History of Walkersville area

Two separate towns were founded near each other -- Georgetown and Walkersville.

Georgetown was begun after 1808. It was named for George Cramer (1819-1890), an early settler. There was no post office in the town, which was situated in the Woodsboro election district. It had a church and a store in the early days.

Walkersville is named for John Walker (1768-1841) who bought property in 1814. He farmed the land and later sold off lots for the town. By 1880 both Georgetown and Walkersville had grown, and were very close together. It made sense to join the two towns. Election districts were changed and the new designation was Walkersville.

The Frederick-Pennsylvania railroad had come in 1873, and the station was called Walkersville to avoid confusion with Georgetown station in Washington, D.C. The railroad ran from Frederick to York, Pa. until 1972 when hurricane Agnes destroyed the railroad bridge over the Monocacy River.

Walkersville was incorporated in 1892. It has had steady growth since that time.

Many businesses were started in Walkersville. There was a weekly newspaper, The Walkersville Enterprise in 1886, and a milling company in 1904. The Monocacy Valley Canning Company was founded in 1905, the Walkersville Ice Company in 1911, the Walkersville Savings Bank in 1904 and the Glade Valley Bakery in 1917. The bakery closed in 1968. Farmers Supply got its start in 1920, Aunt Lucy Hams in 1929 and Microbiological Association in 1968. Many smaller businesses have come and gone.

"Aunt Lucy" was Lucy Scott, who was born to slave parents in 1834. She was brought to Walkersville when she was four years old. She was an excellent cook as an adult and specialized in curing hams. The hams made with her recipe were sold in Walkersville for many years.

Robert Nicodemus started a sewing factory in 1924 in an old school building. In 1929 it was producing pajamas, and in 1944 it began making men's sport shirts, which were sold by several national companies. The building was leased in 1951 to the Sagner firm which also was in Frederick. It is now headquarters for the Frederick Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Settlers and early residents brought their religions, and many of today's churches traces their history to early times. They include United Church of Christ, Lutheran, Roman Catholic and United Methodist, formerly United Brethren and Methodist Protestants (who originally worshipped in the woods).

In 1962 the Baptist Church bought property in Walkersville and began a college. A chapel was built, but the project was unsuccessful by 1972, and the church sold the property. Glade Town development was built there, and the chapel is still used today.

Housing developments came quickly. The early ones were Glade Village in 1957, Spring Garden in 1960, Glade Gardens in 1962, Discovery in 1967 and Glade Town in 1977. Others have followed.

More residents require more schools and the first schools in Walkersville were private. The first public school was opened in 1877 with three teachers in two classrooms. It was replaced at the same location in 1897 with a two-story, four-room building. A high school was begun in a house on Maple Avenue and discontinued in 1912, when pupils began to ride the train into Frederick.

Another school building was built in 1922 and housed seven elementary grades and one high school class of 20 students. Grades nine, 10 and 11 were added from 1925 to 1934 for a completely accredited high school. Expansion of the school curriculum was introduced in 1927 with home economics and agriculture classes offered. Walkersville today has elementary, middle and high schools. The present high school is one of three in the county with a swimming pool.

The town has the usual public services. The telephone came to Walkersville in 1884 and was operated from a private home. There has been a town hall since 1907, and a new one was built in 1990. The fire company was organized in 1939-1940 and built its first building in 1950. The water system was begun in 1909. Stauffer Funeral Home is located in Walkersville and a county library branch has served local readers since 1988.

The Walkersville Savings Bank opened in 1904 and merged in 1930 with Frederick's Central Trust Company, which failed in 1931. Walkersville Bank was incorporated in 1934 and merged with Farmers and Mechanics Bank in 1963.

The post office has been in operation since the 1850s. Mail was brought to the office by horseback.

Noteworthy happenings have made news in Walkersville, including two large bank robberies -- one in 1919 and another in 1940. Bank employees were unhurt and had hidden in both, once in the cellar and the others were locked in the bank vault.

Walkersville occasionally made national headlines. W.L. Brann owned a horse farm just outside the town limits. His racehorse Challedon won many national races and was named "Horse of the Year" in 1939. His property was sold in 1956 for a housing development.

On May 6, 1981, a converted Air Force 707 airplane exploded in the air, 2,000 feet above Walkersville, killing all 21 crew members aboard. The cockpit slammed into farmland and the nose of the plane landed across the field on the train tracks. Local fire and rescue crews found a number of the bodies. It was a hard time for the town.

A happy event was the town's centennial celebration in 1994. Among attractions was a big parade in which many organizations and people took part.

Walkersville offers many opportunities for socializing and volunteering. Sports, especially high school teams, are popular. Service clubs are available for both men and women, and young people have scout troops and 4-H along with extracurricular school and church-sponsored activities.

High on the list of places to visit are five parks in the area: Walkersville Town Park, Creamery Park, Trout Park, Fountain Rock Park and Heritage Farm Park.

Fountain Rock Park, on Fountain Rock Road, is a county park at a former rock quarry that was in use from 1872 until 1955. The park has a nature center and hiking trails, in addition to the open former quarry.

Heritage Farm Park, on Devilbiss Bridge Road outside of town, has been developed with ball fields and picnic areas. Many intact farm buildings remain. The farmhouse, built in 1855, is predominately of Greek Revival style and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1994.

Two bridges over the Monocacy River near Walkersville are on Biggs Ford and Devilbiss Bridge roads. Both are named for early settlers in the area. John Biggs (1682-1761) was of English descent, a second-generation American born in Ulster County, New York colony. George Devilbiss (1715-1785) was a son of Casper Devilbiss who also owned property in the area.

A controversy arose in 2011 over the proposed sale of the Walker Farm Estate on Woodsboro Pike to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, which wanted to rezone the land for a worship and convention center. The town resolved to retain the property as farmland and as a buffer for the town.

Modern technology is being used to record the rich history of Walkersville and make it available to everyone. Charles Nicodemus and his wife Kathryn are both lifelong residents of Walkersville. After more than 40 years of historic research, they have produced a DVD showing old and new pictures of the town with Kathryn providing narration for each snapshot.