Heritage Frederick

Happy !

Ammon Cramer began his career in the music business, selling instruments and operating his "Palace of Music" in downtown Frederick in the 1910s. He then operated a dime store before opening a confectionary in 1923. Cramer branded his treats with the face and name of Frederick's well-known Civil War heroine at a time when Barbara Fritchie's story was drawing thousands of visitors to Frederick annually. Cramer later opened a restaurant in 1960 on the Baltimore National Pike west of Frederick where he continued to sell his chocolates. This restaurant outlived the candy company for several decades, well known for its enormous candy cane shaped sign beckoning visitors from the roadside. The Barbara Fritchie Restaurant closed in 2018.

2016.013.001, Barbara Fritchie Chocolate Box, Museum Collection, Heritage Frederick