Mountain Maryland

Scope: 

The purpose of this pathfinder is to provide the researcher with a starting point for finding materials on a part of Appalachia often overlooked—the three westernmost counties of Maryland. The counties of Garrett, Allegheny, and Washington are rich in history and culture and are distinctively Appalachian in their own right. Unfortunately, scholarship on Appalachia often focuses on the southern mountains, but here, researchers interested in topics such as the National Highway, the Western Maryland railroad, genealogy, or a general history on a region often forgotten will find a place to start.

Introductory Text: 

Scharf, John Thomas. 1968 History of Western Maryland: Being a History of Frederick, Montgomery, Carroll, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties From the Earliest Period To the Present Day, Including Bibliographic Sketches of Their Representative Men. Baltimore, MD: Regional Publishing Co. Originally published in 1882. ASU SPEC APP COLL: F187.A15 S3 1968. v.1 and v.2.

Library of Congress Subject Headings: 

Highly Relevant:

  • Maryland – Western
  • Garrett County Md
  • Allegany County Md
  • Washington County Md
  • Western Maryland Railway Company
  • The Cumberland Road
  • Maryland Coal Mines and Mining
  • Maryland Coal Miners History
  • Antietam – Battle of Md - 1862

Also Relevant:

  • Maryland – Western – Genealogy
  • Garrett County Md History
  • Garrett County Md Social Life and Customs
  • Garrett County Md Genealogy
  • Allegany County Md History
  • Allegany County Md Genealogy
  • Washington County Md History
  • Washington County Md Genalogy
  • Western Maryland Railroad Company
  • Maryland Coal
  • United States Highway 40
Clipping Files Subject Headings – W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection: 
  • Maryland
Library of Congress Call Numbers: 
  • F186
  • F187
  • TF23
  • HE2791
  • HE 356
  • HD9547
  • HD 8039
  • E474
  • GV199
Books: 

Schlosnagle, Stephen and the Garrett County Bicentennial Committee. 1978 Garrett County: A History of Maryland’s Tableland. Parsons, WV: McClain Print Co. Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County: F187.G2 S34 1978.

Stegmaier, Harry I. 1976 Allegany County: A History. Parsons, WV: McClain Print Co. ASU SPEC APP COLL: F187.A4 A44.

Harvey, Katherine A. 1969 The Best Dressed Miners: Life and Labor In the Maryland Coal Region 1835-1910. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ASU SPEC APP COLL: HD8039.M62 U53.

Bogart, Mary. 2000 Conquering the Appalachians: Building the Western Maryland and Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railroads Through the Appalachian Mountains; Taken From the Journals, Records and Photographs of William C. Hattan, a Civil Engineer Who Built Much of It. Rochester, NY: Railroad Research Publications. ASU SPEC APP COLL TRAIN: TF23.2.B64 2000.

Schildt, John W. Drums Along the Antietam. McClain Print Co., Parsons, WV: 1972 [1976]. ASU SPEC APP COLL: E474.65 S34.

Guides, Encyclopedias, and Dictionaries: 

“Early White Settlement of Western Maryland.” In Encyclopedia of Appalachia. p. 311-312. 2006. Knoxville, TN: The University of Tennessee Press. ASU SPEC APP COLL: F106.E53 2006.

“Cumberland, Maryland.” In Encyclopedia of Appalachia. p. 366-367. Knoxville, TN: The University of Tennessee Press. ASU Spec APP COLL; F106.E53 2006.

Golightly, Jean. 1997 Hikes in Western Maryland. Vienna, VA: Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. ASU SPEC APP COLL: GV199.42.M32 W474 1997.

Hagerstown Area Chamber of Commerce. 1971 Hagerstown and Washington County Maryland. Cambridge, MD: Windsor. ASU SPEC APP COLL: F189.H25 H34 1971.

Bibliographies: 

Russell, Donna Valley. 1996 Allegany and Garrett Counties, Maryland: Genealogical Research Guide. New Market, MD: Catoctin Press. ASU SPEC APP COLL: F187.A4 R87 1996.

Abstracts and Indices: 

Wright, F. Edward. 1999-2001 Western Maryland Newspaper Abstracts. Westminster, MD: Willow Bend Books. v. 1, 2 and 3. ASU SPEC APP COLL: F186.9 W75 1999.

“America: History and Life.” Accessed through ASU’s library website.

“JSTOR.” Accessed through ASU’s library website.

“Anthropological Literature.” Accessed through ASU’s library website.

Journals: 

Maryland Historical Magazine is an excellent quarterly that often provides many scholarly articles about Mountain Maryland.

The Glades Star is a weekly journal started by a hotel owner in 1941 that chronicles the formation of Garrett as a county. Though it continued until 2005, it is most relevant in its early years.

Websites: 

The Garrett County Historical Society maintains a very useful website:

www.gchsmuseum.com

As does the Genealoical Society for Allegany County, Maryland:

www.mdgenweb.org/acgs

Not as useful, but the Washington County, Maryland Historical Society maintains a website as well:

www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mdwchs/

Compiled by: 

Compiler: Ben Yoder, 30 October 2010