Maryland Route 550

File:2016-09-20 15 26 19 View north along Maryland State Route 550 (Creagerstown Road) just north of Longs Mill Road in Creagerstown, Frederick County, Maryland.jpg

MD 550 begins at an intersection with MD 26 (Main Street) in the unincorporated village of Libertytown and heads northwest as Woodsboro Road.{{Maryland grid map|sections=B10C, B10A, B9B, A9D, A9B, A9A|access-date=April 24, 2023}} The highway passes through the Piedmont uplands, a region of rounded hills, low ridges, relatively high relief, irregular plains, and narrow valleys with a mix of farms and forests.{{cite web|last1=Woods|first1=Alan J.|last2=Omernik|first2=James M.|last3=Brown|first3=Douglas D.|title=Level III and IV Ecoregions of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia|url=https://gaftp.epa.gov/EPADataCommons/ORD/Ecoregions/reg3/reg3_eco_desc.doc|date=May 1999|publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency|location=Corvallis, OR|pages=19–22, 24, 25| format=DOC|accessdate=April 26, 2023}}{{cite map|author1=Staff|title=EnviroAtlas Interactive Map| url=https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/enviroatlas/interactivemap/|date=December 2011|publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency|location=Corvallis, OR|accessdate=April 26, 2023|via=USEPA Ecoregions (Omernik) layer}} MD 550 crosses Cabbage Run and Dorcas Branch, follows Dorcas Branch through a gap in Laurel Hill, and enters the town of Woodsboro just after crossing Israel Creek. MD 550 turns north and runs concurrently with MD 194 on Woodsboro Pike on the east side of the town; Liberty Road heads west from the intersection toward the center of town.{{cite map|publisher=United States Geological Survey|title=Woodsboro, MD quadrangle|edition=2019|scale=1:24,000|series=7.5 Minute Series (The National Map)| url= https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/ht-bin/tv_browse.pl?id=47a658c515996773f07bf96e4fbf1de8|accessdate=April 24, 2023}} MD 550 turns west onto Woodsboro–Creagerstown Road, which immediately intersects the north end of Main Street (MD 194A). The state highway intersects the MDOT Branch of the Maryland Midland Railway and receives the north end of Creagerstown Road before leaving Woodsboro.{{cite web|author1=Federal Railroad Administration| title=U.S. DOT Crossing Inventory Form: 535012Y |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation|url=http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/Crossing/Report.aspx?phasetype=C&rpttype=I&txtcrossingnum=535012Y | via=Safety Map | date=November 19, 2021| access-date=April 26, 2023}}

MD 550 continues northwest through the Piedmont lowlands, which contain wide and undulating ridges, broad nearly level valleys, limited local relief, and a mosaic of farms, houses, and woodland. North of the route's bridge across the Monocacy River, the highway parallels Pennterra Manor Lane, which leads to the 18th century farmhouse Pennterra.{{cite web|url=https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-359.pdf |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Pennterra |date=May 1975|accessdate=2016-01-01 |last1=Andreve|first1=George J. |publisher=Maryland Historical Trust}} MD 550 also passes to the west of another 18th century harmhouse, Strawberry Hill, before reaching the unincorporated village of Creagerstown.{{cite web|url=https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-360.pdf |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Strawberry Hill |date=May 1975|accessdate=April 24, 2023 |first1=George J. |last1=Andreve |publisher=Maryland Historical Trust}} The route’s name changes to Creagerstown Road at Old Frederick Road at the south end of village, and at Blacks Mill Road the road passes to the east of the St. John's Church at Creagerstown Historic District, which preserves a pair of church buildings—the early 20th-century St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church and the 19th-century building of the defunct St. John’s Reformed Church—as well as the first church’s parish house and a cemetery.{{cite web|url=https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-1442.pdf |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: St. John's Church at Creagerstown Historic District|date=October 1999|accessdate=April 24, 2023 |last1=Reed|first1=Paula S.|last2=Wallace|first2=Edie |publisher=Maryland Historical Trust}} MD 550 continues northwest as Creagerstown Road to the hamlet of Jimtown; the highway intersects Moser Road and Hessong Bridge at a four-legged intersection and turns north onto Jimtown Road toward Thurmont.

File:2020-06-08 10 49 21 View south along Maryland State Route 550 (North Church Street) from the overpass for U.S. Route 15 (Catoctin Mountain Highway) in Thurmont, Frederick County, Maryland.jpg

MD 550 enters the town of Thurmont just before the highway intersects MD 77 (Rocky Ridge Road). The two state highways run concurrently northwest toward downtown Thurmont on Main Street. In the center of town, at Water Street, MD 77 continues west on Main Street while MD 550 turns north onto Church Street, which passes under the Main Line of the Maryland Midland Railway and meets the south end of MD 806 (Emmitsburg Road).{{cite web|author1=Federal Railroad Administration| title=U.S. DOT Crossing Inventory Form: 831769W |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation|url=http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/Crossing/Report.aspx?phasetype=C&rpttype=I&txtcrossingnum=831769W | via=Safety Map | date=November 19, 2021| access-date=April 26, 2023}} At the northern edge of Thurmont, the state highway meets US 15 (Catoctin Mountain Highway) at a diamond interchange and passes Catoctin High School.

