Cumberland Now
Now: A Mountain Retreat of Heritage, Trails, and the Arts
Today, Cumberland has traded industrial smokestacks for outdoor recreation, cultural preservation, and mountain hospitality. The very paths once carved by heavy industry now welcome thousands of global adventurers via the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Towpath. Historic Victorian streetscapes and the newly revitalized Baltimore Street pedestrian corridor are alive with art galleries, farm-to-table dining, craft breweries, and live music. Preserving the stately elegance of its past while embracing the relaxed pace of Appalachian mountain living, modern Cumberland invites travelers to slow down, explore, and stay awhile.
Cumberland Then
Then: The Queen City of the Alleghenies
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Cumberland earned its title as Maryland’s second-largest city and the indispensable gateway to the American West. Positioned where the National Road, the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad intersected, the city hummed with industrial might. Coal from Georges Creek, iron, glass, and textiles flowed continuously through Cumberland’s depots, funding the construction of grand mansions, towering church steeples, and an opulent commercial downtown.