DAR wants to maintain George Washington Headquarters site

Mar. 7—CUMBERLAND — For nearly 90 years, a local Daughters of the American Revolution chapter has cared for the city's George Washington Headquarters cabin.

The group hosts tours of the historic Riverside Park building, but doesn't rent or own it, and is concerned for the safety of artifacts including a cannon ball inside the structure, said Peggy Keene, Cresap Chapter DAR regent.

"All of the items in the cabin are valuable," she told Cumberland's mayor and City Council Tuesday.

The building needs to remain at its current location, but vagrancy at the park is a growing problem, Keene said.

"The headquarters is too fragile to be moved," she said.

"We don't want the park," Keene said. "We just want to maintain the house."

Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization President Ed Taylor Jr. said the cabin is "a monument in our city."

CHCO wants the cabin to stay at its current location, and be owned or leased long-term by the DAR, he said Wednesday.

"It's part of our history," Taylor said.

"We want to make sure the cabin doesn't move an inch," he said. "We do not want any monuments removed."

Taylor also talked of problems at the park, and said during a recent visit he saw several hypodermic needles in the area of the cabin.

In December, Taylor asked city officials if the DAR could rent the park, but withdrew that request in favor of a plan to build a river walk and small parking lot at the site.

"People could access the cabin," he said and added the flow of visitors could deter vagrancy. "It would solve a lot of issues."

Taylor said he hopes to meet with city officials and discuss the cabin's future with the DAR.

The city for years has received complaints about litter, including cigarette butts and alcohol bottles at the park.

Six years ago, city officials removed a gazebo from Riverside Park following more than "40 complaints of undesirable activity at the site," according to a Cumberland Times-News article at the time.

In October, retired Cumberland Police officer David Biser complained to the council of vagrancy, trash including beer cans and strong odors of urine in areas including the cabin at Riverside Park.

"It's not a homeless problem," he said at the time. "It's a vagrancy problem."

On Wednesday, Ruth Davis-Rogers, Cumberland's historic preservation planner, said the building is protected.

"George Washington's cabin is insured by the city under the same policy as all other City of Cumberland owned buildings," she said and added the building is also equipped with an alarm.

DAR members may purchase and install a new alarm, or remove their items from the cabin and bring them back when they have tours, Davis-Rogers said.

City officials don't recall any break-ins at the cabin, she said.

"It could happen of course, but I'm not aware of any issues," Davis-Rogers said.

Teresa McMinn is a reporter for the Cumberland Times-News. She can be reached at 304-639-2371 or tmcminn@times-news.com.