Dayhoff: Annual Belle Grove Square concert slated for Sunday

On Sunday the Westminster Municipal Band will continue a 130-year tradition at Belle Grove Square. It was in 1893 that a festival took place to raise money for the fountain there. This year the band will play its annual free community concert at Belle Grove Square, at the corner of Green and Bond streets in Westminster, at 6 p.m.

Although history is silent on the name of the band that played at the festival in 1893, it is not believed that it was the Westminster Municipal Band — although the band also traces its origins back to 1893. For many years, it was the Wm. F. Myers and Sons Band.

The Westminster Municipal Band and its award-winning color guard march up Park Avenue and into Belle Grove Square in an Aug. 29, 2004 photo. A band concert in the park is a time-honored tradition that has continued since 1893. Kevin Dayhoff photo.

The roots of the present Westminster Municipal Band are found in 1920, but “there are records of a ‘Westminster Band’ dating back as far as 1860,” according to the band’s director, Sandy Miller, in a July 2004 interview.

It is widely accepted that it was 1893 when it was first incorporated as the Westminster City Band of Carroll County. The band has a long history and tradition of being closely associated with the City of Westminster, the Westminster Fire Department and the Maryland National Guard.

Miller explained that in 1916, “many members of the band went into the Maryland National Guard under the heading, First Regimental Band of Maryland National Guard, and shortly after that they were deployed to the Mexican border to participate in an undeclared war between the United States and Mexico…

“In 1918, the band was deployed to France for World War I. After the members of the band returned home from France, they got together with the members who had remained stateside along with folks from a Boy Scouts band and formed The Westminster Band, Inc., in 1920. In 1950, the name was changed to The Westminster Municipal Band when Westminster Mayor Joseph L. Mathias took a particular interest in the band and the band reorganized.”

Interestingly enough, 1893 was also the year that the Maryland State Fireman’s Association held its first convention. The Westminster Fire Department was one of nine member fire companies that organized the first MSFA convention in Frederick in June 1893. The Westminster Municipal Band was the featured band at that convention and has played at every convention since then.

The annual summer, free band concert for the community at the fountain in Belle Grove Square is a time-honored tradition that dates back to 1893. May 7, 2015 photo by Kevin Dayhoff

Belle Grove Square and the fountain also have an interesting history. The arrival of the railroad in Westminster in 1861 and the National Banking Act of 1864, accelerated Westminster’s process of residential and commercial annexation.

The origins of Belle Grove Square date to 1866 when, what was then farmland and woods, was purchased by George W. and Maria Matthews.

“Matthews had the property, ‘Matthews Addition,’ annexed into the city and in June 1875 he developed thirty lots bounded by West Green (and) Bond Streets,” into a housing development, according to research for the Historical Society of Carroll County by Jay Graybeal.

Matthews was part owner of the Wagner and Matthew’s Foundry and Machine Shops, where The Stone Building is located on Liberty Street. Matthews donated Belle Grove Square, named after his daughter, Carrie Belle, to be a community green space. The square was one of the first known deeded green spaces in the city.

After much discussion, Westminster accepted the park on May 8, 1877. It should be noted that much of the discussion about the park, between the City Council and citizens, involved whether a fence needed to be built around the park to discourage the hobos and tramps, who traveled along the railroad, from taking up residence in the park.

In a twist of historic fate, George W. Matthews’ son, George E. Matthews, was the Westminster mayor 60 years later in 1937, when the Westminster Playground was dedicated — the same year Carrie Belle died. Matthews was elected mayor in 1926 and died in office in 1938. He was also concurrently the chief of police.

In 1893 the fountain for Belle Grove Square cost $398.37. Just as with many other successful community improvements in Westminster, it was entirely paid for with contributions from the private sector, many of which were made at a festival.

The tradition of the summer Belle Grove Square concert dates back to 1893. The top photo of Belle Grove Square, and what we now know as St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, dates back to probably before 1893. This photo shows Belle Grove Square before the fountain and St. Paul’s before the tornado of February 1893 tore down the steeple. The bottom photo is from May 9, 2025. Kevin Dayhoff photo and composition.

According to an article by local historian Judge Joe Getty in 1993, “The festival realized $252.64, $60 was donated by the Westminster Progressive Association, the proceeds of an excursion to Bay Ridge amounted to $40, and contributions to the amount of $46.25 were received from citizens of Baltimore, making in all $398.89, leaving a balance in the hands of the committee of 52 cents.” Civic-minded generosity and public demonstrations of coming together as a community have long been a part of Westminster.

The Westminster Municipal Band and Belle Grove Square have been a favorite topic for this writer in this space and earlier versions of this article have appeared in print dating to at least 2001. The origins of the research date back to the 1960s when I wrote about my experiences playing in the Wm. F. Myers and Sons Band, and the Westminster High School Owl Band.

We look forward to seeing you at 6 p.m. on Sunday evening to enjoy the annual Westminster Municipal Band concert in Belle Grove Square. Be sure to bring chairs or a blanket.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. His Time Flies column appears every Sunday. Email him at [email protected].