CUMBERLAND, Md. — John Helmstetter, the third-generation owner of the farm from which Helmstetter’s Curve on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad takes its name, has died at age 81.
Helmstetter died Aug. 15. His family’s farm at Corriganville, Md., about 5 miles west of Cumberland, was a popular photo site almost from the time the Western Maryland Railway opened its line through the area in 1912. The family placed the farm up for sale in 2019.
Long a friend to railfans, Helmstetter was known to use his heavy equipment to clear brush and trees to maintain views for photos. Fans returned the favor in 2009 when the Helmstetter farm’s red barn, featured in photos by generations of photographers, burned to the ground in July of that year. Three photo freights operated by the Western Maryland Scenic helped support the John Helmstetter Farm Fund, with Helmstetter greeting passengers on each. Those trips, other donations, and support from neighbors and local businesses raised $41,000 to cover barn replacement costs not covered by insurance, and the barn was rebuilt in a barn-raising in November of that year by over 120 Pennsylvania Amish.
Born April 13, 1942, John Walter Helmstetter was the son of the late Clement J. Helmstetter and Mary (Barley) Helmstetter. He was preceded in death by a brother, Donald,and a sister, Ann Stahlman. He is survived by his brother, Clement F. Helmstetter and his wife Judy; a sister, Rose Marie Armbruster; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be Thursday, Aug. 17, from 4-7 p.m. at Adams Family Funeral Home, 404 Decatur Street in Cumberland. A burial mass will be celebrated at Our Lady of the Mountains Parish, St. Peter and Paul Shrine, 125 Fayette Street in Cumberland, on Friday, Aug. 18, at 11 a.m. Interment will be in S.S. Peter and Paul Cemetery.
