Williamsport High School - Guneukitschik Yearbook (Williamsport, MD)

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY I Williamsport began as a hamlet in the early part of the 18th century and known by various names. Washington seems to have been one of the names according to the Court Records in a deed from Thomas Baell to Otho Holland Williams, dated March 26, 1785. The town at that time was called William’s Port, thus named until an act of the General Assembly of Maryland, in session, April 1786, assigned the name Williams Port, dropping the apostophe. The city is 200 years old this year and is said to have begun around late 1786-early 1787. In 1823, the Assembly changed the name to Williamsport. It is the second oldest city in the county. Williamsport is picturesquely located at the confluence of Conocochea- gue (meaning very long) Creek and the Potomac River (meaning among the black walnuts) River. The Town is known for the grandeur of the surrounding scenery, the fields, the nearby mountains, especially in Autumn and its many colors. Previously an effort had been made to establish the na- tion’s Capitol at William’s Port. The matter was considered seriously by President Washington, who was met by patriotic townspeople with bonfires and celebrations upon visiting the Town to look into its advantages of a capital in this area. A petition was signed and presented to the President. He arrived on the evening of October 14, 1791. Every house was brilliantly lit with bonfires at every corner. He stayed that night at Springfield Farm with Otho Williams and his brother, Elie Williams, the farm’s owner at the time.

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US CONSTITUTION

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WILLIAMSPORT! Gen. Otho Holland Williams, after whom the town was named, was born in Prince Georges County, Md., March 1749. his family came from Wales, and were highly respected. Otho Holland was the third generation of their settlement in America. His parents Joseph and Prudence Williams, lived in Prince Georges, but moved to Frederick County, Md. Williams was declared a major in 1776 of a regiment from several companies in Virginia and Maryland. The town was founded by Holland shortly after the close of the Revolutionary War. In 1786, by an Act of the Assembly, he was granted permission to lay off a Town (the town being Williamsport). In 1787, he busily engaged himself in exploring upon the banks of the Potomac and the town. He is now buried in Riverview Cemetery which he dedicated to the town. THE VAN LEAR FAMILY Among one of the oldest families in this locality, the Van Lear family occupied the well-known “Tammany” plantation, Ac- cording to well-established traditions, its founded, John Van Lear, of sturdy Cal- vanistic stock, emigrated from Holland in the early part of the 18th century. The Van Lears were quite popular and were engaged in many enterprises. There were many descendents of the family in- cluding the Findleys, Levins, Shanks, and Littles.