History

1739 - Jonathan Hager, a German immigrant, buys 200 acres of land, including the present park, from Daniel Dulaney. The land includes "2 sorry houses and 3 acres of corn fenced in." Hager builds a stone house and names his property Hager's Fancy.

1745 - Jacob Rohrer, also German, buys all 200 acres of Hager's Fancy and later adds 300 acres called Rohrer's Addition.

1806 - After Rohrer's death, his son John sells part of the land to William Heyser II, a Dutch immigrant for 500 pounds sterling. The park area is known as Heyser's Woods.

1842 - William Heyser III gives 206 acres to his son George and 170 acres containing the park land to his son John.

1846 - John Heyser builds the Mansion House and names it Cedar Lawn for the cedars lining the path to present-day Virginia Avenue. George Heyser later builds a wine cellar north of the house.

1852 - The first Hagerstown Fair is held on October 13 on Heyser's land.

1854 - The Hagerstown Fair Association builds a half-mile horse-racing track in Heyser's Woods.

CIVIL WAR - Heyser's Woods is used for various campsites by both Confederate and Union forces. Cole's Union Calvary camps here on its way to capturing General Longstreet's ammunition train.

1884 - Following John Heyser's death - he's murdered while traveling in Florida - the land is sold to Alexander and William Armstrong. Alexander gives his share of the land, called the Armstrong-Hammond Farm, to brother William.

1890 - William Armstrong sells his land to the West End Improvement Co. The Company will also acquire the house track. Although most of the land is too swampy to build on, several businesses operate factories on what is now park land. These include the Hagerstown Ice Company and the Cumberland Valley Spoke and Pending Company.

1916 - Public pressure paves the way for the City of Hagerstown to purchase the land for $40,000 and develop it as City Park.

1918 - The state General Assembly passes a bill creating a five-member Park Commission.

1921 - The swamp is drained, creating Lower Lake. Landscape architect George Burnap begins park beautification.

1924 - Mr. and Mrs. William Singer, Jr, donate the Museum of Fine Arts to the park. The museum is completed in August 1931 and two wings are added in 1949.

1928 - Mill Stone Circle is completed.

1936 - The bandshell is erected at a cost of $7,497.

1944 - The Washington County Historical Society purchases Hager House and begins restoration.

1954 - Western Maryland Railway gives the City steam locomotive 202, built in 1912. The restored Hager House is presented to the City.

1962 - Hager House is opened to the public on Hagerstown's 200th anniversary.

1967 - Hager House Museum, built in 1962, is opened to the public in April.

1989 - A survey of City Park and the surrounding neighborhood is completed for nomination to the National Register of Historical Places and designation as a local Preservation Design District.

1990 - The city council passes the City Park Master Plan, a blueprint for park development into the twenty-first century.