Dr. Augustine Mason, C.S.A. Residence Site

This image was taken around the year 1880 on West Washington Street in Hagerstown, Maryland, about three blocks west of the Public Square. The house on the right edge of the photograph was the residence of Dr. Augustine Mason, C.S.A. Many Confederates lived in and around Hagerstown both during and after the war.

The location of this image was easy to find, mainly because Jeff Brown told me where it is. Of note is the staircase of the Miller House on the opposite side of the street. That building houses the Washington County Historical Society, which has an amazing collection of historical photographs of this area. In fact, they have a copy of this image in their collection that was used by Stephen Bockmiller in his book, "Hagerstown In The Civil War."

It is sad to see that most of the buildings on the north (right) side of the street no longer stand. But I guess it is best to appreciate the large number of historic buildings still standing in Hagerstown. The buildings in view across the street are in such good shape it is hard to imagine that they were there in the 1880s.

E.M. Recher, who took this stereoview, had a photograph studio on the same side of the street about two blocks behind where the camera stands. W.B. King, another photographer and a contemporary of Recher's, had a studio just a few doors behind Recher as he stood taking this image.