You probably know about General Braddock, but have you heard about Charlotte Bristowe Browne? Not likely. But Browne was an essential member of General Edward Braddock’s army, and the first nurse to serve at Fort Cumberland. In 1754, as Matron of the General Hospital...
Locals are familiar with Cresaptown, part of greater Cumberland, but how many know of “Cresap’s War”? In the 1730s, there was violence between settlers claiming rival loyalties to Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Assembly got wind that Maryland was planning...
George Washington arrived at Cumberland in October 1794 as President and as leader of the troops in order to put down the citizens’ revolt known as the Whiskey Rebellion. It was the first and only time that a sitting President has led troops into battle. Washington...
Washington visited Cumberland very early in his military career as a volunteer aide-de-camp to General Braddock. Washington had been Colonel in Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie’s colonial forces, but suffered a defeat where he was forced to surrender. This...
February is Black History MonthDid you know that Frederick Douglass delivered a lecture in Cumberland?On September 23 1879, Marshal Douglass arrived to lecture for the Emancipation celebration. Here is the story from the Washington Post, Sept. 24, 1879: “Emancipation...
Although George Washington first planned a career in the Royal Navy, by the age of 17 he was commissioned as a surveyor. He compiled sample surveys as part of his education. Washington’s so-called “School Boy Copy Books” are housed in the George Washington...
Why Washington? Why Cumberland MD? George Washington visited this area at important points in his life and career. In March 1748, during his time as a surveyor, he wrote of visiting the Cresap home at the mouth of the South Branch of the Potomac. He...
In 1921, Cumberland Police and Fire Commissioner A.K. Hummelshime attacked the authenticity of Washington’s Cabin in a letter to then Cumberland Mayor Thomas Koon. Hummelshime claimed that the logs used were gathered from multiple locations over a period of one...
The Gold Nugget Museum was, like Allegany Museum, a volunteer-run repository of local history. It focused on the Gold Rush and local mining history. It was in Paradise, a forested community, which historically attracted loggers and prospectors searching for new...
Allegany Museum honors Cumberland’s firefighting heroes with its exhibit of artifacts, vehicles, equipment, photographs, and a narrative of the story of fire fighting in Cumberland. Cumberland installed its first municipal water system, including fire plugs and water...
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