Gamber

Gamber lies close to the eastern border of the county, at the crossroads of routes 32 and 91. It serves as a center for the nearby communities who enjoy ithe services it provides in the way of schools and fire protection. The village was first known as Mechanicsville and the local elementary school still carries that name. The modern name of the area was derived from William Snyder Gamber, who was originally from Lancaster, PA, and was a schoolteacher. In addition to teaching at Sandy Mount and Deer Park during his career, Gamber also was appointed as the enrolling officer for the military duringthe civil war, served as sexton in Providence Methodist Church and was appointed the first local postmaster in 1881. But most of the publicity from the area goes to H. T. Ford and Sons General Store, which has been the social center of Gamber for as long as anyone can remember - at one point, it was considered absolutely necessary for politicians to make a campaign stop at the store. H. T.'s son Edsel and his wife Joyce ran the store seven days a week for 37 years, finally selling it in 1985 and it was eventually closed, driven out by the little High's store across the street.

 

Now, the social focus of Gamber is its modern fire department's fire house and it is the scene of many of the social events in the area. Though there are a few smaller business in Gamber today, most of the Gamber residents head down 32 back to Eldersburg to take care of their shopping and business needs today.