Welcome to Dailey’s Park - Oakland, Maryland - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

Dailey’s Park. The Garrett County Historical Society welcomes you to Dailey’s Park. This park is named in honor of John and Ann Rebecca Dailey, who owned and operated the Glades Hotel in Oakland from 1859 to 1881. Historian Thomas Scharf noted that “Mr. Dailey was one of the best known hotel proprietors in the country and had a reputation for urbanity and a thorough knowledge of his business.” In addition to the Glades Hotel, Mr. Dailey also managed the Revere House in Cumberland for several years, and operated the Deer Park Hotel for one season. In the 1870s Mr. Dailey created a large public park in Oakland, along Second and Liberty streets, between the train station and railroad crossing. This area, known as Dailey’s Park, was later occupied by various businesses, but in 1999 the historical society re-established this small portion of the former park. It should be noted that Mr. and Mrs. Dailey’s daughter, Mary, was the wife of General George Crook, a distinguished Union officer during the Civil War. A large monument in the old Oakland Cemetery marks the burial site of John and Ann Rebecca Dailey.

Deer Park Hotel Gazebo, Gas House, and Porch. In the late 1880s and early 1900s Garrett County became a popular tourist mecca, due to large measure to the efforts of John Garrett, President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In the 1870s, under Mr. Garrett's direction, the railroad built two large hotels in the county, one in Oakland and a larger, grand hotel in Deer Park. These hotels no longer exist, but the gazebo and gas house now located in Dailey's Park are from the Deer Park hotel grounds. In 1999, the gazebo was donated to the society by Alden Perando. It was carefully restored and moved to the park later that year by the Tri-State Gazebo Company.

The gas house was donated to the society by Jerry and Janet Browning in 2000. This structure was originally built to house the gas that was used to light the hotel grounds. IT was essentially a stone and earthen bunker to safeguard against a possible explosion. The face stones were carefully removed, numbered, and reconstructed on the present site with the expertise of a local stonemason, Gail Hixon.

The porch alongside the museum is designed to capture the charm of the large porch on the front of the Deer Park Hotel. Several architectural features of the original porch were incorporated into the present structure. The rocking chairs on the porch are replicas of the rockers that once sat on the porch of the Deer Park Hotel. The park benches also replicate those used on the park grounds.

Robert E. Browning Memorial. First Lieutenant Robert E. Browning was twenty-four years old when he sacrificed his life for our country. A U.S. Army Air Force pilot in WW-II, he lost his life on August 20, 1944 while on a combat mission over Toulon, France. Lt. Browning was the lead pilot of the 37th squadron, 17th bomber group. On his 38th mission, prior to the southern invasion of France, his B-26 Martin Marauder was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed in the Toulon harbor. Only three of his seven-man crew survived. Lt. Browning was a highly decorated pilot, receiving the Air Medal and five oak leaf clusters, plus the purple heart. He was a great, great grandson of the pioneer Meshach Browning and the son of Cheston H. and Abbie V. Browning of Oakland.

The Browning family generously donated a parcel of land to the Garrett County Historical Society in memory of First Lieutenant Robert E. Browning. This parcel now is comprised of Dailey’s Park and its parking lot.

Group that erected the marker: The Oakland/Mt. Lake Park Lions Club and the Garrett County Historical Society. URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link] Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: East Liberty Street Oakland, MD USA 21550

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