Accident, Maryland: The Town That Got Its Name From a Surveying Oopsie (And Never Looked Back)

If you've ever Googled "Accident, Maryland" and wondered whether it's a real place or a very specific warning label, good news: it's real, it's in Garrett County, and it is delightful. It's also tiny, cold, and extremely committed to the bit. Pack a sweater and a sense of humor.

How Accident, Maryland Got Its Name (Spoiler: Two Survey Crews Walk Into the Woods)

Every town has an origin story. Accident's is the one where nobody coordinated.

Deakins, a man who apparently believed in redundancy, sent out two corps of engineers, each without knowledge of the other, to survey the best land in the area. And then the plot twist: both crews had started and finished at the same tall oak tree.

The tract came to be called "The Accident Tract." Honestly, it's the best outcome a group project has ever had. (Our roast called it a screw-up. We'll allow it, but the surveyors basically unanimously agreed on the best real estate in the region, which is more than most committees manage.)

The official paperwork is slightly less cinematic. The Maryland State Archives notes the tract was surveyed for Brooke Beall in 1774 and patented to William Deakins, Jr., in 1786. Either way, the town was incorporated in 1916. Residents of Accident have a name for themselves that sounds like a band that opens for a better band.

Population 338 and a Whole Lot of Elbow Room

Let's talk numbers. Accident covers 0.49 square miles and had a 2020 population of 338, with an elevation of 2,356 feet. That's roughly a Walmart parking lot with a zip code (21520, if you're mailing a postcard home about it).

The town has been remarkably stable. It had 349 people in 1990 and about 352 in 2000, before settling at 338 in 2020. That's not a population boom; that's a polite nod.

Fun bonus: Accident sits on the plateau region of the Appalachian Mountains, which means gorgeous views and winters that take "chilly" as a personal challenge. It's also a short hop from Deep Creek Lake, so you can tell your friends you're doing a lake weekend and then quietly detour to the cheese.

The Drane House: A Log Cabin With a Better Comeback Story Than Most Celebrities

Yes, we roasted the Drane House for being a log cabin treated like the Louvre. But the receipts are actually impressive.

It's believed to be the oldest standing structure in Garrett County. It was constructed in 1798 by William Lamar and given to his sister Priscilla and her husband James Drane. Drane wanted farmland, and the Garrett County climate had other ideas. Relatable. We've all had a business plan die at 2,356 feet.

The cabin's glow-up was a community effort. The Town of Accident bought the house and restored it, and a town of 338 pulling that off is a flex.

Goat Cheese, Donuts, and Other Rural Luxuries

Here's where Accident gets legitimately cool. FireFly Farms formed in 2002 as an artisan goat cheese producer in Accident. Today it's proud of its standing as one of Maryland's most-awarded cheese makers.

The cheese isn't just for show, either. The cheeses are crafted on site in the Accident creamery using fresh goat's milk purchased from four local family farms, and the entrance originally featured hand-carved goat totems because of course it did. Visitors on TripAdvisor note that every cheese comes with a suggested wine pairing, which is the most sophisticated thing to ever happen near a place called Accident. The market now lives on Main Street.

Pair your chèvre with a stop at Annie's Kitchen or Rolling Pin Bakery for homemade donuts, and you've basically done a Michelin tour of 0.49 square miles. If you're traveling with kids, Cove Run Farms is a dairy farm just outside town with Holstein cows and a corn maze, which is the closest Accident gets to nightlife.

Wait, we said 0 to 10. The name gets a 10, and we're rounding up out of respect.

The Verdict

Accident, Maryland is small, quirky, and a little bit magical. It's a town whose entire identity began with two survey crews who couldn't stop agreeing with each other, and it has since built a log-cabin museum, a nationally recognized cheese operation, and a yard-sale-and-concert calendar that would make a big-city event planner weep with envy.

Just don't tell the locals it was a mistake. In Accident, it was always on purpose.

Think we were too nice? See the full roast on RoastMyTown.com.