The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area is a federally designated National Heritage Area in portions of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia, in the eastern United States. The designation provides a framework for the promotion and interpretation of the area's cultural and historic character, with particular emphasis on the region's role in the American Civil War, and the preservation of the natural and built environment. The National Heritage Area extends from Gettysburg in the north to Monticello in the south. It is managed by the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, which encompasses the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Scenic Byway. The heritage area roughly follows the route of the Old Carolina Road.
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising the awareness of the history within the Gettysburg-Monticello corridor. It comprises over 350 municipal, business, and non-profit organizations, including many elected bodies within the four-state region. All related entities are collectively referred to as the Journey Through Hallowed Ground.
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area denotes the region that Congress designated as a Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area in 2008, in a program affiliated with the National Park Service. There are 15 counties in the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, spanning those four states. With 400 years of European, American, and African-American heritage, the Journey Through Hallowed Ground is a National Heritage Area with a National Scenic Byway running through it. It contains World Heritage sites, over 10,000 sites on the National Register of Historic Places, 49 National Historic districts, nine Presidential homes & sites, 13 National Park Units, hundreds of African-American and Native American heritage sites, 30 Historic Main Street communities, sites from the Revolutionary War, French-Indian War, War of 1812, and the largest single collection of Civil War sites in the nation.
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area comprises Adams County in Pennsylvania, Frederick and Carroll counties and the eastern part of Washington county in Maryland, the area around Harpers Ferry in Jefferson County, West Virginia, and Loudoun, Fauquier, Culpeper, Orange, Albemarle, Greene, Madison and Rappahannock counties and parts of Fairfax, Prince William and Spotsylvania counties in Virginia.
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area was established on May 8, 2008 by Public Law 110-229, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008.
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Scenic Byway refers to the 180-mile road that intersects the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area. Once known as Old Carolina Road, the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Scenic Byway runs 180 miles through three states and includes portions of US Rt. 15, VA 231, VA 20, and VA 53, running through Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The JTHG National Scenic Byway is one of 150 sccenic byways nationwide designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.