The back of the Lakeview Lovers Lane postcard. The card was addressed to Mrs. Walter Myers, RD 11, Westminster Maryland in care of Mrs. J. L. Zimmerman. The card was mailed from Frederick and was origanlly misaddressed when sent to Taneytown. It appears that Mrs. Zimmerman or the the Post Office corrected the address. The stamp was cancelled in Frederick on April 10, 1913 then again at Taneytown on April 12, 1913 before being forwarded on to Mrs. Myers at Westminster.

The card reads:   Hello there, What on earth has become of you. I beleive you have forgotten me for sure, but hope you have not. How are you? I am all down and out. Hard luck. Write soon. As ever I. Ruth Hummer

Post cards were the "texting" of the day and were a very popular means of communication in the late 1800's and early 1900's before the wide spread use of the telephone. Many times the messages are really mundane with many of them letting the other party know when they will be visiting. This one is a plea for the other party to write back.

This postcard view of Lovers Lane at Lake View is postmarked April 10, 1913. The postcard could be from earlier than 1913 because the H&F Railroad tracks would have been where the horse cart is running along the lake. The Casino at Lake View was built by Charles Remsburg in 1908 and featured bowling alleys, a dance floor, and pool room. In 1910 the Casino burned and was not rebuilt. Remsburg was an investor in the Washington, Frederick and Gettysburg Railroad and built Lake View in anticipation of the passengers that would use the railroad. The Lake View Hotel was a four story building with 50 rooms and it suffered a similar fate in 1914. The lake started as several goldfish ponds that were joined to create the lake. Mr. Remsburg was one of many goldfish farmers in the Lewistown, Mountain Dale, Catoctin Furnace and Thurmont area. The lake is still visible today, coming North from Frederick it can be seen on the right just past Stull Road at Lewistown.

This detail of the previous image is a scan of an 8" x 10" cabinet photo mounted on cardboard. W. F. & G. R.R. can be seen painted on the side of the cab. The original print was made form a lass plate negative and this shows the amazing detail available form the early glass plate cameras. the mage is so clear that these men could be easliy identified by anyone that would have known them. 

A detail of the previous photo showing WF&GRR Engine No 1 at the Lake View Casino.

Washington Frederick & Gettysburg Rail Road Engine No 1 sitting on the track next to the Lake View Casino at Lewistown, MD. This is the only photograph I am aware of that shows most of the Lake View Casino. To the right of the Casino can be seen some construction materials, this photo may have been taken shortly after construction on the Casino was completed.  The WF&GRR was originally developed to provide train service between Washington, Frederick and Gettysburg. The only segment of the line that ever saw service was the Frederick to Thurmont line. The WF&GRR took advantage of the track laid by the Monocacy Valley Railroad between Thurmont and Catoctin Furnace. That line was extended to Frederick City and would later become part of the Hagerstown and Frederick Railway system providing passanger trolley and freight service between Thurmont and Frederick.

Hagerstown and Frederick Freight Motor No 5 on it's way toward Frederick as it passes by the lake at Lake View near Lewistown. This photo was probably taken in the early 1950's long after the Lake View Casino and Hotel were gone.

Hagerstown and Frederick Railway trolley car No 171 approaches the small passenger waiting station at the side of the lake at Lake View near Lewistown. This was the site of the Lake View Casino and Hotel. This photo was taken in the early to mid 1950's long after the Casino and Hotel were gone and it appears that there is more than one person standing near the controls. This would indicate that this trolley was on of the Rail Fan special trips. Trolley and train fans would rent a car for the day and were allowed to take turns at the controls. 

Miss Carrie Houck was seriously burned while wearing a costume at the Masked Carnival at the Lake View Casino. I have searched but can not find any follow up information regarding Miss Carrie Houck. This article was published in the Dec. 30, 1909 Catoctin Clarion.

This is the Catoctin Clarion coverage of the Lake View Hotel fire of June 14, 1914. Although this article states that the Hotel was fully insured there are other accounts that say it was underinsured and that was why it was never rebuilt. Similar reports mention the same situation with the Casino being underinsured. This was the end operations at Lake View. This Catoctin Clarion article was published on June 18, 1914. You can click on the image to see a larger and easier to read version.

An article about the 1912 Season Grand Opening at Lake View published in the June 6, 1912, Catoctin Clarion. The Hotel is opening under the new management of George. H. Bratten. Mention is made of Special trolley cars coming from Frederick, but curiously it says the will be no comong cars from Thurmont.