“Carroll County Place Names from the Carroll Record Histories, Part II”

Carroll County Times article for 23 October 1994

by Jay A. Graybeal

Last week’s column presented the stories behind the place names of Taneytown, New Windsor, Linwood, Priestland Valley, McKinstry’s Mill, Double Pipe Creek, Keysville, York Road and Bruceville.

As related by Daniel Wolfe, Union Bridge was originally known as Pipe Creek Settlement and was also once known as Buttersburg.

The records show that in 1735 the said Allen Farquhar, for and in consideration of his natural love and affection for his son William, and for the further consideration of his said son’s filial kindness and obedience in being willing to remove from “ye” province of Pennsylvania to “ye” province of Maryland, conveyed to his William by deed, 200 acres of land. In compliance with the terms of this deed, William Farquhar and his wife, Ann, came to Maryland in 1735 and settled upon the land, and were the first permanent settlers. The settlement established by [William] Farquhar and his co-workers, was known as “The Pipe Creek Settlement.”Our town long went by the undignified cognomen of “Buttersburg,” and this name originated in a very natural way. In the beginning of this century [nineteenth], Geo. Cox, a remote descendant of King George of England, and father of Jno. R., Ephraim, William Y., James and Mary E. Cox, opened a store, and started a huckster route in the place, and from the abundance of butter, or the superior quality of it, the place was dubbed “Buttertown” or “Buttersburg.”

Its present name came from the circumstance of building a bridge over Pipe Creek just north of the town, and a short way from it. As there were then no County Commissioners to make roads, or build bridges, the people of the neighborhood had to join together and build the bridge themselves, and when it was completed they wished to name it, and as they had unitedly constructed it, they very appropriately called it “Union” Bridge.

The village of Harney received its name under unusual circumstances as recalled by J. W. Reck.
The next thing that presented itself was a proper name for the place. Prior to this the town has no particular name, but was commonly called “Monocacyville,” As there was already one post-office in the state by that name, it was necessary to change the name before the office could be started. Quite a number of names were suggested, but none could be definitely settled on as there always seemed to be another place by the name suggested, so at last Mr. Rinehart went to Emmitsburg to examine the post-office directory, so that a name might be chosen that was not already on the list of offices. It was then decided that James Elder, post master at that time, as well as a prominent and influential citizen of Emmitsburg, should have the honor of naming the place.In 1850, Utah was organized as a territory, by the United States government, when Brigham Young was appointed governor by President Fillmore, and his appointment was subsequently renewed by President Pierce. In 1857, however, charges of violence toward the officers of the federal government in Utah, were brought against the Mormons, and in June of this year, General Harney was appointed to the command of a large body of troops who were to accompany Mr. Cumming, a new governor, appointed in Brigham Young’s place by Mr. Buchanan, to the scene of his duties.

When Mr. Elder was informed that he was to name the new post-office, he had just finished reading an account of the above named trouble, and he promptly replied “we will call it Harney, after General Harney,” and the name was sent on to the Post Office Department where it was accepted, and the office established, with Jeremiah Rinehart, who is well known throughout Carroll county, as the first post-master.

Dr. Jacob J. Weaver, Jr. wrote how Uniontown was originally known as “The Forks.”

The original name of the settlement was “The Forks” and it was entirely confined to what is now the west end of the village, the name of Uniontown does not appear upon any record previous to the year 1813, and the town as it now stands was laid out in lots for Erhart Cover, by John Hyder, surveyor, on the 20th of October 1815. This does not include the west half of the village, nor the south side of the main street, they having been surveyed off and built upon years before.

The name of Uniontown appears first in the records of Door to Virtue Lodge, No 46., A. F. and A. Masons, and the entry bears the date, November 17th., 1813. As none of the deeds of the property situated in said town, nor any know public records previous to the above date contain any reference to the name, it is to be presumed that, that grand old organization gave the village its present name. The Acts of the Assemble for the year 1814 mention Uniontown.

The story of Trevanion was written by J. H. Taylor.

On September 8, 1854, the Kephart’s agreed to sell to W. W. Dallas the property known as “Brick mills,” and on March 19, 1855, George Kephart and Sarah Kephart, of Carroll county, Md., and Adam B. Wingard, and Hannah his wife, of Franklin county, Pa., deeded to W. W. Dallas, 358 1/2 acres, part of “Brick mills,” and on the first day of April, 1855, we introduce William Wallace Dallas, lawyer, orator, artist, suave as a Chesterfield, brave as a lion, generous as a prince, and with him, the birthday of Trevanion.

Trevanion was a family name of Mr. Dallas, his father having borne it, but he said he was influenced as much by the meeting of streams at the mill location in the dialect of Wales, from whence the Dallas family formerly came, suggested Trevanion, hence the double motive for the names.

These stories about how some of our villages were named, and in some cases renamed, are only a small part of the community traditions that can be found in the Carroll Record Histories due out in early November.
Photo Caption: Trevanion, the former home of Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Dallas. The property gave its name to the surrounding area. Historical Society of Carroll County Collection.