FREDERICK COUNTY, MARYLAND

HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY


1730. Frederick Calvert, 6th Lord Baltimore, offered free land to those who would settle in Monocacy River Valley.

1743. First Lutheran church in Maryland built under David Candler's leadership, Monocacy River.

1745. Daniel Dulany the Elder laid out Frederick Town (now Frederick) and invited German settlement.

1747, May. Reformed Lutheran congregation organized by Michael Schlatter in Frederick.

1748, Dec. 10. Frederick County formed from parts of Baltimore County and Prince George's County.

1755, April 23. British Maj. Gen. Edward Braddock, Lt. Col. George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin met at Frederick to plan British assault on Fort Duquesne.

1756. Assembly supplied funds for Fort Frederick, near North Mountain.

1756. First Courthouse erected at Frederick.

1765, Nov. 23. County Court judges renounced Stamp Act on what became known as Repudiation Day.


[photo, Catoctin Iron Furnace, 12627 Furnace Road, Thurmont, Maryland] 1773, Nov. 24. Shadrack Bond (1773-1832), first governor of Illinois (1818-1822), born in Frederick.

1774. Catoctin Iron Furnace, Frederick County, built to produce pig iron.

1775, July 18. Rifle companies under Michael Cresap and Thomas Price departed Frederick Town to join Washington's army at Boston, later to become part of Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment.

Catoctin Iron Furnace, 12627 Furnace Road, Thurmont, Maryland, January 2006. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.


[photo, Hessian Barracks, 242 South Market St., Frederick, Maryland] 1776. Montgomery County created from eastern Frederick County.

1776. Washington County created from western Frederick County.

1777. Hessian Barracks were erected by British and Hessian soldiers captured during the Revolutionary Warwar of . Later, the Barracks held prisoners from the War of 1812, were used as an armory, a Civil War hospital, and as the original building for the Maryland School for the Deaf.

Hessian Barracks, 242 South Market St., Frederick, Maryland, January 2006. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.


1784. John Frederick Amelung and party established New Bremen glassworks, Frederick County.

1786. Matthias Bartgis began newspaper publishing in Frederick.

1787, May 21. Toll roads connecting Baltimore with Frederick, Westminster, Hanover, and York authorized by General Assembly.

1787, March. Second Courthouse opened at Frederick.

1792, Aug. 5 - 1793, Jan. 16. Thomas Johnson (1732-1819) of Frederick County served on U.S. Supreme Court.

1799, Feb. 3. Francis Thomas (1799-1876), Governor of Maryland, born near Burkittsville.

1800, Sept. 25. United Brethren in Christ Church founded by Rev. Philip William Otterbein at meeting on Peter Kemp Farm west of Frederick.

1806, March 29. National Road authorized by Congress, eventually linking federally-funded Cumberland Road with privately-constructed Baltimore and Frederick Town Turnpike.

1808. John Dubois (1764-1842) established Mount St. Mary's College (now Mount St. Mary's University), Emmitsburg.

1809. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821) adopted modified rule of Sisters of Charity, established order in Emmitsburg.

1809. St. Joseph's College, Emmitsburg, founded.

1816. Frederick incorporated.

1820, Aug. 10. Enoch Louis Lowe (1820-1892), Governor of Maryland, born in Frederick.

1822, May 23-24. As the Cattle Show and Fair, the first Frederick County Fair began at George Creager's Tavern at Monocacy Bridge.

1824. Emmitsburg incorporated.

1831. Thurmont incorporated.

1831, July 20 - 1833, Nov. 14. Roger Brooke Taney (1777-1864) of Frederick served as U.S. Attorney General.

1833. Middletown incorporated.

1833, Sept. 23 - 1834, June 25. Roger Brooke Taney (1777-1864) of Frederick served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.

1836. Woodsboro incorporated.

1836, March 15 - 1864, Oct. 12. Roger Brooke Taney (1777-1864) of Frederick served as Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court.

1837. Carroll County created from parts of Frederick and Baltimore counties.

1843, July - 1845, March. John Nelson (1791-1860) of Frederick served as U.S. Attorney General.

1844, Feb. 29 - March 31. John Nelson (1791-1860) of Frederick served as U.S. Secretary of State ad interim.

1845, Feb. 20. Frederick Town and Emmitsburg Turnpike chartered.

1861, April 26 - Aug. 7. General Assembly met in special session at Frederick County Courthouse, but finding the site too small, re-assembled April 27 at Kemp Hall in Frederick.

1861, May 8. Fire destroyed Courthouse at Frederick.

1861, Aug. 10 - Nov. 27. Cole's Cavalry, Companies A, C & D, organized at Frederick.

