Camp Ritchie, Maryland "The Ritchie Boys"

[MD Helmets]

A few weeks back I came upon Camp (Fort) Ritchie in Cascade, Maryland. It's about 30 minutes from my house. Hard to believe I grew up one county over and never visited before. I have since watched a documentatry on, "The Ritchie Boys" made in 2004 and decided to wander my way back. I did so today on my way to work. It's a beautiful area in Washington County, MD. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains it is very quiet and serene, especially on a cool crystal clear Spring morning. The old Camp is now owned by a private company and many of the wooden buildings were demolished in 2007
However, many of the original stone buildings remain, and according to the private company's development plan, they have no intention of destroying any of the stone buildings.

Here is a link to a Wikipedia page on a brief history of the Camp and the Ritchie Boys Ritchie Boys - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I haven't found many WWII period photos of the site, probably due to the sensitive nature of the intelligence training that occured there, but, I have found some images on postcards which I assume are from the WWII era, especially since one depicts the tent city that was set up on the grounds.

I am going to upload a few photos I took during my brief visit and try to match some to the old postcards. I'll try to make a few more return visits to photograph some more as I did not have a lot of time to check it out. Some of the area was sealed off with cement barriers so that might take some more work to photograph those areas

Here is the documentary



A generic postcard

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One of the entrances...which isn't really an entrance anymore

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Postcard showing a different entrance that the one I posted above. This one shows the row of barracks.



Here is the row of the same barracks, but from inside the gate looking towards the mountain that is visible in the background on the postcard.



The interior of the barracks

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Postcard showing the tent city behind the row of barracks. In the background is the motorpool



The motorpool as it is today. This photo was taken on the road below the barracks, that runs along the wide grass area, which I am guessing used to be a parade ground.

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Postcard showing the clubhouse from across the lake.



This is the front side of the clubhouse with the lake in the background behind the clubhouse.

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Not sure what this building was for.



Above building is in the right rear of the photo, hidden in the trees behind the flag pole.

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Random Photos









In the church pic, along the right side you can see the row of barracks.

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Uh-oh, someone made off with the Pak Gun

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Lastly, the WWII memorial.



I must admit, there was a sense of loneliness there. As if the buildings were missing their old occupants, wanting to know where they had gone. One can only imagine the flurry of activity that must have been taking place there during the war. And now, her role having come to an end years ago, and the buildings remain empty and silent as the veterans pass on into history. I just hope the company that owns it treats it well, what part of it they didn't already demolish!

Thanks for looking. I'll try to get back and take some more photos with my actual camera.

[AZPhil]

Thanks for sharing those pic's. I have never heard about this place.Next time I visit my Sis in Law, I will have to look for this spot. So what happen to the PAK?
Semper Fi
Phil