The Independent Order of Odd Fellows fraternal organization traces back to 17th Century England where the masses endured lawlessness, disease and poverty.  Well-meaning people from different trades and walks of life found it necessary to group together and contribute...

Two prominent Boonsboro businesses can be traced back to John Christian Brining, Sr., who was born in Wurttemberg, Germany, on August 10, 1810.  During the Brining families’ journey to America in 1817, their vessel was shipwrecked off the coast of Norway and while...

Shafer Park is a lasting tribute to the vision of Boonsboro’s leaders and the generosity and commitment of its citizens. In the 1930’s, Mayor John Hershberger noted that the “homecoming week” (perhaps the precursor to Boonsborough Days) created an “inconvenience and...

David Belasco’s successful and influential career as a theatrical producer and playwright stretched between 1884 and 1930.  A frequent visitor to Boonsboro, he wrote, directed, or produced more than 100 Broadway plays including The Heart of Maryland.  This highly...

American families sacrificed greatly during the two years (1917-1918) that the United States fought in “The War to End All Wars.”  Of the approximately 4.7 million men and women that served in the regular U.S. forces, National Guard and draft units, over 116,500 were...

Elected sheriffs have been enforcing the law in Washington County since 1777, fifteen years before Boonsboro was founded.  Since then, 79 individuals have been elected Washington County Sheriff, confronting all manner of criminal disturbances and, until 1835, serving...

Boonsboro’s flag was first unfurled in 1975.   After Mayor Edward. T. Weaver and town council endorsed the idea of creating a flag for Boonsboro, they turned to Pat Lemkuhl, a faculty member at Boonsboro High School.  She organized a flag design contest and Wayne...

Benjamin Franklin was appointed first Postmaster General by the Continental Congress in 1775 and only 26 years later, in 1801, a U.S. Post Office opened in the budding town of Boonsboro.  Patrick Conn, proprietor of the Eagle Hotel (now, Inn BoonsBoro), became our...

Images of covered bridges evoke dreams of slower, simpler times in  American history.  Over the past 200 years 120 such iconic structures carried traffic over Maryland waterways, but today only 6 survive.    Snook's Creek flows from South Mountain, crossing Alt 40...

In 1904, the Republican Club and Wash Co Free Library collections were joined.

The Washington County Free Library opened in Hagerstown on August 27, 1901 and the first librarian, Mary Titcomb, was determined that it would truly serve all of Washington County.  She was unusually creative in finding ways to make the library collection widely...