Appalachian History

Just here it may not be amiss to refer to those broad, wholly enclosed valleys whose meandering streams are often bordered by rather marshy ground. Such valleys are known in Garrett County as Glades, while any valley which has steep bounding slopes and slightly marshy flood-plain is called glady country. These poorly drained areas are [...]

In her book about growing up in Lonaconing, MD, Ruth Bear Levy (1898-1994) wrote about how “modern artists could create masterpieces out of the sights and sounds of Lonaconing,” how a “painter could paint the shapes and dark and light contours of the area” and how “all the pastel colors could be rolled out of [...]

There is a town in Maryland’s westernmost county of Garrett that got its name from a happy accident. In 1750, Maryland settler George Deakins was granted 600 acres of land as a payment of a debt from England’s King George II. Deakins sent out two corps of engineers, each without knowledge of the other, to [...]

When you’re in Oakland or Grantsville, Maryland, you’re in Old Order Amish territory. If you’re not Amish yourself, you may be wondering just how that group got its name. You’d have to go back to the Zurich, Switzerland of the 1690s and make the acquaintance of one Jakob Amman. Amman’s roots were in the Anabaptists, [...]

Barney was very industriously studying her history lesson when suddenly she looked up and asked: “Mr. Humbertson, what is beheaded?” “Why, beheaded is having the head cut off, of course.” After a moment of thought, Barney suddenly exclaimed: “Well, then I guess defeat is having the feet cut off.” Miss Kraft who was given the [...]