Huckleberry Fires Devastate Catoctin Mountain by James Rada, Jr. Picking huckleberries may have caused one of the largest fires ever that ravaged Catoctin Mountain in 1902. In April, wildfires sprang up at different locations on Catoctin Mountain. Fueled by gusty winds, they grew and spread. Within a few days, the fires had grown to encompass…

The Catoctin Outlaws and the Origins of Blue Blazes Years before the Blue Blazes became part of Thurmont’s history due to the 1929 raid on the county’s largest moonshining operation, it made the newspapers for another raid, but this one was to capture wanted criminals. In 1913, the Catoctin Clarion reported “a gang of this…