CENTENNIAL HISTORY 1149 SY 1949 THEKLA FUNOENBERG WEEKS ~ .., ..... GARRETT COUNTY, MARYLAND CENTENNIAL HISTORY 1849 - 1949 BY THEKLA FUNDENBERG WEEKS Publishe:i By The OAKLAND CENTENNIAL COMMISSION, INC. Franklin E. Rathbun, Chairman Joseph Hinebaugh Dr. E. I. Baumgartner N. A. Coplin Mrs. George H. Hanst Bernard I. Gonder Sr. PRINTED BY THE SINCELL PRINTING COMPANY OAKLAND. MARYLAND 1~49 CONTENTS INTR1ODUCTION ............................. :............................ 5 MAP OF OAKLAND, 1949 ........................ _............. ,............ 6 CENTENNIAL COMMISSION ..................... ,........................ 7 ORIGINAL PLAT OF OAKLAND, 1849 .................................. ,... 8 MAYOR AND TOWN C·OUNCIL OF OAKLAND, MARYLAND .......... ,....... 9 VIEW OF OAKLAND ................................ •'; ........... ~ ........ 10 CHAPTER I-GARRETT COUNTY ......................................... 11-31 Mayo and Lewis Surveys, Gist's First Explorations, Trails and Roads, Early Settlers, Early Land Surveys, The Military Lots Surveyed, Journeys of Washington, County Census of 1800, F'irst Property Assessment, Towns and Villages, The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Deep· Creek Lake, Civil War Days, Garrett, a New County, 1872; B-0undaries of Garrett County, John W. Garrett, Patrick J. Garrett and -Deer Park; Agriculture, Industry and Commerce; Forestry and Lumbering, Recreation. CHAPTE·R II-THE_B. & 0. RAILROAD THROUGH GARRE_;_T CO·UNT'Y .... 32-35 The Railroad at Cumberlanq, Surveys Across the· Mountains, The West Virginia Central Railroad, The Confluence and Oakland Railroad. CHAPTER III-EARLY SETTLERS ........................................ 36-40 Y-0ugh Glades, "The Wilderness Shall Smile," Ingman's Place, Thayer, 1819; T-0tten and Tower, 1855. _ · _ CHAPTER IV-OAKLAND ............ ,.................................. ,.. 41-45 Town Lots for Sale, Oakland Incorporated, Electricity and Natural Gas, Garrett County Telephone Company. CHAPTER V-WARS AND VETERANS' ORGANIZATIONS ................. 46-48 General Jones' Raid, General Kelly and General Crook, G.A.R., National Guard, Spanish­ Anierican War, ·world War I, American Legion, World War II, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Amvets. CHAPTER VI-HOTELS~Horse and Buggy Days .......................... 49-53 CHAPTER VII-MILLS AND TANNE1RIES .................................. 54-56 Grist Mills, The Tannery, W-0olen Mills. CHAPTE·R VIII-MERCHANTS .......................................... 57-63 Brant-Townshend, John M. Davis, John Harned, M. L. Scott; Offutt's Store, Owen Hart and Son, Yankee Notion Store, Cheap John Michaels, Oakland Bakery; A. D. Nayl-0r and Company, Shirer and Son, Bolden, Brown, Etc.; H. C. Sincell, Treacy's Store, Miscel­ laneous, Note, The W ebers. CHAPTER IX-DOCTORS, DENTISTS, DRUGGISTS ....................... 64-69 Oakland's First Doctors, The McComases, Dr. Bartlett and Dr. Colardeau, Dr. Keller, Dr. Hinebaugh, Dr. N. I. Broadwater, Dr. J-ohn D. Dar.by, Dr. Baumgartner, Clinics, · Doctors Sollars, Mance, Gannon; Doctors Lusby, Williams, Feaster and Wenzel; Our Doctors Away From Home, Dentists, Drug Stores. CHAPTER X-HOSPITALS AND THE LO·ARS ............................ 70-72 Garrett County Memorial Hospital, Rinehart-Loar, The Washington Elm. CHAPTER XI-CHURCHES AND CE'.METERIES ........................ · · · · 73-76 CHAPTE-R XII~SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES, POSTOFFICE .................... 77-80 Schools, 1823-1948; Ruth Enlow and Free Public Libraries, Postoffices. C-HAPTER XIII-NEWSPAPERS, LAWYERS, BANKS ..................... 81-85 Newspapers, Lawyers and Associates, Oakland Banks. CHAPTER XIV-ORGANIZATIONS ......... ,............................. 86-89 Lodge-s, Oakland Club, 1900; Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Mt. Lake Park-Oakland Lions Club, Boy Scouts, Garrett County Historical Society, Oakland Volunteer Fire Department, . The Oakland Band, Oakland Civic club, Miscellaneous. CHAPTER XV-FARM AND DAIRY ...................................... 90-91 CHAPTER XVI-"THE· PARK" AND ITS ENVIRONS ...................... 92-95 MAP OF GARRETT COUNTY, MARYLAND ................................ 96 BUSINESS GUIDE, 1860 ...................... ;........................... 97 BUSINE.SS DIRECTO,RY, 1872 ................ •: . .......................... 97 ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TQ, OAKLAND, 1900-1926 ....... •;• ................ 98-99 QOUNTY COMMISSIONERS, 1949 .............. ·...................... ,..... 99 BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY, 194_9 ................ ,...... 100-102 SOME SEVENTY YEARS AGO-:-Poom by J. W. Kimmell ...., ................ 