Hessian Barracks
The Hessian Barracks is an historic barracks and school building located at Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland, United States. There were two L-shaped buildings built on the site, but one was demolished in the 1870s. It is a two-story stone structure with gallery porches and a gable roof. The barracks were reportedly built during the French and Indian War, and occupied by British General Edward Braddock and his troops on their route to Fort Duquesne
at the Forks of the Ohio. However, evidence suggests that they remained incomplete as late as 1781 when the structure was used as a prison.
The Barracks were put to a variety of uses during the 19th century including a state armory, silkworm production site, and hospital after the nearby Battle of South Mountain and subsequent bloody Battle of Antietam in September 1862, during the American Civil War. The yard served as the Agricultural Fairgrounds from 1853 to 1860. In 1867, it was chosen as the site for the Maryland Institution for the Deaf and Dumb,. The original western barracks building was demolished in 1871 for the construction of a new Victorian style large central building, which in turn was razed in the late 1960s, replaced by individual brick cottages.
The Hessian Barracks was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
