Hagerstown, Maryland

Hagerstown’s first City Hall was a combination marketplace and office structure in the square. The first floor was an open-air market, farmers would drive their wagons through the enormous open archways to sell their goods. In 1818 City Hall was rebuilt one block north of the square and in 1941 the current City Hall was built. A model of the original City Hall is on display on the first floor.

Little Heiskell, Hagerstown’s symbol, is a weathervane in the shape of a Hessian soldier. He was designed for Hagerstown’s first City Hall in 1769 by a German tinsmith named Heiskell. During the Civil War, a sharpshooter used Little Heiskell as a target and shot him through the heart. Undaunted, Little Heiskell remained atop City Hall until 1935 when he was removed to the Hager House Museum in City Park. A replica can be seen above the current City Hall.