Founded: 1763
Settled: 1740
Population: Approx. 565 (2022)
County: Washington County
Land area: 0.22 square miles
It is located east of the Potomac River, 13 miles south of Hagerstown, Maryland and 26 miles west of Frederick, Maryland. The town has a choice of three parks within its area. They are Antietam National Battlefield which is east of the town, the C&O Canal National Park along the Potomac River, and Harpers Ferry National Park about 15 miles to the south.
In 1763, on land called Joe’s Lott, Joseph Chapline laid out what was to be the first town in Washington County. After the French and Indian War, he founded the town naming Sharps Burgh it in honor of his friend Horatio Sharpe. It is a residential community, with little commercial business. He chose that site for the town, he noted, because of the “great spring” of water located there.
At one time under the term of president George Washington it was considered as a possible site for the location of the U.S. Capital.
In the 1760's residents were mainly of English and German descent. It was where the Battle of Antietam, or Sharpsburg as it was called by the Confederate Army, began at dawn on September 17, 1862.
Sharpsburg attracted industry in the early 19th century, especially after the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was extended to Sharpsburg in 1836. The town was incorporated in 1832.
Today, Sharpsburg is a small residential community, with few commercial activities. It looks very much as it did in the 1800s.