The grand opening of the 1884 Oakland B&O Railroad Station Museum will take place this Saturday, July 20, beginning at 1:00 at the station located at 117 East Liberty Street. Oakland Mayor Peggy Jamison will MC the event and representatives from the offices of Governor O’Malley, Senator Cardin, Senator Mikulski, and Congressman Delaney will join the Mayor and our County Commissioner on the box car stage. Others to be seated on the stage include Senator George Edwards and Delegate Wendell Beitzel who were responsible for the Maryland Bond Bill that was so important to the project.
Lonnie Naylor will be introduced by Jamison and it was his late parents, Howard and Audrey Naylor, trust money that was the seed money for these renovations and restoration. Through the Naylor’s careful planning and benevolence their money came back to help Appalachia for educational purposes. Their monetary gifts have been used in many projects at the Garrett County Historical Society, Garrett College, Allegany College, Davis & Elkins College, West Virginia Wesleyan, and Frostburg University. Past Oakland Mayor Asa McCain and Chairman of the Oakland B&O Museum will also speak on Saturday. It was his vision in the 1990’s as mayor to acquire the station from CSX. That began a fund raising effort that brought in private local money and donations from outside the area. Various grants were applied for and obtained and the total cost of this restoration was over $1,000,000.
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