Page 16 - Garrett County 2024/2025 Visitors Guide

PHOTO BY LAURA STUTZMAN | © ELOQUI, INC.
Mountain Lake Park, a small town just east of Oakland, began as a Chautauqua resort in 1881. The Chautauqua movement, pioneered by a Methodist minister, brought speakers,
musicians, performers and preachers to rural communities across America in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Visitors can experience this unique history up close at the Mountain Lake Park Historical Association’s museum. Following a comprehensive renovation and redesign of the space, the museum reopened to the public in the summer of 2023.
The museum resides in the former ticket office for the Bashford Amphitheater, where crowds would gather in the thousands to hear speakers like President William Howard Taft. The renovation has made a big difference to this historically significant building.
“When people step into the space, their jaw practically hits the floor,” said Mountain Lake Park Mayor Donald Sincell. “Even though the museum is small in square footage, a person could truly spend
a couple of hours in there and still not learn everything there is to see. It’s a real gem for the town, and I would match it against any community museum in the state and beyond.”
To complete the renovation, the Historical Association turned to Mark and Laura Stutzman, local residents and owners of marketing and design firm Eloqui. (Mark Stutzman has another claim to fame: he is the designer of the U.S. Postal Service’s Elvis stamp.)
When the Stutzmans began their work, Mark Stutzman said, the museum was filled with relatively small photos that made it hard to see details, and exhibits had been placed wherever there was room for them.
NEWLY
RENOVATED
MUSEUM
Brings Past to Life in Mountain Lake Park
14 The Deep Creek Experience