Fox's Gap, also known as Fox Gap, is a wind gap in the South Mountain Range

South Mountain (Maryland and Pennsylvania)

South Mountain is the northern extension of the Blue Ridge Mountain range in Maryland and Pennsylvania. From the Potomac River near Knoxville, Maryland in the south, to Dillsburg, Pennsylvania in the north, the long range separates the Hagerstown and Cumberland valleys from the Piedmont regions of...

 of the Blue Ridge Mountains

Blue Ridge Mountains

The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...

, located in Frederick County

Frederick County, Maryland

Frederick County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 233,385....

 and Washington County

Washington County, Maryland

Washington County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering southern Pennsylvania to the north, northern Virginia to the south, and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia to the south and west. As of the 2010 Census, its population is 147,430...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

. The gap is traversed by Reno Monument Road. The Appalachian Trail

Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...

 also crosses the gap.

Geography

The gap is about 200 feet (61 m) below the ridgeline to the south, 400 feet (121.9 m) below the ridgline to the south and about 400 feet (121.9 m) above the surrounding lowlands. To the east of the gap lies the Middletown Valley

Middletown Valley

Middletown Valley, also historically known as Catoctin Valley, is a valley in western Frederick County in the state of Maryland.-Geography:...

 and to the west the Hagerstown Valley

Hagerstown Valley

Hagerstown Valley is located in Maryland in the United States. It is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, which continues northward as Cumberland Valley in Pennsylvania, and southward as Shenandoah Valley in West Virginia and Virginia....

. Turner's Gap

Turner's Gap

Turner's Gap is a wind gap in the South Mountain Range of the Blue Ridge Mountains, located in Frederick County and Washington County, Maryland. The gap is traversed by U.S. Route 40 Alt, the Old National Pike. The Appalachian Trail also crosses the gap....

 is 1 miles (1.6 km) to the north. Lambs Knoll

Lambs Knoll

Lambs Knoll is a peak of South Mountain on the border of Washington County and Frederick County in the state of Maryland, United States. The peak is the second tallest on South Mountain in Maryland behind Quirauk Mountain.-Geography:...

 is the prominent peak immediately to the south.

History

The area was settled in early 1751 by the John and Christiana Fox family and their son Frederick, German immigrants from Hesse

Hesse

Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...

. Frederick assembled adjoining lands which eventually extended to Turner's Gap. The area is first mentioned as "Foxes Gap" in a September 10, 1792 letter. Frederick Fox moved to Ohio in the early 1800s after the death of his wife.

The Daniel Wise family bought a portion of the property in 1858 for $46.96, clearing fields and building a log cabin. The Wise House was demolished in 1919. On September 14, 1862 the area was the scene some of the heaviest engagements of the Battle of South Mountain

Battle of South Mountain

The Battle of South Mountain was fought September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles were fought for possession of three South Mountain passes: Crampton's, Turner's, and Fox's Gaps. Maj. Gen. George B...

. The Reno Monument at the top of Fox's Gap commemorates the death of Union general Jesse Reno.

The area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 as part of the Turner's and Fox's Gaps Historic District

Turner's and Fox's Gaps Historic District

The Turner's and Fox's Gaps Historic District comprises the Civil War-era battlefield involved in the Battle of South Mountain, which took place on September 14, 1862. The district extends on the west to the slopes of South Mountain in the area of Zittlestown, and to the east beyond the foot of the...

.