The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1927-09-01
PAPER is READ AT CIVIC
MEETING; REPORTS GIVEN
Club President Talks On Early
Days OF Deer Park

Grant, Mrs. Arthur Naylor, Miss
Rhesa King, and the reading of a
paper on the early Days of Deer
Park" by Miss Thekla Fundenberg,
featured the August meeting Of the
Oakland Civic Club which was held
Tuesday afternoon at Crook Crest.
Mrs. Grant gave a report on the
benefit moving picture, Mrs. Naylor
on the organization Of the Garrett
county chapter of the Maryland
League for Crippled Children, and
Miss King gave an account Of her
recent visit to Baltimore, when she
accompanied two children to the Chill
dren'd Hospital School. Miss King
attended an orthopedic clinic and
made visits of inspection to two
hospitals used for this class of work,
and also visited each child from Gar
rett county. These she found in good
care, very happy and making good
progress toward recovery.
She also reported on money re-
ceived by her for the benefit of the
crippled children of this community.
Among the amounts received was one
of 500 donated by the Oakland Ro-
tary club.
A paper was read by Miss Funden-
berg on the early days of Deer Park,
as described in book found in the
Oakland Public Library entitled, "The
Life of Henry G. Davis" Following
is a short resume of the points taken
from the book:
Early Days of Deer Park
One of the pioneers Of Garrett
county, Henry Gassaway Davis, open
ed his home here 1867 and lived here
| during the summer until 1892 when
he moved to Elkins.
| In 1878 he records having a ship
ment Of salmon trout for three
pounds, consigned from Smutsoma,
Saskhika. In 1881 he raised 5000
bushels of oats, weighing 81 pounds
to the bushel, 800 bushels of buck
wheat, and 800 tons of hay.
Through his owning a summer
home here and being acquainted with
John w. Garrett, of Baltimore, at
that time president of the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad, Mr.. Garrett built
summer home and his son, 7. Har-
rison Garrett, built another. Mr..
John w. Garrett went farther than
this and in conjunction with Mr..
Davis, the Deer Park Hotel and cot
tages were erected. In a short time
Deer Park became the summers
! capital. 1t was easily accessible to
Baltimore and Washington and
several handsome summer homes
were built, and many noted people
visited at the hotel. On June 3, 1886,
President Grover Cleveland and his
bride, came to Deer Park, occupying
one of the cottages.
Senator Davis helped to entertain
them, with pleasant drives and good
trout fishing on Deep creek. They
brought the president and Mrs. Cleve-
land to Oakland on Sunday to attend
church in the Garrett Memorial
church.
In August 1887, Mr.. and Mrs. Ben
jamin Harrison, of Indiana, visited
ex-senator Davis. Mr.. Harrison was
senator at that time and later, in
1889, he became president and occu-
pied the cottage owned by Mr.. Spen-
Ger for one season.
Cardinal Gibbons came frequently
to Deer Park, and was entertained in
various ways.
Henry G. Davis was born in Balti-
more in 1923 and was taken by his
father to see the laying of the first
stone" for the Baltimore and Ohio
in 1928. He lived part of his life in
Maryland until 1902 when he gave up
his home here. He developed coal
and timber land all through West
Virginia, building the West Virginia
Central Railway to Elkins and the
Coal and Coke railway from Elkins
to Charleston.