The Rohrersville Cornet Band was organized in 1837 as McCoy's Cornet Band and is Maryland's oldest community band in continuous existence. The band was founded by Washington McCoy who worked on the C&O Canal and in later years operated his own marble cutting business in Rohrersville. He was also an accomplished E-flat clarinet player and the band's director for much of the 1800's.

The band was inactive during the chaotic days of the Civil War, when two of McCoy's own sons served as fifer and drummer boys in the Union Army. In 1882 the band adopted a new constitution and changed its name to the Rohrersville Cornet Band. The band was incorporated in the State of Maryland in 1894, and revised its certificate in 1915 to own real estate. This action permitted the band to build its own hall.  In 1916, the corner stone for the band hall was laid on the very ground that had been occupied by McCoy & Sons' marble company.

In the 1800's, community bands were one of the few forms of entertainment available to the average citizen. In those days, the Rohrersville Band played as often as four times a week, limited only by the available modes of transportation. At that time, there were thousands of community bands throughout the United States. Each town or burg had its own musical group, sometimes only five or six strong. With Edison's invention of the phonograph in 1877, technology slowly replaced the town band as premiere entertainment source.

Today, the Rohrersville Band provides the same service to the public that it always has. Sunday concerts in the park and at nursing homes, patriotic events, and festivals are coupled with parades to make up the largest share of the band's performances, which average 30 each year. The band plays a variety of music dating from the 19th Century up to modern show tunes.

Since the late 1890's the band has had only six leaders. Mr. Richard Haynes is celebrating over 40 years as band director.