Led by the Garrett County Government, the county sesquicentennial, or 150th anniversary effort, commemorates the incorporation of Garrett County on December 4, 1872.
A sesquicentennial committee has been planning and organizing several commemorative souvenirs and community participation opportunities based on the theme of the event: “Garrett County: Celebrating 150 Years of Connecting Communities”.
Now, and throughout 2022, the sesquicentennial committee is attending each Garrett County municipality’s festivals or community events to share, distribute information, and offer free giveaways and souvenirs while supplies last.
One of the top memento items of note is a bronze coin to represent each of the municipalities: Accident, Deer Park, Friendsville, Grantsville, Kitzmiller, Loch Lynn, Mountain Lake Park, Oakland. Each of those eight towns participated in designing a custom side of the coin to represent their town paired with the front-side of the coin featuring the county’s namesake John W. Garrett.
So far, local coins have been distributed at WinterFest (Town of Oakland), the National Road Festival (Town of Grantsville), the Celtic Festival (Town of Friendsville), Kick-Off to Summer (Town of Oakland), and Grantsville Days (Town of Grantsville).
Upcoming events that are scheduled for commemorative coin distribution are:
- Accident 4th of July Homecoming (Town of Accident coin)
- July 4, 2022; 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM; at Accident Fire Hall
- Victorian Chautauqua (Town of Mountain Lake Park coin)
- July 9, 2022; 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM; with the Baltimore B&O Museum
- Kitzmiller Homecoming (Town of Kitzmiller coin)
- July 23, 2022; 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM; at the previous Kitzmiller School grounds
- Friendsville Days (Town of Friendsville coin)
- August 20, 2022; 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM; in the Friendsville Town Park
- Loch Lynn Heights Open House (Town of Loch Lynn coin)
- September 10, 2022; 11:00 AM – 1:00a PM; at Loch Lynn Town Hall
- Deer Park Open House (Town of Deer Park coin)
- September 10, 2022; 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM; at the Deer Park Town Hall
Also, the planning group is coordinating a free public celebration event on September 17, 2022 at the Garrett County Fairgrounds in McHenry. The event will be from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM with a history walk, a car show, local storytelling, local music, free food, and more.
Additional information will be updated weekly on the County’s Sesquicentennial website www.Garrett150.com.
If you are interested in one of the town coins already distributed or interested in a complete set of the coins, please reach out to Sarah Myers, County Communications Coordinator at 301-334-7242 or smyers@garrettcounty.org.