1861, Sept. 17. Federal troops and Baltimore police in Frederick arrested members and officers of General Assembly who were Confederate sympathizers.

1862, Oct. 10-12. Confederate cavalry under Maj. Gen. James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart rode through Washington, Frederick and Montgomery counties during Chambersburg Raid to Pennsylvania.

1863, June 17. Cole's Cavalry fought at Catoctin Creek.

1863, June 22. Cole's Cavalry fought at Frederick.


[photo, City Hall, 101 North Court St., Frederick, Maryland]

1864, Feb. 1. Third Courthouse completed at Frederick.

1864, July 9. Frederick held for ransom by Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. Jubal Early.

1864, July 9. Confederates under Lt. Gen. Jubal Early defeated Union forces under Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace at Battle of Monocacy, also known as Battle that Saved Washington.

City Hall (formerly third Courthouse), 101 North Court St., Frederick, Maryland, August 2006. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.


[photo, Frederick Campus, Maryland School for the Deaf, Clarke Place, Frederick, Maryland] 1864, July 10. Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's Confederate forces marched from Frederick towards Washington, DC, but due to delay from Battle of Monocacy, Union reinforcements arrived in Capital in time to bolster its defenses.

1868, Sept. Maryland School for the Deaf opened at Frederick.

1878. New Market incorporated.

Frederick Campus, Maryland School for the Deaf, Clarke Place, Frederick, Maryland, January 2006. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.


1879, April 17. James Carroll lynched at Point of Rocks.

1880, Feb. 17. Page Williams lynched at Point of Rocks.

1884. George Alfred Townsend (1841-1914), author and war correspondent, began building Gathland near Burkittsville.

1887. Katy of Catoctin or the Chain-Breakers: A National Romance, by George Alfred Townsend (1841-1914), published.

1887, Nov. 23. John H. Biggus lynched in Frederick.

1890. Brunswick incorporated.

1892. Walkersville incorporated.

1893. Women's College of Frederick founded, later became Hood College.

1894. Burkittsville incorporated.

1894. Mount Airy incorporated.

1894, April 25. "Coxey's Army" reached Frederick en route to Washington, DC.

1895, Nov. 17. James Bowens lynched in Frederick.

1896. War Correspondents' Memorial Arch, the first monument to war journalists, built by George Alfred Townsend (1841-1914) at Gathland.

1898, July 3. Commodore Winfield Scott Schley (1839-1911) of Frederick and "Fly Squadron" fought at Battle of Santiago de Cuba.

1904. Myersville incorporated.

1905, May 24. Fashion designer, Claire McCardell (1905-1958) born in Frederick.

1922. Ku Klux Klan rallied in Frederick and Baltimore.

1942. President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited "Shangri-la" (later Camp David).

1943. U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories established at Camp Detrick.

1953. Rosemont incorporated.

1956. Camp Detrick renamed Fort Detrick.

1956. I-70 (east) connected Frederick and Baltimore.

1957. I-70 (south) connected Frederick and Washington, DC.

1959, Sept. 25-26. President Dwight D. Eisenhower met with Nikita Krushchev, First Secretary of Soviet Communist Party at Camp David.

1970. I-70 (west) opened from Frederick to Hancock.

1973, June 18-20. President Richard M. Nixon met with Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of Soviet Communist Party at Camp David.

1975, Sept. 14. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821) canonized by Pope Paul VI (1897-1978).


[photo, Courthouse, 100 West Patrick St., Frederick, Maryland] 1975, May 18. I-70 (south) renamed I-270.

1978, Sept. 5-17. Camp David Accords negotiated at Camp David between President Jimmy Carter, President Anwar al-Sadat of Egypt, and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel. Signed in Washington, DC, March 26, 1979.

1982, Sept. 24. Fourth Courthouse dedicated at Frederick.

Courthouse (fourth), 100 West Patrick St., Frederick, Maryland, July 2007. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.


1986, May 15. Third Courthouse reopened as Frederick City Hall.

1989. Frederick Keys, minor league baseball team, established at Frederick.

2000, July 11-25. Middle East Peace Summit held at Camp David with President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.

2004, March 2. Electronic voting system used during primary elections at polling places and for absentee ballots in all counties and Baltimore City.

2012, May 18-19. Annual G8 Summit held at Camp David. The Group of 8 (G8) included the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, and Russia. The European Union also participated.

2014, Dec 1. Frederick County's first County Executive and County Council sworn in.

2014, Dec. 1 - 2022, Dec. 5. Jan H. Gardner (Democrat), County Executive.

2022, Dec. 5-. Jessica E. Fitzwater (Democrat), County Executive.

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