Meyersdale

Meyersdale. Pennsylvania's Maple City. , ■ When the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad came through the Casselman River valley in 1871, Meyersdale already was a prosperous town. Founded by German settlers in the late 1700s, Meyers Mill became Meyersdale in 1874 and was an important transportation hub for local agriculture and, later, for coal. The Western Maryland Railroad (now the trail) was built in 1912 to compete with the B&O. The railroads connected Meyersdale and its countryside to East Coast cities. By the 1890s Meyersdale was Somerset County's principal economic, cultural, and population center, with five hotels catering to travelers. ■ Maple sugar products are still produced in the area, and Meyersdale hosts the Pennsylvania Maple Festival in early spring when the "magic water" runs through the sugar maple trees., [Caption]: Established: 1874 . Elevation: 2,106 feet . Population: 2,473 . County: Somerset, [Photo Captions]:, Coal Mining: Local coal miners brought coal by horse-drawn wagons to load onto railcars at the bustling Western Maryland Station. The bituminous or "soft" coal of this area was shipped to Baltimore, Philadelphia, and other eastern cities. , Photograph courtesy of Meyersdale Historical Society, Historic Downtown: In the early 1900s this store occupied 149 Center Street, where Somerset Trust Company's attractive park now stands. Downtown Meyersdale had five hotels and 67 stores then, serving a resident population of nearly 4,000. , Photograph courtesy of Meyersdale Historical Society, Maple Tapping: Every spring Meyersdale is home to the Pennsylvania Maple Festival. Volunteers demonstrate the pioneer process of tapping the sugar maple, gathering its sweet water, and boiling the sap to make syrup.