09-05-2025
Frederick County Rustic Roads Program welcomes two additions
Bessie Clemson Road near Libertytown and a stretch of Stevens Road near Creagerstown have been added to the Frederick County Rustic Roads Program.
Bessie Clemson Road is a 3.44-mile tar and chip road that terminates at Liberty Road to the south and Fountain School Road to the north, according to county records.
The stretch of Stevens Road includes a 0.81-mile stretch of tar and chip road between Wilhide Road and Old Frederick Road, according to the documents.
The Rustic Roads Program — formerly called the Rural Roads Program — seeks to preserve historic, scenic, rural roads from further development or expansion to maintain more natural landscapes.
The program is administered by the Rustic Roads Commission, with final signoffs coming from the Frederick County Council.
The commission recommended that both roads be included in the program. The council unanimously approved both bids at a meeting on Tuesday.
Bessie Clemson Road
The road was named for Bessie Clemson — a cousin of Thomas Green Clemson, founder of Clemson University. She was born in 1888 in a house built by her father in 1872 along the road, according to the application by Pamela Burke, a resident of the road.
Bessie Clemson lived to be 99 and was said to be a modest woman surprised by the naming of the road.
The road is surrounded by agricultural land and horse farms and is not part of any growth areas, according to county records.
Burke wrote that her desire to preserve the road through the county's program came from issues that many other rural roads face.
'Specifically, the constant pressure to 'improve' them by making them wider, smoother, with overly broad clear zones, and the removal of features that give a place or road its character and personality,' she wrote. 'These 'improvements' contribute to higher vehicle speeds. This results in decreased safety for all users of the road, be it pedestrians, equestrians or other vehicles.'
Burke wrote that the various curves, trees, native flowers and other features of the road remind drivers to proceed with caution, mindful of others who want to use the road and enjoy the views.
Planners often call these features 'visual friction,' because of how they signal drivers to proceed at slower, safer speeds.
At the meeting, Council Member Steve McKay thanked Burke for her years of effort advocating for the road's preservation.
The application was submitted with 60 letters or signatures of support and four members of the surrounding community spoke in support of Bessie Clemson Road's inclusion in the county program.
Stevens Road
Stevens Road gets its name from Frank M. Stevens, who owned property with a farm on the road, according to the application submitted by Joel Anderson and Brigitta Shroyer.
Stevens served as a Frederick County commissioner in the 1910s, according to state records.
Anderson said at the meeting that the unobstructed view of the Catoctin Mountains from his farm, across the road, was 'breathtaking' and the had hoped to 'keep that natural beauty.'
He said he grew up on Stevens Road and even today, he is more likely to see walkers or cyclists than car drivers on the road.
'If we put center lines on them or widen them any more, then the traffic will get faster and faster,' he said.
Council Member Brad Young thanked Anderson for his efforts in preserving the road.
The road also features a single-span metal truss bridge built in 1914 that was recently rehabilitated by the county's Department of Public Works, according to county records.
The bridge crosses Big Hunting Creek, a tributary that feeds the Monocacy River.
Stevens Road is also surrounded by agricultural land and is not part of any growth area.
The application had 18 letters of support and four people spoke in favor of its inclusion in the county program.
