The Catoctin Center for Regional Studies was created in 1998 by Frederick Community College in Frederick, Maryland, to study the history and culture of central Maryland and the border areas of neighboring states. This region, in the midst of the Catoctin Mountain range, encompasses an area rich in history and cultural heritage, and one that has long been a crossroads of people and ideas. From early wagon roads and the National Road, to ironworks and glassworks, to the C&O Canal and the B&O Railroad, to Antietam and Gettysburg, to abundant farms and traditional folkways, to cold war research and Camp David, the Catoctin region features an immense historical legacy. As more people enter this region, with consequent pressures to alter the existing landscape, both natural and built, there is a greater need to recover, analyze, and interpret the historical forces that shaped the region, and to assist the public in a continuing discussion about what is important to value and preserve.