103 THEKLA FUNDE:NBERG WEEKS INTRODUCTION Oakland, in the Highlands of Maryland, celebrates this year the centennial of its founding, the survey of the first town lots in October, 1849. The town owes its location at the old ford of the Little Youghiogheny to routes of travel and trade, east and west, north and south; McCullough's Pack Horse Path passed just south of the town, and the old Glades Path became the Virginia-Maryland Inter-State Road-the first wagon road built for commerce across the mountains­ from Westernport through Yough Gla<;les (Oakland) to Clarksburg, Virginia. Our centennial also corresponds to the one hundredth anniversary of the con­ struction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad across the mountains ; in fact it was the location of the railroad which gave birth to the town. For this reason we have in­ cluded in this history a chapter on the building of that great artery of traffic through this area. We are indebted for the material in this book to articles published in the local news­ papers and in The Glades Star, bulletin of the County Historical Society; to The Story of the Steam Horse, by Ele Bowen, and The History of the B. and 0. Railroad, by Edward Hungerford; to Scharf's History of Western Maryland; to data collected by Miss Elizabeth J. West, and to conversations with older residents. This story of Oakland was written at the request of former Mayor Lawrence M. Fraley and Captain Charles E. Hoye. It is not a complete history. Members of families mentioned will be able to .make additions and corrections. But it may inspire others to carry on research, and to increased interest in preserving old documents, letters and photographs of. historical value. THEKLA FUNDENBE-RG WEE-KS February, 1949. 5 (\ GARllnTCOU~l't' \)MIMOll.l"'\. HOtiPiTl'IL /i'.eHrY"la 0 0 ■· 1 LEGION HOME ..... PENNl/'f(;TON : L-----------,1 I jr.ellr '. .) I I I I I I I [ILfMfJfAR.Y -- -- I - -- ... NEW w,D I I i I 0') □·:: ; ceNrEl I I I I t I Oakland Ccmetcu•y I A~MOR.'11 ' I I I '!'J~ I III I I CJ ...__ /. UJE41'.,Y,,,---_J DI --- -......§ ~ --,.. ~ HIGH SCHOOL ~ NEW HIGH SCHOOL 51TC -. I~ ,o, .. ~ CITY HALL■ SITE OP ~~n : /ILD£R :: I c1 ...HZJI+ , • 111 ■ :a: C.T,HOUH JI\IL •• OAKLAND MARYLAND GAR.R.ETT COUNTY 1849- 1949 DR.AWN 6Y R.OAT. J, R.UCK.E~T FOR, THE GAR.R.ETT COUNTY HISTOR.ICAL SOCIET'( ~ "'" 4 y, N. A. COPLIN MRS. GEO. HANST F. E. RATHBUN JOS. HINEBAUGH B. I. GONDER DR. BAUMGARTNER ...~ WORD OF GREETING FROM THE GENERAL CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF OAKLAND'S' CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION To the Celebrants of Oakland's Centennial: The members of Oakland's Centennial Commission join me in extending to you a hearty welcome to the events prepared for your enjoyment and profit. They have all enjoyed the work of ar­ ranging them for you. Your interest in our Centennial is appreciated by our townsfolk. May the program for this celebration meet with your approval and serve to draw you closer to our com­ munity and leave such plea~ant memories that you will want to come back as your opportunities per­ mit. These are among the purposes of the celebration of the 100th birthday of our mountain town. The mem!bers of the Commission feel especially pleased with the efforts of the Historical Committee. They had little to draw upon in writing of the early days of Oakland. The sources of ma­ terials were meager. There was no precedent. And the folks of those early days had somewhat the same handicaps to which Napoleon referred when h;e said in his days of greatest activity: "I'm too busy making history to take time out for writing it!" So it was with our early residents. They were too busy in those pioneering days in keeping not only the .wolf 1bu~_ likewise the Indian from the door. Their perils were too close for them to sit down anci write about them. One of the purposes of this message of introduction and welcome is t :> pay tribute to the i accomplishments of the Historical Committee for its work in completing this Centennial History of O~and. The Committee was made up of the following parties: Captain Charles E. Hoye, ·chairman; Mrs. Thekla Fundenberg Weeks; Frederick A. Thayer; Mrs. Edward F. Smouse; Miss Elizabeth West. Oakland has made no outstanding efforts t~ be a big city. It has been free of those complex problems of large centers of population. AEsop's fable of the Frog and the Ox seems to have set up a guiding principle for its people. It appears to have been content to be a small town by the side of the road. Its problems have likewise be-en comparatively small; but it has striven to solve _them in a big way. This attitude has given rise to that phrase o.ften used: '!Oakland is the ,biggest small town in the United States!" No pretensions are made to the contrary. With this a~titude have come cooper­ ation, peace, health and happiness in a big way. May the future for Oakland continue on an equally high level! One of the major aims of this Centennial History is that it may serve to continue the sub­ stantial growth of Oakland; that its ~ast