Hagerstown Town & Country Almanack
T
he Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack was established in 1797, making it the second oldest almanac in the United States. It began in a modest print shop on South Potomac Street in Hagerstown, Maryland and was the creation of colonial printer John Gruber and his partner and son-in-law Daniel May. Gruber is considered by many to be one of Hagerstown's "favorite sons" right along with Jonathan Hager, the town's founder and namesake. Gruber's almanac has been published continuously for 225 years and is the ONLY almanac that is still published today by direct descendants of its founder.
The Almanack, as it soon became known, grew in popularity, quickly becoming an integral part of everyday Early American life. For many years hence, it was THE primary source for agricultural, meteorological and astronomical information vital to an agrarian community's survival. The highly accurate weather forecasts (made over 16 months in advance) were first derived using centuries-old methods but over the years, the method has been advanced, incorporating newer, more reliable techniques. And it still contains favorite folk remedies, useful hints and tips for everyday living, and other forms of traditional community wisdoms. Millions of copies have been sold and it has been said that the The Almanack has made Hagerstown widely-known throughout the U.S. and has given Maryland an ‘epicenter’ of farming and agricultural life.
Throughout its long history, The Almanack has been recognized countless times for its contributions to the steady development and success of colonial agrarian society (see Maryland Traditions' 2012 ALTA Award for Tradition as well as for making a significant contribution to our national pride (see Hagerstown Celebrates Star Spangled Banner's 200th Anniversary!).
Gruber's Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack Company has been recognized by Wikipedia as the 54th oldest company in the United States. Click here to see the full list.
Almanack First to Preveiw Winter 2021-2022!
The Gruber Almanack, LLC’s Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack is excited to be the very first almanac to present its preview of the coming 2021-2022 Winter! Almanack Weather Prognosticator/Meteorologist, Chad Merrill, discusses the major sticking points for the coming winter presents the Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack official winter outlook for the US at www.youtube.com/channel/UCbGNToDnkiNxCDOAxud03mQ/featured?view_as=public.
June Almanack Weather Update is Here!
Almanack Weather Prognosticator, Chad Merrill, will be reviewing June's upcoming weather in his monthy column in The Cumberland Times-News, with a focus on the western Maryland region. Click here to review his June column.
The Almanack Partners with PennState Extension
The Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack has recently partnered with PennState Extension of Franklin County, Pennsylvania, who has agreed to share its vast wealth of science-based agricultural and dairy knowledge and guidance, providing relevant content in the form of articles for its annual hardcopy publication, content pages and links to additional information on its website (www.almanack.com), video interviews posted on The Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack Channel on YouTube, and posts going out across the social media landscape. Click here for more information on the Extension's mission and current topics of interest submitted by its team of educators.
The Almanack Announces 'Our Followers Video' Forum!
The Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack announces a new content section, Our Followers Video, on its YouTube channel. Followers can now submit videos/blog links on a wide variety of topics. Click here for the press release and details on type of content desired and how to submit.
