A Little Deep Creek Lake Garrett County History
Long before Deep Creek Lake came into existence it had plenty of history pre-dating the area as we know it now. Native American artifacts uncover that many tribes like the Cherokee, Delaware (Lanape), and Shawnee have extensive history here in Western Maryland. The Mingo Tribe were indigenous people to the area who annually returned to mountaintops to hunt, fish, plant crops, and trade. There is evidence left from floods through the Potomac River Valley that indicate that some villages have been in existence for over 2000 years.
The first known permanent resident /settler of the Garrett County area was John Friend Sr., who came from the Colony of Virginia with his brother Andrew and son Gabriel in 1762. Eventually they ended up at an Indian village along the Youghiogheny River, which now bears the family name, Friendsville.
In 1872, they divided Allegheny County and formed Garrett County, which was the last County to be formed in Maryland. The county was named after railroad executive, industrialist, and financier John Work Garrett who served as president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from 1858-1884. An interesting fact to note is that the Maryland-Pennsylvania line was surveyed and marked by astronomer Charles Mason and surveyor Jeremiah Dixon. This famous dividing point became known as the Mason Dixon Line, which symbolized the cultural boundary between the Northern and Southern United States, Garrett County representing the South.
In 1806, President Thomas Jefferson signed a bill from the United States Congress setting aside money for building the National Railroad. This was to be the first federally constructed highway in the nation stretching from Cumberland, Maryland to Wheeling, West Virginia. As Americans, we all are very fortunate to live in the greatest country in the world that possesses abundant history and keeps us grounded on where we have been and where we are going in life.
