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a weekend destinationkeeping you on the backroads

THE CASSELMAN INN

113 MAIN ST, GRANTSVILLE, MARYLAND 21536 301-895-5055 • thecasselman.com

Who does not love coming across a real treat while riding a road trip? For the most part, we’re all just enjoying the ride and, now and again, something special this way comes. Or, in our case, we stumbled upon it. Heading east along Route 40, also known as The National Pike, we crossed from Pennsylvania into Maryland. The roadway is probably the most historic road crossing in the Appalachian Mountains. Originally an Indian trail known as Nemacolin’s Path, it became a military road when General Braddock marched west from Fort Cumberland in 1755 on his ill-fated expedition to Fort Duquesne. For 25 years this rough military road was the main route of travel connecting the East with the Ohio Valley. Today the horses have been replaced by our bikes and it was getting time to rest our rides and feed ourselves. It was late morning and running into that Twilight Zone of desires… breakfast or lunch? At this point? Whatever they are serving – where ever they are. Just a short time after crossing the Mason-Dixon Line we came upon the town of Grantsville and The Casselman Inn. We had left a historic inn that morning, but as grand as The Summit was, The Casselman Inn seemed to ooze its

own avor and charm of days gone by in a smaller yet cheery way. Many places use the moniker ‘Inn’ yet are really just restaurants, larger resort-style hotels, or drinking establishments. The old days of riding into town, nding the local inn, having a good meal, and a comfortable bed upstairs is getting to be more and more a rarity. Yet, The Cassleman is just that and has been doing it for more than 180 years. Built in 1842, The Casselman was one of the numerous inns along the National Pike that opened to serve the stage coaches, covered wagons, drovers, and riders that made the Old Pike the busiest thoroughfare crossing the mountains. In its over 180 years of history, The Casselman has been called Drover’s Inn, Farmer’s Hotel, Dorsey’s Hotel, and The Casselman. Daniel Grant, an English engineer from whom Grantsville took its name, was the original owner of a tract of land that he called Cornucopia. It included much of Grantsville and one thousand acres around town. A later owner, Solomon Sterner, built The Casselman of brick that was handmade and red on this land. A replace in each room furnished heat and cooking facilities for the original building. Much of the woodwork, still to be seen today, was created from handhewn timbers and hand-planed boards. A kitchen was added in 1903 and the inn began to expand. Ivan and Della Miller bought the place in 1964, and, as the business grew, they soon outgrew the facilities so the Millers added a dining room, antique shop, bakeshop, and forty-unit motel. The dining room was holding a good size crowd when we arrived, a nice mix of locals and travelers. We were cheerfully seated and served by a young woman dressed in Amish style and, while waiting for lunch, we were tantalized by the aromas coming up from The Casselman’s bakery in the lower level – a part of the inn that has become legendary in the region. The food here was simple, country food with a variety of favorite recipes reminiscent of the Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish background of the owners. Their menu, which is wide and enticing, also includes homemade breads, cakes, and pies prepared in the bakery downstairs. Apparently, their cinnamon rolls are legendary. We made time to head down to see the bakery and bakers doing their thing.

There is also an interesting gift shop that has some interesting items, but something else that we have never seen in an establishment such as this. Inside the shop, there was a honey bee hive ensconced in a glass case, and running along the wall and out an opening was a clear plastic tunnel so the bees could go in and out as they pleased – doing what bees do best. Right next to this was a shelf with the inn’s own honey. Awesome! But the very best was yet to come as we asked about their rooms and we were told to please take a look upstairs. For sure, The Casselman has a 40-room motel right next door, with all rooms nicely appointed with furniture that was hand-crafted by local members of the community and the Miller family, contributing to a relaxed home-like feeling. But upstairs in the Inn proper, you will nd their two-room Dorsey Suite with its newly decorated bedroom and sitting room areas. The classic beauty of the antique furnishings and oversized double bed combined with the comfort of a sofa that can open into an additional bed, and the luxury of a private bath with a soaking tub in each room. In addition to the suite, two other rooms with private baths are available. Each night includes complimentary breakfast come morning. If traveling along one of the nation’s most famous and important roads and in the region of north/central Maryland, seek out The Casselman Inn, whether it be for the food, the rooms, the bees, the bakery, or all of them – you will not be disappointed. ,