Myersville-Wolfsville Historical Society Objects and Ephemera

Objects, Ephemera, and PDF Documents

Detail of Myersville from the 1858 Isaac Bond map of Frederick County. Library of Congress, MSA SC 1213-1-457.

Letter from John Jacob Routzahn (1792-1876) to Mr. Gansale, September 1860. "Mr. Gansale, Sir I drop you a few lines to inform you that I have come to the conclusion to rent my mill property and if you would like to rent it now you can have a chance at it provided we can bargain. If you want to come over anny time it suits you you can have it by the first of October if you wish it. Let me know all about it soon. Yours Respectfully, Jacob Routzahn." MWAHS Collection.

Civil War Militia Draft Notice to George Leatherman, August 1862.

Structures and Homes Comprising Myersville, 1873. This plat is from Titus Atlas of Frederick County. On it can be seen the 1796 tavern ("A. Poffinberger") with the Joseph Brown store beside it; the home of businessman and Maryland State Representative Upton Burhman; the carriage shop of John T. Hildebrandt ("Wg. Sh.") that would soon catch fire and also burn St. Paul's Lutheran Church next door; the United Brethren Church parsonage ("U.B. Parsonage"), the home of the widowed Catharine Shank Linebaugh ("Mrs. Linebaugh") whose husband, wagonmaker and wheelwright Jonathan Linebaugh, died in 1864; and others.

Wolfsville in 1873. This plat is from the Titus Atlas of Frederick County.

Directory of Maryland by Post Office Addresses, 1874.

Schoolmaster's bell from the Old Harmony School. This bell was donated to the historical society by Mary Clark Leatherman in loving memory of her husband, Carroll Feete Leatherman, Jr. Students would have heard it rung each day to mark the beginning of classes. MWAHS Collection.

Flour Sack from Sandy Grove Mills, Ellerton, Circa 1890. Owned by Tom Smith.

Memorial card for Capt. Daniel Main, 1894. Daniel Main (1812-1894) was a well-known and well-off landowner. The Baltimore Sun of 29 December, 1894, reported:

"A Picturesque Funeral. A Hearse and Mounted Pallbearers in Snowdrifts of the Mountains. The funeral of Capt. Daniel Main took place today…. The body was conveyed in a hearse drawn by four black horses to Middletown, Frederick County, a distance of eighteen miles, leaving Hagerstown at daylight. Seventeen of the relatives rode in a sleigh drawn by for white horses. The snow was so deep that but little progress was made. When Boonsboro was reached, a relay of the horses was secured. In crossing South Mountain, huge drifts of snow were encountered. Middletown was reached late in the afternoon. Services were held in the Lutheran church and the body interred by the side his wife."

Frederick County Map, 1895. This map didn't note Myersville or Wolfsville, the main towns of the area, but Harmony, Pleasant Walk, and Ellerton were all included.

Advertisement for John W. Hoover's Store at the Hoover House, Circa 1895-1900.

Advertising card for John Henry Maugans' (1840-1906) mercantile in Wolfsville, Circa 1895-1900. "Lieut. John H. Maugans, ex-merchant of Wolfsville, and of industrious habits, enlisted in Company K, 9th Indiana Infantry, as a private in the civil war, and fought in many hard battles in which his regiment engaged, was highly applauded by the late Gen. Nelson for its fighting qualities, justly merits the honor conferred upon him Gov. Morton of Indiana under whose administration he was commissioned. Mr. Maugans has quite a host of relatives and friends in this community. The late Cyrus Moser of Co. D, 6th Md., Infantry, a valiant soldier, was his uncle, being a brother to his mother."--Catoctin Clarion, 26 March, 1903. Image courtesy Base Kuhn.

Postcard Addressed to Nellie Johnson of Church Hill, Circa 1910.

Offering Card from St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1899. This card was signed by town merchant and bank president George Waters Bittle. MWAHS collection.

Edna Harp's 1906 Copy of Song Praises for the Sunday School. MWAHS Collection.

Letter from C. C. Stottlemyer, 12 July, 1906. Stottlemyer and his family made the renown and sought-after Stottlemyer chairs in the small Wolfsville workshop at bottom right.

"My Dear Son, I will drop you a few lines. We are all well and I hope you are well and getting along all right. We have been looking for a letter from you. We have not got the mail today yet.

