 Welcome to the current issue of the Garrett County Gazette. I’m Chris Nichols, your guide to helping you find out what’s going on, what’s coming up and interesting tidbits from the area. Let’s jump right in! Garrett County Game of Thrones? Usually, my leader is a news or informational item, but this time, it’s a pitch for a new idea. The Deep Creek Lake Lion’s Club has built two awesome “thrones” that I think could be the start of a cool new tour of the county. There could be a series of themed thrones throughout the county with a map/website showing visitors all the spots to visit, take a picture and post to social media. Towns could have a themed throne (coal-related for Kitzmiller, paddling for Friendsville for example) that would get people (not just tourists – locals, too!) out to all corners of the County.  Snow Ski Throne The Club built this throne for the Blind Skier 50th Anniversary Gala in 2023 as a gift to Wisp Report in appreciation for thier suppprt of the program. The Throne can be visted at Wisp Resort  Water Ski Throne Unveiled at the 2023 Autumn Glory parade, this throne celebrates the Club’s Blind Camper program. It can be visited at the McHenry Community Park at 1249 Bumble Bee Rd Accident MD There could be a booklet or probably an app to track where you’ve visited with a prize for visiting them all. There’s grant money out there to help build the thrones and then an app/booklet. If we could build up a critical mass of 4 or 5 more towns/businesses/organizations I think that would be enough to get started. What do you all think? We even have a dragon connection (many of our lakes look like dragons if you squint hard enough and of course regular readers of my newsletter all know Deekie) and potentially a cool name for the realm – Westmaros.Shoot me an email or call and if we get enough people interested, maybe we’ll put on our best doublets, roast up a suckling pig, knock back some ales and work on the idea.Remember – it’s Garrett County – Winter is Coming! The Mystery of Gnomewood In a recent Facebook post, a friend of mine had scanned an old advertisement from the July 24 , 1947 Republican Newspaper for “Gnomewood Supplies” on Glendale Bridge Road. A number of commenters asked – where exactly was this? I decided to take a trip down the rabbit hole to see if I could figure it out.  My first stop was the Republican Newspaper online archive. The digitation was coordinated by the Ruth Enlow library and the rights were generously provided by the Sincell family when they sold the paper. The earliest hit I got for “Gnomewood” in the Republican was an announcement in June 26 1936 edition that “Mrs. E. Z. Tower has Invited the Oakland Civic Club and the Mothers’ Club to hold a joint meeting at her home, “Gnomewood,” on Deep Creek Lake” Going further along, “Gnomewood Supplies” starts appearing in ads in 1947 through 1958 with the address always tantalizingly listed as “Glendale Bridge Rd”. Doing some more searches for Gnomewood and now “Tower” I found an obituary for Thurl Tower (son of Edward Z Tower) in May 25, 2000. “He built, owned, and operated the Gnomewood Supplies, the Deep Creek Shopping Center, and the Arrowhead Resort. .. . He built more than 20 of the original Deep Creek Lake homes in the 1930s and ‘40s”  Now searching the Garrett County land records for Thurl Tower, and tracking back a bit, I found a deed from Lorilla Tower to her son Thurl (Liber/Folio 132/210) for property along Glendale Rd adjoining Penelec property between monuments Y57 and N540. Then looking at the buy down maps, (graciously hosted by the SPORE group at Deep Creek Answers) you see where where these monuments were – between what was Alpine Village (Now Inn at Deep Creek) and Silver Tree. There’s another newer deed showing that the Towers also owned the property from N540 to Alpine Village. So. the strong likelihood is that Gnomewood Supplies was somewhere in that stretch. Now, if we could find an actual picture or address, that would be great! If you’ve got any leads, let me know. Outdoor Rec Updates I didn’t get out too much in the last month to do new trail videos or another leg of my Paddle the Dragon trip, but there is a lot of great news going on with outdoor recreation in the area. Here’s a quick roundup.The Garrett County Pump Track has finally broken ground! This project at the McHenry Community Park headed up by the Deep Creek Lake Lions Club got slowed down by a variety of bureaucraticae but we finally started moving earth this week! Follow the Facebook group for updates on progress and opening!  The Mosser Road Heritage Trail was officially dedicated this month. The paved trail connects Garrett College with the intersection of Mosser Rd & US Rt 219, providing a safe path for non-motorized vehicles. The trail also has several historical interpretive panels along the way. I’ve done a video trail tour here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KluSlclUZEM I hope that this will provide the first leg of a trail that connects the lake to the McHenry Community Park. You can check out my local trail wish list here: https://youtu.be/2a6aa6dB8s4?si=3esSzVjlicGgxDGv  Garrett Trails recently completed a new trail section at the Fork Run area for those with mobility limitations. The Acorn Trail was commissioned and built for users with limited mobility, adaptive equipment, and beginner bikers.  Last call for 2024 Events Postcard  I have gotten confirmation for all the events I have listed for 2024. I still have room for one or two more events and would love to get something that’s going on in the Spring! I send this postcard out to my contacts list and anyone else who requests one and then distribute them at the McHenry Post Office and Taylor Made office. They are great to put up on your fridge or office bulletin board so you don’t have to look up these events (also for reminding you of a great real estate agent if you need one!) I’ll be printing these by the end of the month, so get me your inputs soon! Local events Oct 18, 4pm — Pumpkin Palooza @ Dutch’s. Fundraiser for Garrett Mentors hosted by the Garrett County Board of Realtors  Oct 25 6-8pm – Deep Creek Trunk or Treat @ 35 Towne Center Way McHenry. Taylor Made Deep Creek Sales is teaming with Railey Realty, First United Bank and Trust & the Garrett County Visitor’s Center to put on an epic Trunk or Treat along “the strip”! Costumes ENCOURAGED, but come as you are for just as much fun! Music, Games, Crafts, Photo Booth and of course CANDY  Nov 24-25 —Festival of Trees, Garrett County@ Fairgrounds: Garrett County’s holiday kick-off event with food, crafts, activities and of course – the TREES!  Real Estate Corner Residential real estate in Garrett County and Deep Creek Lake continues to sell quickly and with an increasing price trend. The graph below shows annual average sale price and days on market for 2013 through 2023Q3 for Residential property sales in Garrett County, MD.In 2023 to date, the average sale price is $608,361, a ten year high. The plateau in sales price from 2021 to 2022 was widely expected to continue into this year, but that does not appear to be the case unless substantially lower Fourth Quarter sales prices bring down the annual average. The average of 60 Days on Market for 2023 to date is starting to increase from the ten year low of 45 days in 2022, but many properties are still going under contract within a few days of being listed. The price trends are even stronger around Deep Creek Lake. For “District 18” residential properties (which identifies the general area of Deep Creek Lake) the average sale price in 2022 was $833,226 and for 2023 to date it is an astounding $935,222. Just in case you’re wondering (and I know you are because I was) the highest price paid in the District 18 area in 2023 was $4,150,000 and as far I can tell, that’s the highest ever residential property price in the lake area. For current property owners in the Deep Creek Lake area, this trend is probably a mixed bag of news. While rising asset values allow owners to realize capital gains if they sell or borrow against this value for other investments, property taxes and insurance also follow the increase in real estate prices.  Check out my real estate website as well for more information on what’s out there, or call or email me anytime to chat about what’s going on in the market and how to build a strategy to meet your real estate goals!Mobile: 301 616-7881 Office: 301 387-4700 Email: chrisn@deepcreeksales.com  Chris Nichols, real estate agent26 Kuhnle Dr, SwantonUnited States of AmericaYou received this email because you signed up or made purchase from us.Unsubscribe |
Garrett County Gazette, October 2023
