Little Heiskell
One of the most recognizable symbols of Hagerstown is the weathervane known as "Little Heiskell." Named after the German tinsmith Benjamin Heiskell who crafted it in 1769 in the form of a Hessian soldier, it stood atop the Market House first and City Hall second for a combined 166 years. It was moved from the Market House to City Hall in 1824.
During the Civil War era, the weathervane gained its characteristic bullet hole from a Confederate sharpshooter, who won a bet after shooting it from a full city block away.
Finally in 1935, the original was retired to the Museum of the Washington County Historical Society, later to be moved to its present display in the Jonathan Hager House. An exact replica has replaced it atop City Hall.
The weathervane has also been depicted in the city's annual Mummers Day Parade by Mr. Charles Harry Rittenhouse, Sr. sporting all of the necessary accoutrements of a German Mercenary Soldier.
Little Heiskell was at one time the mascot of North Hagerstown High School.
Read more about this topic: Hagerstown, Maryland, History