"I wrote to a firm in Baltimore to see if I could get a small planer and band saw. They wrote back that they had a planer and saw. I will enclose their letter and if you can go see them I want you to see what for looking machines they are and what is the price and tell them that I want the saw to saw out rockers and arms for my chairs. The planer I want to plane the backs -- something that will plane to a regular thickness and plane Smooth.

"It must ... a foot or more all the better. Just so I can run it with my engine. You can tell then all about what I want it for. If you think they have what I want it for then I will be down in a week or two.

"If have not written yet be sure to write by return mail and give us the news. No more at present as almost mail time. Yours truly,

C. C. Stottlemyer"

Left: Deed for Funeral Plot at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Myersville, 1908. This deed records the purchase of a plot for Reno Bittle Poffinberger. MWAHS Collection.

Above: Reno and Margie Poffinberger's tombstone.

Ira Moser (1881-1935). Publisher of the Monitor.

Myersville Monitor Front Page, Circa 1909. This is the only known extant fragment of the town's newspaper. At bottom left is an ad placed by Lawson Bittle, Main Street merchant. Owned by Wanda Easterday.

Promotional Calendar Distributed by Walter C. Rowe, Printer and Stationer, 1910. Rowe would later become a railway lineman and run other side businesses. Owned by Dick Phelps.

Transfer for the Hagerstown & Frederick Trolley, Circa 1910. Trolley expert Rueben Moss notes, "Passengers would pay the full-trip fare when boarding the first trolley and be presented with this if they were transferring to another trolley in Hagerstown. The month, hour, and destination would be punched when issued to indicate to the driver of the next trolley what fare had already been paid. The large number (12 in this case) was the day of the month so that it could not be used again. Sometimes other destinations not on the transfer could be stamped by a station agent, as is the case with a used transfer in the H&F Historical Society Collection stamped for Shady Grove, Pennsylvania." MWAHS Collection.

CTS Tomolene Salve Tin, Circa 1910. This medicinal salve was produced by Eureka Specialty Company of Middletown. This tin is completely full of the original product, which the reverse promotes as a valuable remedy for chapped skin, burns, sores, cuts, boils, poison ivy, and other ailments. Owned by Ann Longmore-Etheridge.

Highland Falls, Ellerton, Postcard, Image Circa 1910. This waterfall near Ellerton is also known as Great Falls. Although the image is from a decade earlier, this postcard was postmarked 24 December, 1922. It is addressed to Mr. S. Schmall, 4549 Calumet St., Chicago, IL. The delightful message reads, "Thank you dear for the nice letter you send [sic] us and all the kisses. Hope you are a good boy. Did you throw Herbert out of bed Sunday morning? Love to you & all. Aunt Alice." Owned by Ann Longmore-Etheridge.

Another version of the image shows the same group posing on the rocks in greater, uncolored detail. Courtesy Steve Murphy.

Postcard to Nellie Pettingall, April 1911. The unsigned card reads, "How is old Myersville these cold days. She looks good to me. You ought to be here now. Skating is just fine. Oh you Feb 22nd. I wonder where I will spend it this year. Best Regards. 4-12-11." Nellie Pettingall lived on Main Street, Myersville. Born in 1888, she was the daughter of Samuel H. Pettingall (1848-1929) and Amanda C. Poffenberger (1850-1931). She married steel mill worker W. Clyde Raines, who may well have been the author of this postcard. She was a graduate of Hood College and taught in Frederick County schools for a number of years. Nellie and Clyde had one son, William P. Raines. Nellie died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 18 February, 1970. Clyde died in 1976. Both are buried at Mt. Zion Church Cemetery. Owned by Ann Longmore-Etheridge.

United Brethren Sunday School Postcard, April 1914. This postcard was sent to Clayton Haupt of Myersville: "Greetings from U.B.S.S. Class No. 2. Hope will you present [sic] Easter Sunday morning. Special music. Nellie Pettingal, secretary." Owned by Ann Longmore-Etheridge.

Myersville High School Senior Class of 1914 Commencement Invitation, 1 June, 1914. MWAHS Collection.

