This new center opened September 14, 2010, and educates travelers about the large concentration of Civil War sites in the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area. Three rooms of the exhibit center explore the main themes of the heritage area: In the Heat of Battle, On the Home Front, and Beyond the Battlefield. Each exhibit room includes an interpretive panel and site panels that relate to that theme
. The site panels provide brief descriptions to entice visitors to travel to the numerous Civil War sites located in Carroll, Frederick, and Washington counties. Each panel shows the distance to the site and also includes a brochure rack providing visitors with the most up-to-date information about each site’s hours, fees, and other pertinent information. The back room of the center is a visitor information area staffed by volunteers, with a wealth of information about things to see and do in the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area. The Visitor Center is housed in the historic Newcomer House, built by Christopher Orndorff in the 1780s.
