Sang Run Election House

Sang Run Election House. Sang Run State Park. , The community of Sang Run has a rich history and has been intertwined with the narrative of Garrett County. Sang Run was an active community, supporting a general store, school, church, and water-powered mill that which its remains can still be seen., Standing before you is the Sang Run Election House. Prior to the adoption of public schools as polling places, election houses were common throughout the country. According to local tradition, the Election House was built in 1872 when Garrett County was established by the division of Allegany County. The first Presidential election was held the same year between Ulysses S. Grant and Horace Greeley., Today the Sang Run Election House is the only documented election house standing in Western Maryland. In total, there were 25 Presidential elections held in this building. The last election that took place in this building was the 1972 Presidential election between Richard Nixon and George McGovern., The fight for women's right to vote women passed through this location back in 1914. A grass roots effort of seven women marched from town to town, farm to farm, door to door, seeking support for suffrage. They stopped at 15 election houses covering over 110 miles in Garrett and Allegany Counties. These efforts helped to pave the way for the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. Small election houses such as this one at Sang Run became the voice of the community., In 2019, The Maryland Department of Natural Resources started the process to restore the Election House. The restoration was completed in 2020., In 2021, the Maryland Park Service along with the Garrett County Commission on Women, and the Youghiogheny Glades Chapter National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and other dedicated partners, recreated the march from Friendsville to Sang Run.