United Brethren Rally Day Postcard, October 1911 and 1917. Top: This postcard was sent on 20 October, 1911, to Myersville's doctor, Ralph Browning, MD. Bottom: This postcard was sent to Helen Keller and family, Myersville, MD, on 30 October, 1917. Rally Days are held as a new start or a renewed effort in involving children, youth, and adults in Sunday School. Owned by Ann Longmore-Etheridge.

Frederick County Dog Tag, 1918. MWAHS Collection.

Promotional Card for the Basket Shop, Circa 1918. This business was run my Walter Calvin Rowe, probably as a side business, as the 1920 Census records that Rowe was a railroad lineman who lived on Old Hagerstown Road. Owned by Dick Phelps.

Left: Walter C. Rowe's obituary, Frederick News, 12 March, 1973.

Frederick County 1919 Role of Honor. This lists all the area's soldier losses and injuries during World War I.

Promotional Calendar Distributed by George W. Bittle's Store, Main Street, Myersville, 1920. Owned by Dick Phelps.

A receipt from the George Waters Bittle Store. Probably from the 1920s. MWAHS Collection.

Below: Original Myersville Savings Bank Sign. This sign hung outside the Main Street building now more commonly referred to as Grossnickle Insurance Company. Owned by Dick Phelps.

Right: Myersville Savings Bank in about 1915.

Postcard to C. A. Ruppersberger, Jr., Postmarked 6 January, 1923. The reverse reads: "Dear Sweet Heart, do what this verse says as soon as possible. Grand Mother."

Right: Promo Card of Car Salesmen Brandenburg & Harne, 1925.

Yearbook for the Woman's Club of Myersville, 1926-1927. "Club Colors: Yellow and White; Club Flower: Daisy; Motto: Labor Conquers Everything. Officers: President -- Mrs. D. Edgar Bittle; Vice President -- Mrs. W. E. Hauver; Secretary -- Miss Mary Muck; Treasurer -- Miss Effie J. Dean." Courtesy Middletown Valley Historical Society.

Left: Merchandise tag, bef. 1931. MWAHS Collection. Christopher Columbus Stottlemyer (1857-1931) was a furniture maker in Wolfsville whose handcrafted rocking chairs are eagerly sought after by collectors. Right: Known as "C.C.," Stottlemyer was descended from "David Stadelmayer, a German immigrant who settled in the Middletown Valley in the late 18th century and raised 10 children, [who] operated a sawmill along Spruce Run near Wolfsville," notes the Frederick Post. "His son, David Jr., operated an up and down sawmill on the property, the remnants of which can be seen today. David Jr.’s grandson, Fred, began making furniture at the Spruce Run homestead, probably in the 1850s. In 1857, his son, Christopher Columbus, known as Columbus or CC, was born. Columbus added the distinctive acorn finials the chairs were known for, and made his chairs at a shop along what today is Black Rock Road."

Envelope for a letter addressed to Robert Ridgely, circa 1938. Ridgely was a prohibitionist and churchman who worked with the FBI to find illegal stills. This correspondence originated from a church mission in India. Owned by Judy Zeck.

Advertisement from the Hagerstown Morning Herald, 31 March, 1949.

Promotional Memorabilia from Guy C. Kline, Myersville Tractor and Farm Equipment Retailer, Circa 1945. Owned by DIck Phelps.

Romantic "Business Card" of Charles Irving Easterday (1909-1987) of Myersville, Circa 1950.

Myersville Savings Bank Promotional Calendar, 1957. MWAHS Collection.

Left: Matchbook Cover, Peoples Supply Company, Myersville, Circa 1960. Peoples Supply also ran gas pumps. This matchbook promotes Amoco products sold by the store. Owned by Mark Etheridge.

Ham/CB Radio Trade Card, Circa 1960. Charles Albert Summers (1918-2007) was a Myersville-area ham radio enthusiast. Similar cards were traded between ham/CB operators around the country.

Top: Donor Thank You Card from the Myersville Community Library. Bottom: Medal in Commemoration of the Preservation of Trolley 150 Within the Myersville Library, August 2019. MWAHS Collection.

PDF and Other Files

The uploading of PDFs is an ongoing project. For the moment, we are making them accessible here in roughly the chronological order they are processed. Thanks for your patience!

Valley Register and Frederick Post Articles, March 1969, concerning the deaths of Myersville firefighters Gaither R. Frushour and John F. Harp. PDF file.

firefighterloss-converted.pdf
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