MD 550 heads northwest as Sabillasville Road into the Blue Ridge Mountains, which comprise extensively forested, steep, and well-dissected ridges separated by deep, narrow valleys with patches of farmland. The highway crosses Owens Creek and parallels the Maryland Midland Railway through the creek’s gorge upstream between Piney Mountain to the north and Catoctin Mountain to the south; the highway passes under the rail line twice. At Foxville Deerfield Road, MD 550 leaves Owens Creek and its gorge and passes through the Harbaugh Valley, where the highway crosses Friends Creek.{{cite map|publisher=United States Geological Survey|title=Blue Ridge Summit, PA quadrangle|edition=2019|scale=1:24,000|series=7.5 Minute Series (The National Map)| url= https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/ht-bin/tv_browse.pl?id=78dd8fcfd668a7e14d95d53bc6c245ee|accessdate=April 25, 2023}} After passing through the unincorporated village of Sabillasville and intersecting Bentzel Road on the north side of the village, the highway leaves the valley and ascends the eastern flank of South Mountain. MD 550 passes under a curve of the railroad and meets the ends of Old Sabillasville Road and Cullen Drive west of the Victor Cullen Center. The Victor Cullen Center is a state youth detention center originally constructed in the first decade of the 20th century as the state’s first tuberculosis sanatorium, whose preserved historic remains include the power house and old administration building.{{cite web|author1=Staff |url=https://djs.maryland.gov/Pages/facilities/Victor-Cullen-Center.aspx |title=Victor Cullen Center|accessdate=April 25, 2023 |publisher=Maryland Department of Juvenile Services}}{{cite web|url=https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-974.pdf |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Victor Cullen School Power House|date=1986|accessdate=April 25, 2023 |publisher=Maryland Historical Trust}}{{cite web|url=https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-1065.pdf |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Victor Cullen Center, Old Administration Building|date=March 1989|accessdate=April 25, 2023 |first1=George J. |last1=Andreve|publisher=Maryland Historical Trust}}

MD 550 curves west parallel to the Maryland Midland Railway and summits South Mountain at the Frederick–Washington county line about {{convert|400|feet|m}} south of the Pennsylvania state line. The highway continues as Fort Ritchie Road, which curves southwest through the unincorporated communities of Highfield and Cascade, where south of Royer Road the route’s name changes to Military Road. At the entrance to the former Fort Ritchie, MD 550 meets the northern end of MD 491 (McAfee Hill Road) and turns northwest onto that road.{{cite news|last1=Sherman|first1=Natalie|title=Years after Fort Ritchie opened for redevelopment, base remains shuttered|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2014/08/08/years-after-fort-ritchie-opened-for-redevelopment-base-remains-shuttered/|access-date=September 2, 2014|publisher=Baltimore Sun|date=August 8, 2014|archive-date=October 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141001021117/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2014-08-08/business/bs-bz-fort-ritchie-20140808_1_fort-ritchie-community-center-agent-orange-testing-penmar-development-corp|url-status=live}} The highway intersects CSX's Hanover Subdivision rail line at grade, turns from McAfee Hill Road onto Pen Mar Road, and passes under the railroad and by Lake Royer.{{cite web|author1=Federal Railroad Administration| title=U.S. DOT Crossing Inventory Form: 831799N |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation|url=http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/Crossing/Report.aspx?phasetype=C&rpttype=I&txtcrossingnum=831799N | via=Safety Map | date=August 11, 2022| access-date=April 26, 2023}} MD 550 reaches its northern terminus west of the lake at the edge of Camp Louise, a girls' summer camp founded in 1922; Pen Mar Road continues as a county highway toward the community of Pen Mar and Pen Mar Park.

{{infobox road small

|state=MD

|type=MD

|route=81

|location=Thurmont–Fort Ritchie

|length_mi=

|length_ref=

|length_round=2

|formed=1927

|deleted=1977

}}

MD 550 was constructed in two main sections: MD 550 between Libertytown and Thurmont, and MD 81 from Thurmont to Fort Ritchie. The first section of the Libertytown–Thurmont portion of MD 550 was constructed as a segment of former MD 72. MD 72 followed Lewistown Road and Old Frederick Road from US 15 at Lewistown east and north through Creagerstown to near Loys Station south of MD 77. The portion of MD 72 through Creagerstown was built in 1926. The first section of MD 550 proper was {{convert|1|mi|km}} of concrete road built east from Woodsboro in 1933. MD 550 was extended east to Cabbage Run between 1933 and 1935. A second section of MD 550 was started from MD 77 east of Thurmont towards Creagerstown in 1938. This western section was completed in 1939, the same year the eastern section was completed between Woodsboro and Libertytown.

