The Morgantowner: Franklin and Fulton Counties, Part Three: Fulton County

Day four of this trip (December 15) was to Fulton County, just west of Franklin County over Tuscarora Mountain, in what was the wilderness before the American Revolution. It's twenty-two miles from Chambersburg, the seat of Franklin County, to McConnellsburg, the seat of Fulton County, along Pennsylvania Route 16, and U.S. 30, The Lincoln Highway. There are fewer than 15,000 residents, making Fulton the fourth smallest county in Pennsylvania by population. I've been to the smallest and third smallest, Cameron and Forest. This is also the county with the highest percentage of votes for the last president in the 2020 election in Pennsylvania, with more than 85% of the votes for the then-incumbent. The population is more than 98% White and English-speaking.

I left the motel in Chambersburg about nine for the short drive over the mountain. The weather was much cooler on the west side of the mountain, and overcast, just as Morgantown seems much cooler and cloudier than cities in Maryland across the mountains. There are eight places on the National Register of Historic Places, and I visited six of them. McConnellsburg is only a few square blocks in size. There is a pretty central business district along Route 16, and an imposing courthouse.

A few miles north of town, in Dublin Township, is Burnt Cabins, named because the Native Americans sued settlers who had moved into their territory and the U.S. Government burned the settlers' cabins. It was a short-lived victory for the Native Americans. Today there is a small community, a church, a post office and an old grist mill. The Pennsylvania Turnpike is downhill from the village.

On the way back to McConnellsburg, I visited Cowan's Gap State Park in Todd Township, a Works Progress Administration project with an artificial lake, and beach, and historic cabins. I enjoyed the quiet there in the off-season.

Back in town, I looked for a place to eat. There were two restaurants on Lincoln Way, both closed at noon on a weekday, and a McDonald's and a Sheetz, the gas station-convenience store that is ubiquitous in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and some places in Maryland and Ohio. I opted for Sheetz, got a chicken, cheese and marinara sub on their "healthy" menu, toasted, an apple, a Diet Coke, and a cookie, for a total of about six dollars. The drink was free on points. I ordered on their touchscreen and the sandwich was waiting at the cashiers by the time I got my drink. They had a seating area off to the side. I was the only one eating there. The store was crowded; it must be where everyone goes who doesn't go to McDonald's. If I saw fifty people, five of us were masked.

After lunch, I walked around a bit in town, then drove south on U.S. 522. which passes from McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania to Hancock, Maryland to Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, to Winchester, Virginia over a sixty mile stretch. There are only three miles in Maryland separating Pennsylvania and West Virginia. I was home by four, in time for a nap and dinner.