Negro Mountain Marker Unveiling - On October 12, 2023 a ceremony was held to unveil the “First African American Black History Marker in Garrett County, Maryland” – this being the history behind the name Negro Mountain. The event was held at a site along the National Road/Alt. US 40 and held under the auspices of the Edna B. McKenzie branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).

Brenda Butscher (1940-2023) is the first and only woman to be elected to the office of Garrett County Commissioner, serving as a commissioner from 1990 to 1994. Brenda was a leader and active in the Republican Party on the local and state as well as national levels. She also served as the executive director of Hospice for Garrett County for 25 years and was the owner and president of the Oakland Radio Station Corporation.

On May 9, 2023 Emily Newman-Edwards became the first woman in history to be elected mayor of the Town of Grantsville, Maryland. Located in Garrett County, Grantsville was incorporated in 1864. The 2020 census shows Grantsville with a population of 968 people. Newman-Edwards had currently been serving her second term on the Grantsville Town Council.

The Town of Westernport in Allegany County was incorporated in 1859 and according to the 2020 census has a population of 1,777 people. Laura Freeman Legge was elected mayor of Westernport in July 2019 and as such is the first woman to hold that office. Legge served through 2022 and secured numerous grants pertaining to the town’s aging infrastructure. She also led a trail development committee seeking to extend the Great Allegheny Passage trail through the Georges Creek Valley.

Freida Spriggs, 1946-2023

The following is an excerpt from the Adams Family Funeral Home of Cumberland, Maryland website. It focuses upon her extensive community involvement as well as education and career of Frieda Spriggs, as evidenced by her being honored with a City of Cumberland Star Award:

Cumberland, MD – Freida R. Spriggs, 76, of Cumberland, MD, passed away Saturday, August 12, 2023, at UPMC Western Maryland. Born November 11, 1946, in Cumberland, MD. 

CUMBERLAND — Tifani Fisher had tears in her eyes while she described “a little tiny house with a little tiny lady” and the role model who taught her to pursue her dreams despite racial barriers.
Fisher was referring to Susan M. Jones, 80, who received the top honor at the Allegany County NAACP 7007 Annual Voice of Freedom Awards ceremony Saturday night.
The event was held in the multi-purpose building at the Allegany County Fairgrounds.

On Tuesday evening, February 14, 2023 a ceremony was held at the Allegany County Board of Education noting the history of African American education within the county as well as commemorating the first African American students to graduate from an integrated Allegany County high school, this being Fort Hill in May 1956 with the students being Harold Hilton, William Peck and Judy Leath. This was following the 1954 landmark Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.