The bend in the Youghiogheny River and the geographical shape of the mountains formed a natural funnel for game and the early Native Americans knew this place as the “Hunter’s Bowl”. The fertile bottomland, now the Community Park, once formed part of Gabriel Friend’s original land holdings. Gabriel would often soak his feet in Bear Creek and claimed the icy water had healing powers. The fertile bottomland has been farmed over the years by the Steele, Lininger and Guard families.
With mills on the waterways and train service in the 1890’s, Friendsville exploded as a hub for farmers and farm products. Most homes in Friendsville had big gardens and kept small livestock, chickens or a dairy cow. A popular form of commerce was the selling of heavy cream. Area farmers and residents separated their heavy cream and shipped it out in cans with their family tag on it for return. The heavy cream could sour and still be useable. The cream cans were shipped by train and later by the mail carrier.
The train pictured in the photo above (steam plume) was coming from the nearest town of Selbysport, Maryland, which was flooded by the Yough Lake in 1944`. The Yough Lake Reservoir extends to the town boundary just downriver from the park during extreme highwater. The original train trestle supports still exist just downriver and plans are underway for the construction of a new bridge and trail for hikers and cyclists to access State land across the river as part of a regional loop trail.
Information on the Eastern Continental Divide Loop Trail
The Steele cemetery on the slope above the park is named after Abraham Steele who inherited this land from his step-father Gabriel Friend. Many of the townspeople mentioned on the historical tour can be found buried there, as well as military veterans from many wars. Some of the graves are marked by a simple stone with no inscription and the cemetery is a quiet place for reflection under the large hardwoods and cedars.
