Frostburg Plaque

The National Road has sustained Frostburg for almost two centuries. As the road was being surveyed in 1811, Josiah Frost began laying out lots. Businesses, serving passing stagecoaches and wagons, soon lined a developing Main Street. By the 1850s, travel along the road was eclipsed by railroads and canals. The town’s prosperity continued, however, with a lively trade in locally produced coal and fire bricks. The Gladstone Hotel brought the big city to Frostburg in 1897. Bellboys greeted the guests and a New York chef impressed them with his culinary skills. There were a hundred rooms, a café and a barbershop. The fifth floor observatory allowed guests a view of the beautiful countryside. Tennis courts and a petting farm provided recreation and entertainment for guests and their children. The hotel was revived by the advent of the automobile, and its purchase by William Gunter. Today, the Gunter Hotel still welcomes travelers along the Historic National Road. You can still see the cockfighting arena and a jail that William Gunter added to the hotel in 1903 to bring in a few extra dollars. Lawmen escorting prisoners along the National Road enjoyed a comfortable night’s rest while the prisoners were secure below. Frostburg’s lively Main Street in the 1930s. The Gunter Hotel was a popular stop on the old National Road.