Ron Young Sculpture to Be Unveiled at Carroll Creek on Oct. 11

The public is invited to the unveiling of a sculptural tribute to former Frederick Mayor Ron Young on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 4 p.m. at the Carroll Creek Linear Park amphitheater.

Frederick County’s official event calendar confirms the date, time and location. The seven-foot bronze sculpture was created by Antonio Tobias Mendez, according to The Frederick News-Post.

The ceremony is timed to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1976 flood, which inundated homes and businesses across several blocks of downtown Frederick.

Young envisioned and championed the underground flood-control project during his 16 years as mayor. Carroll Creek Linear Park was later built above that infrastructure, pairing flood protection with a public gathering place.

Former County Executive Jan Gardner, a member of the sculpture committee, described the tribute as a celebration of leadership that helped create the flood-control system, the park and promenade, expanded public art and contributed to downtown revitalization.

The sculpture will be accompanied by an interpretive exhibit explaining the park’s development and the broader effort to renew downtown.

According to the committee information quoted by the News-Post, that exhibit will also recognize the successive mayors who helped carry the vision forward.

The unveiling offers residents an opportunity to revisit the history beneath one of downtown’s best-known public spaces. The creekside setting connects the tribute directly to the project it commemorates.