Page:Brunswick 100 Years of Memories.pdf/17
=== CHAPTER 2 ===
Municipality
TOWN GOVERNMENT
Until 1890, Brunswick was still called Berlin and was a village of around 300 people. The natural crossroad of transportation in a valley between Catoctin and South Mountains with the Potomac River transecting it caused a small settlement to grow. The C&O Canal stimulated some economy, and the railroad even left a section gang here. By 1834 both had reached Berlin, a town with a Post Office.
When the river depth was right, there was even seasonal rafting of products downstream. Farms were raising enough products to have a surplus; therefore a flour mill proved able to be profitable.
But when the railroad decided to move its yards from Martinsburg to Berlin, the village was changed forever. Incorporated on April 8, 1890, the State Legislature approved Section 28, Chapter 577, Laws of Maryland. On August 4 of that year, John L. Jordan was elected the first mayor of Brunswick, along with the new councilmen.
The following decade saw a boom town increase its population ten times, requiring careful control of safety and sanitation, as shown by restrictions in the early deeds.
Minute books and Ordinance books kept from the beginning reveal a careful consideration of problems and workable solutions. Over the years a number of commissions were developed, giving more citizen input; today there are the following: Utilities, Planning & Zoning, Recreation, and History.
Mayor and Council met every month, and for almost a century there was the office of "clerk, treasurer, and tax collector." In November 1989, this office was abolished and replaced by a "town administrator" and a "town treasurer."
The new officer was responsible for the keeping, of records, assisting the mayor in developing and executing administrative policies, advising on personnel matters, coordinating economic and community development programs, assisting in budget preparation, supervising the expenditure of town funds, maintain an accounting system, collecting taxes and other revenues, and other duties.
A grants administrator and special events administrator have also been added.
The mayor and councilmen receive a small stipend for their work, $400/ month for the former and $150/month for each councilman.
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MAYORS OF BRUNSWICK
| John L. Jordan | 1890-92; 1898-1900 |
| Dr. Charles W.R. Crum | 1892-93 |
| Zachariah T. Brantner | 1893-94 |
| John T. Martin | 1894-96; 1916-18 |
| Edward C. Shafer | 1896-97; 1920-22; 1922-23 |
| Rudolph T. Ault | 1897-98 |
| Frank M. Hollis | 1900-02 |
| Lewis S. Harman | 1902-04; 1904-06 |
| Dr. Arlington Horine | 1906-14 |
| Eugene L. Harrison | 1914-16-; 1918-20 |
| Jacob H. Moler | 1923-28 |
| C. Albert Orrison | 1928-30 |
| Harry C. Allgire | 1930-32 |
| Harry R. Mace | 1932-38 |
| Alfred Harris | 1938-42 |
| Elmer E. Bowers | 1942-46 |
| Stanley T. Virts | 1946-54 |
| James E. Cummings | 1954-56; 1956-66 |
| Jess D. Orndorff | 1966-84 |
| Richard G. Campbell | 1984-88 |
| Susan V. Fauntleroy | 1988- |
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