Frostburg's name did not come from its frigid winter weather but from the Frost family. The community was known as Mt. Pleasant by 1800, and before the National Road, authorized by Congress in 1806, opened through in 1812, Josiah Frost, father of Meshach Frost, had bought land and laid out town lots along its route. Meshach built a home on lot 1 and brought Catherine there after their marriage in June 1812. When stage coach service reached Frostburg in 1818, the house became an inn along the National Road known as Highland Hall. As the town grew, it became known as Frost Town, and after a post office was established by 1820 with Meshach as first postmaster, the present name of Frostburg came into use. The Frosts later lived in the Frost Mansion on Frost Avenue, built in 1846, and remained there until their deaths. Their nine children included Nathan, Frostburg's first mayor.