Battle of South Mountain • Turner’s Gap • Fox’s Gap • Crampton’s Gap
The John Collins historical marker at the summit of Turner’s Gap on South Mountain, Maryland is across Alternate U.S. Route 40 from the Old South Mountain Inn and in front of a series of six War Department markers on the Civil War Battle of South Mountain.
From the marker:
John Collins
Native of Frederick County, skilled hunter and superintendent of provisions with the Lewis and Clark expedition, John Collins was the first Marylander to cross the North American Continent. Meriwhether Lewis and William Clark were charged by Thomas Jefferson to lead an expedition to find a water route to the Pacific. From 1804 to 1806 the Corps of Discovery travelled 8,000 miles as they documented their encounters with inhabitants, identified natural resources, and mapped the interior of Western North America.
Maryland Historical Trust
Maryland Stat Highway Administration