Garrett County In General

April Fools. Maryland’s newest county, Garrett was created by an act of the Legislature on April 1, 1872—April Fools’ Day. Source: Feldstein, Albert L. Garrett County. Postcard History Series. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2006. Page 7.

Ghost towns. Of the 43 Maryland “ghost towns” listed by Wikipedia as being “in various states of disrepair and abandonment,” 19 are in Garrett County, about 44 percent—a legacy of the county’s boom-and-bust history of timbering, coal mining and railroading. See “List of ghost towns in Maryland.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ghost_towns_in_Maryland

Tim Corn's deer hunt. Long ago, a folklorist recounted a single tall tale among the many apparently once told in Garrett County about a remarkable West Virginia hunter named Tim Corn.

Tim came to a circular mountain and climbed to the top. He got there and jumped the biggest deer he ever seen. It ran 'round the mountain so fast that all he could see was a blur. After thinking how to get a shot at it, Tim wondered why a bullet wouldn't travel in a circle too. So he bent the barrel and fired his old rifle. The shot went 'round (the mountain) fifteen times before it caught the deer.

See Carey, George P. Maryland Folklore and Folklife. Centreville, Maryland: Tidewater Publishers, 1970; fourth printing 1983. Page 39.