area, which lies just north-west of the Washington–Baltimore–Northern Virginia, DC–MD–VA–WV Combined Statistical Area in the heart of the Great Appalachian Valley. The population of the metropolitan area in 2010 was 269,140. Greater Hagerstown is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the state of Maryland and among the fastest growing in the United States, as of 2009.

Despite its semi-rural Western Maryland setting, Hagerstown is a centre of transit and commerce. Interstates 81 and 70, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Winchester and Western railroads, and Hagerstown Regional Airport form an extensive transportation network for the city. Hagerstown is also the chief commercial and industrial hub for a greater Tri-State Area that includes much of Western Maryland as well as significant portions of South Central Pennsylvania and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Hagerstown has often been referred to as, and is nicknamed, the Hub City.

Economy Once primarily an industrial community, Hagerstown's economy depended heavily on railroad transportation and manufacturing, notably of aircraft, trucks, automobiles, textiles, and furniture. Today, the city has a diversified, stable business environment with modern service companies in various fields as well as continued strength in manufacturing and transportation in railroads and highways. Surrounding Hagerstown, there has been and continues to be a strong agricultural presence while tourism, especially with respect to the retail sector, also provides support to the local economy.

Healthcare • Meritus Medical Center (a part of Meritus Health), acute care inpatient and outpatient facility. • Western Maryland Hospital Center, chronic-care state-run health center. • Brook Lane Psychiatric Center, private mental health facility.

Retail Hagerstown-Washington County boasts one of the highest densities of retail in the country. Hagerstown has 2 major shopping malls: • Hagerstown Premium Outlets, a 100+ store outlet mall which attracts visitors from Washington and Baltimore as well as nearby counties. • Valley Mall, anchored by JCPenney, Belk, Old Navy, and Regal Cinemas 16.

Looking north along I-81 from MD 58 in Hagerstown

Highways • Interstate 70 (runs east to Baltimore and west to Utah) • Interstate 81 (runs north to Northern New York and south to Eastern Tennessee) • U.S. Route 11 (runs parallel to I-81) • U.S. Route 40 (runs parallel to I-70) • 
 U.S. Route 40 Alternate (runs parallel to US 40 in Western Maryland) • Maryland Route 58 • Maryland Route 60 • Maryland Route 64 • Maryland Route 65 • Maryland Route 144 • Maryland Route 632.

Mass transportation • Washington County Transit buses provide transportation within the city. More limited service is available to surrounding communities in Washington County. • The Maryland Transit Administration operates the 505 Commuter Bus on weekdays to Shady Grove Metro Station, where riders can transfer to WMATA Red Line to reach Washington, D.C. • Miller Cabs and Turner Vans service the Hagerstown area but are usually available only upon request. Downtown Taxi! offers cab service people can hail in the downtown vicinity. • Greyhound Lines and Atlantic Charter Buses provide coach bus service to major cities near and far including directly to Baltimore, Harrisburg, Richmond, and Washington. • Hagerstown Regional Airport (IATA: HGR, ICAO: KHGR, FAA LID: HGR), also known as Richard A. Henson Field, is located approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) due north of Hagerstown off U.S. Route 11 and Interstate 81. It is a frequent landing site for the U.S. President on the way to Camp David. The airport is commercially serviced by Allegiant Air with flights to and from Orlando Sanford International Airport, Myrtle Beach, and St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Alternatively, Washington Dulles International Airport, Washington National Airport, BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, and Harrisburg International Airport offer more extensive flight destinations and are all within 60 miles (97 km) to 75 miles (121 km) of Hagerstown. • Despite being at the crossroads of CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Winchester and Western railroads, there is no passenger rail service in Hagerstown. Martinsburg, WV offers Amtrak and MARC Train service to Union Station in Washington, D.C., while Frederick offers MARC commuter rail service as well.