The first section of what would become MD 81 was paved as a state-aid road from the Pennsylvania state line south along Warren Avenue and Cascade Road through Highfield and Cascade by 1910. The main portion of MD 81 was constructed from Emmitsburg Road (which later became US 15 and is now MD 806) north to Sabillasville around 1923. The highway was completed to the Pennsylvania state line at Blue Ridge Summit, using what are now Naylor Road and Old Sabillasville Road, around 1927. The pre-1910 portion of MD 81 in Washington County was reconstructed and extended west toward Pen Mar in 1930. Military Road was constructed around 1933 between Highfield and Fort Ritchie. The eastern end of Military Road at the Frederick–Washington county line was tied into a relocation of MD 81 between Sabillasville and Blue Ridge Summit that was completed in 1936. This bypass included an underpass of the Western Maryland Railway at Sabillasville and resulted in the highway no longer entering Pennsylvania; the old alignment of MD 81 was designated MD 625.

In 1956, MD 72 was removed from the state highway system. MD 550 was extended southeast through Creagerstown to Woodsboro to connect with the Woodsboro–Libertytown section. MD 550 was extended through Thurmont, west along MD 77 and north along MD 806, and assumed all of MD 81 in 1977. Construction on MD 194's bypass of Woodsboro was started in 1995. When the bypass was completed in 1997, MD 550 was removed from the center of Woodsboro to its present alignment on the northern and eastern sides of town.

{{jcttop|length_ref=
}}

{{MDint

|county=Frederick

|cspan=9

|location=Libertytown

|mile=0.00

|road={{Jct|state=MD|MD|26|name1=Liberty Road|road|Mill Street south|city1=Frederick|city2=Baltimore}}

|notes=Southern terminus

}}

{{MDint

|location=Woodsboro

|lspan=3

|mile=5.01

|type=concur

|road={{Jct|state=MD|MD|194|dir1=south|name1=Woodsboro Pike|road|Woodsboro Road west|city1=Walkersville}}

|notes=South end of concurrency with MD 194

}}

{{MDint

|mile=5.56

|type=concur

|road={{Jct|state=MD|MD|194|dir1=north|name1=Woodsboro Pike|city1=Taneytown}}

|notes=North end of concurrency with MD 194

}}

{{MDint

|mile=5.61

|road=Main Street south

|notes=MD 550 turns northwest at this intersection; Main Street is unsigned MD 194A

}}

{{MDint

|location=Thurmont

|lspan=5

|mile=11.67

|road=Hessong Bridge Road south / Moser Road west

|notes=MD 550 turns north onto Jimtown Road

}}

{{MDint

|mile=12.92

|type=concur

|road={{Jct|state=MD|MD|77|dir1=east|name1=Rocky Ridge Road|city1=Rocky Ridge}}

|notes=South end of concurrency with MD 77

}}

{{MDint

|mile=13.91

|type=concur

|road={{Jct|state=MD|MD|77|dir1=west|name1=Main Street|road|Water Street south|city1=Smithsburg}}

|notes=MD 550 turns north onto Church Street; north end of concurrency with MD 77

}}

{{MDint

|mile=14.27

|road={{jct|state=MD|MD|806|dir1=north|name1=Emmitsburg Road|city1=Emmitsburg}}

|notes=Southern terminus of MD 806; officially MD 806R

}}

{{MDint

|mile=14.71

|road={{Jct|state=MD|US|15|name1=Catoctin Mountain Highway|city1=Frederick|location2=Gettysburg}}

|notes=Diamond interchange

}}

{{MDint

|county=Washington

|cspan=3

|location=Fort Ritchie

|lspan=3

|mile=23.84

|road={{Jct|state=MD|MD|491|dir1=south|name1=Macfee Hill Road|city1=Smithsburg}}

|notes=Northern terminus of MD 491; MD 550 turns north onto Macfee Hill Road

}}

{{MDint

|mile=24.23

|road=Camp Ritchie Access Road north / Pennersville Road east

|notes=MD 550 turns west onto Pen Mar Road

}}

{{MDint

|mile=24.43

|road={{jct|state=MD|road|Pen Mar Road north|city1=Pen Mar}}

|notes=Northern terminus

}}

{{jctbtm|keys=concur}}

• {{Portal-inline|Maryland Roads}}

{{reflist|30em|refs=

{{Maryland road map|year=1939}}

{{Maryland SRC report|year=1926|pages=49, 84|accessdate=2011-03-21}}

{{Maryland road map|year=1927}}

{{Maryland road map|year=1933}}

{{Maryland SRC report|year=1934|pages=334–335|accessdate=2011-03-21}}

{{Maryland road map|year=1935}}

{{Maryland road map|year=1938}}

{{Maryland SRC report|year=1940|page=122|accessdate=2011-03-21}}

{{Maryland road map|year=1910}}

{{Maryland road map|year=1923}}

{{Maryland road map|year=1930}}

{{Maryland SRC report|year=1936|page=87|accessdate=2011-03-21}}

{{Maryland road map|year=1956}}

{{Maryland road map|year=1977}}

{{Maryland road map|year=1995}}

{{Maryland road map|year=1997}}

}}

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• [http://mdroads.com/routes/540-559.html#md550 MDRoads: MD 550]

550

Maryland Route 550

Maryland Route 550