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| Garrett County History | ||
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“Early Settlers” |
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When a person considers the frontier life during the Colonial period, he
often asks, “What prompted the early settlers to move into the wilderness and
endure the hardships of such an undertaking.” The answer cane be summarized in one
word, “land.” The desire for land of their own, coupled with religious freedom, was
the force that motivated the early settlers to leave their homes in Europe and settle in
Colonial North America.
In the 1600’s, land was settled around the sea ports of the East Coast. Then, the “westward movement” began and the frontier was gradually pushed back through the mountains. John Friend, Sr. is considered to be the first permanent settler of Garrett County. According to family tradition, John Friend, his son Gabriel, and his brother Andrew came into Garrett County from Virginia in 1764 by way of McCullugh’s Path. Eventually, they got to the Indian village on the Youghiogheny River which now bears the family name, “Friendsville.” They found the Indians very friendly and purchased land from them with the intention of settling there. The following year, 1765, they returned with their families, livestock, and farm implements; this time via the old Braddock Road and an Indian trail leading to the Youghiogheny River site. During the following years, other families moved into the Youghiogheny River watershed. Records indicate that these families followed a settlement pattern typical of the time. They would take up a parcel of land, be there for one generation, and then move onward to land in the mid-west. |
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Gas Wells |
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Drilling for gas in the Accident area began in the 1930’s, with the first producing well
“coming in” around 1937. Since that time, numerous gas wells have been drilled in the area.
The production of gas in this gas field was minimal, and during the 1962 it be came a
storage area for the Texas Eastern Transmission Corp. At maximum storage capacity the field
can hold 63 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
A law of physics states that stored gas released from higher pressure, takes up heat. Thus, the gas lines from the wells must have some anti-freeze injected into the pipes to prevent them from freezing-up at the “well head” during cold weather. |
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German Settlers |
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| During the 1820’s and 1830’s a number of families from German began to settle on the farm land in the Accident – Cove area of North Central Garrett County. Although many of them were farmers, some followed other trades such as blacksmithing, milling, etc. However, one of the most unusual German settlers to come into the area was Melchoir Miller, who, in 1875, established the distillery for making Melky Miller Maryland Rye Whisky; the business continued until forced to close in 1920 when Prohibition became a National law. The foundations for the Bonded Warehouses of the distillery can still be seen 200 feet south of the Miller Road, ¼ mile east of the Brethren Church Road intersection. | ||
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Drane House - Accident Oldest Continuously Occupied House in Garrett County |
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Although it wasn’t the first log cabin in the County, by the mid-1900’s
it had been occupied by successive families for over 150 years. Built by William LaMr prior to
1800 (a guess puts it at 1797) it became the home of LaMar’s brother-in-law, James Drane and
family in 1803. LaMar owned Flowery Vale, a 900 acre tract of land on which the log cabin was
built. Half a century later, most of the town of Accident was built on the land; the
“Accident” tract was incorporated into the Flowery Vale tract.
James Drane added an addition to the cabin shortly after he arrived, giving the building a total of six rooms; three upstairs and three down. He moved to western Maryland from Prince George’s County, which was part of the Maryland tobacco belt. Seemingly, James Drane intended to turn Flowery Vale into a tobacco plantation. However, the climate of Garrett County proved unsuitable for growing tobacco, and he turned to normal farm crops. The last owners of the house were members of the Heinrick Richter family who purchased it in 1856. They leased it to a number of people; the last family left in 1952. The Accident Cultural and Historic Society was formed in 1987, and one of its main projects was the restoration of the Drane house. On Oct. 25, 1991, the A. J. Wiley Co. of springs, Pa, began the restoration work and on Sept. 24, 1994, dedication of the restored building took place during the Drane Family reunion. At that time, all the restoration work had been complete with the exception of rebuilding the chimney on the west end of the building; it was completed by June 30, 1995. |
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Bear Creek Grist Mills |
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One of the first grist mills built on Bear Creek was the Engle Mill, built by Samuel Engle in
1835. Although the mill disappeared long ago, the millrace can still be seen along the bank
above the mill’s location.
Samuel Engle had an energetic young man working for him named Henry Kaese. As the community grew larger, and there was more milling business to be done, Henry Kaese built a grist mill one half mile downstream from the Engle mill in 1868. According to Kaese family tradition, Mrs. Kaese supervised the digging of the millrace while her husband, Henry Kaese, worked with the men to build the grist mill. Over the years, Henry Kaese and later his son, Henry Kaese Jr., upgraded the mill from using mill stones to the “roller mill” system. (The roller mill system operated like the old washing machine ringer.) Kaese’s mill still has all of its machinery inside, and the iron water wheel is one of the few remaining ones in western Maryland. |
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Bear Creek Iron Furnace |
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In some parts of Garrett County, pieces of sandstone can be found which have iron ore
incorporated in them. Also, some of the clay material in the County has small nodules of iron
ore. Both have been found in the Friendsville area, and in 1828 an iron furnace was built
along Bear Creek, upstream from Friendsville. First incorporated as Allegany Iron Company,
Inc., the name was later changed to the Youghiogheny Iron Company. The pig iron produced was
transported to a foundry at Brownsville, Pa., and the furnace operated into the 1840’s, giving
employment to about 100 men.
Although nothing remains of the iron furnace today, the nearby quarry which supplied some of the iron ore is still there. |
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Bear Creek Railroad |
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| The Garrett County lumbering industry was in its maximum phase in 1890’s, and one of the best ways to get to the timber on Meadow Mountain was by rail. Started as the Bear Creek Railroad in 1899 it was generally referred to as “the Meadow Mountain Lumber Company railroad” since it was utilized and extended for almost 39 miles by the Meadow Mountain Lumber Company. Traces of the old roadbed can still be seen along the banks of Bear Creek and throughout the glades area on top of Meadow Mountain. | ||
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