The beautiful valleys of Western Maryland, where the Potomac River starts its winding course to the nation's capital, first attracted settlers in the early 1770s. Among the first arrivals were the Davis brothers, who established a saw mill where the town of Luke now stands. The mill provided cross-ties to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as it pushed its rails westward through the Piedmont area of what is now West Virginia.

Luke has changed from a booming industrial town to a small quiet community with an appreciated big neighbor in its back yard the Westvaco Corporation, successor to the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Mill. With the population declining, homes and businesses have been purchased and demolished to make room for Westvaco's expansion. There are no small businesses left within the town's corporate limits. People who live, or have lived, in Luke never lose their affection for the community, as witnessed by the hundreds of people who converge for the town's annual August Homecoming. As far as they are concerned, Luke should be the blueprint for all American towns.