The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-05-20
BITS OF HISTORY.
Inc First Postoffices and Postmasters o.
Old AIlegany County.

correspondent of the Cumberland
Nea0S of last Friday, who is easy rec
ognizable as the Historian of West
ern Maryland" Mr.. Jacob Brown
writing of the postOffices in old Allie
gany county, has the following TO
say:
Evidently there is now a decided
tendency III the minds of the reading
people to acquire a knowledge of his
toric matter as well as current events
or occurrences, and it is well it is So
/ have in mind historic matter of our
own locality, county, it may be said
| propose to make a few suggestions
as to the first postof1fces of old Allie
gany county. In early times a town
fortunate enough to have a postoffice
was called a "POst-town." Our old
time biographies often mentioned
Post-towns. In 1895 five years after
the organization of the county, Cum
berIand became a Post-town, with
Charles =. Broadhag as postmaster.
For about Il quarter of a century this
was the only postotfice in the county
of 900 square miles.
In 1921, October Is, a postoffice was
established at Frostburg. The name
was in honor of Josiah Frost, lead
ing man there, and the proprietor of
the lands upon which the place, now
a city of 5000 or 1000 prosperous peo-
pie, was built. The Frost family
have always been very prominent.
The next in order was Tomlinsons,
established April I, 1924, II miles west
at the historic Little Meadows, on the
old National Road, then and still
about 100 yards from the old Brad
dock Road. Little Meadows would
have been the logical name of the
pOstOt1ice, but Jesse TOmlinsOn had
for many years been of "bar0nial
powers" as q recent writer has said.
and the owner of large estate-elec-
ted six or seven times to the Legisla-
ture from 1890 to 1914. In this way
the Office took Il personal name the
same as Frostburg. About the year
1888 it was moved two miles further
west to the Little Crossing, a Brad
dock name of 1855. This was the name
of the Office while it remained at this
point, with Mr. James Burton as
postmaster. In 1919 the Office went
one mile further on, to Grantsville,
with its faithful official, where it still
remains. Burton served about thirty
years in all-up to war times.
Grantsville takes it name from
Daniel Grant, an early settler at old
Grantsville, near the present town.
He came originally from Baltimore
county, and think after encounter
ing some business universities, return
ed to his old home.
The next p0stOffice in the county to
the westward was at Selbysport, es-
tablished December 10. 1888. some ten
miles to the left of the old-time high
ways This Office took it name from
one of the old-time Selby family.
Flintstone was established July 20,
1922. How or where the name came
from | have never heard. There We're
two other Offices in the county in its
early history, WesternpOrt and in the
Gladcs, near the present site Of Oak
land. But what Il difference between
then and now. At this time there are
in AlIegany county thirty-two offices
and in Garrett thirty-twO. The ven
cradle Joseph NJ. Strong, now i'll his
95th year, tells me he carried the L. S.
mail from Cumberland to Uniontown,
Pa, in 1917 on horseback, over the
National road in part, and the rest of
the way over the old Braddock road,
with but one Office between, at Smith
field, Pa, with one Blccher as post
master, a brother, it is supposed, Of
the late John George Blocher of this
city.
The most OF this acceptable infor
nation was obtained quite recently
upon call at the PostofIice Depart
ment al Washington, through a high
ly respectable old Cumberlander, Col.
James G Lynn, for number of years
an official in that department of the
government. He was . genial and
gentlemanly as when among us, and
it was a. real satisfaction to see and
learn his record there was as clean
and honorable as his war record, or
that Of his sheritralty in Allegany for
TWO years.
May 70, 1897. }. B.
McHenTy.
Mr.. Milton Lowdermilll and wife
were the guests OF Mr.. Brison WEIGH