Doubleday Hill is a few blocks south of the Cushwa Basin and the C&O Canal National Historical Park Visitor Center in Williamsport, Maryland. It was the site of an artillery battery covering the Potomac River crossings in the early days of the Civil War, and has a great view of the river area today.

A number of historical markers help tell the story of the hill during the Civil War.

At the foot of the hill:
Abner Doubleday memorial
Doubleday Hill wayside marker

At the top of the hill:
Doubleday Hill wayside marker (almost identical to the version at the foot of the hill)
Light’s Ford and Lemen’s Ferry wayside marker

The hill looks out over the Potomac River area at Williamsport. This is the modern US11 bridge. There was no bridge on the river at this location during the war. The street below is Salisbury Street, which crosses the C&O Canal on a narrow bridge and descends to a boat ramp at what used to be Light’s Ford and Lemen’s Ferry.

Three Civil War era cannon have been placed on the hill. The pieces actually placed in June of 1861, two 24 pounders and one 8 inch Howitzer, were much heavier guns.

In the background the buildings of Williamsport gradually get higher as you get awe from the river. Doubleday Hill is actually no higher than most of the town, but it does have lower ground all the way around it and dominates the river crossings. The wayside markers on the fence are the same ones seen from below in the first photo.

To the left, River View Cemetery now takes up most of the high ground of the hill. In the distance on the right is the R. Paul Smith Power Station, a coal-fired plant on the Maryland side of the Potomac that first began operations in the 1920s and was shut down in 2012.

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Location of Doubleday Hill

Doubleday Hill overlooks the crossings of the Potomac River at Williamsport, Maryland at the corner of Commerce and Salisbury Streets. It is short walk from the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park Visitor Center.