"Belfast, The Town That Never Was" Carroll County Times article for 14 May 2000 By Jay A. Graybeal The chance discovery of a historic document by New Windsor native and historian Louis H. Dielman, revealed an ambitious plan for a local town that never was. The April 2, 1937 issue of the Taneytown Carroll Record newspaper carried the [...]
"Crime Stories of 1900, Part I" Carroll County Times article for 16 April 2000 By Jay A. Graybeal Carroll Countians experienced a minor crime wave a century ago as reported in the local press. The April 7, 1900 issue of the Westminster American Sentinel reported recent thefts under the headline of "Burglaries and Robberies": "The theory that an [...]
"History of Keysville" Carroll County Times article for 13 February 2000 By Jay A. Graybeal Carroll's communities frequently trace their names to an early settler or to a geographic feature. Keysville in the Middleburg District is named for a local family, however, not for the nationally known member of the family. James B. Koons wrote a [...]
"Carroll County Christmas, 1899" Carroll County Times article for 26 December 1999 By Jay A. Graybeal The last Carroll County Christmas of the Nineteenth Century was celebrated in much the same way as previous years. Local residents attended religious and social functions and generally enjoyed the holiday with family and friends. The December 30, 1899 issue [...]
County Wide R.F.D. Began in 1899" Carroll County Times article for 19 December 1999 By Jay A. Graybeal Tomorrow will be the Centennial of the nation's first county wide rural free delivery system. Carroll County was selected due to the efforts of Westminster Post Office employee Edwin W. Shriver. Not surprisingly, the experiment drew a number [...]
"Artifacts Reveal Carroll's Past" Carroll County Times article for 12 December 1999 By Jay A. Graybeal When the Historical Society was founded in 1939, the founders envisioned an institution whose purposes were "to collect and preserve all papers, books, documents or other matter of things pertaining to the history of Carroll County..." and "to create a [...]
"A Brief History of the Westminster Riding Club" Carroll County Times article for 5 December 1999 By Jay A. Graybeal Horses have played an important role in local life since the settlement period in the Eighteenth Century. Settlers and later residents used horses for personal and wheeled transportation, agrarian pursuits and for sport. Westminster has had racetracks [...]
"Westminster Gets Electric Lighting" Carroll County Times article for 28 November 1999 By Jay A. Graybeal The 1895 election in Westminster centered on the issue of electric lighting for the city. The "electric arc light" faction won out over the "gas light" supporters and the city was soon illuminated by electricity. J. Leland Jordan wrote about [...]
"Just Government League Formed in 1913" Carroll County Times article for 21 November 1999 By Jay A. Graybeal The question of extending the vote to women came to the forefront in Carroll County with the formation of the Just Government League in 1913. A report from the organization's first president, Miss Mary B. Shellman appeared in [...]
"Maryland Physicians Met in 1899" Carroll County Times article for 14 November 1999 By Jay A. Graybeal Westminster has periodically been selected as the host city for a number of state wide meetings or conventions, including firemen, fraternal organizations, rural letter carriers, national guardsmen, etc. The town rolled out the red carpet for such groups and [...]