MoCo History Archives - Page 17 of 32

Playground Visible From I-270 Removed After 40+ Years

Published October 8, 2023 at 7:26PM | Updated October 9, 2023 at 10:58AM

The playground consisting of figure-like slides, swings, and monkey bars that was located behind the Londonderry Apartment complex in Gaithersburg has been entirely removed. The playground, which stood at the location for at least forty years, was visible to drivers going northbound on I-270 between exits 9 and 10. Half of the equipment was removed a couple years back– we were told it was due to deteriorating condition. A representative from the leasing office told us that they were advised to have the remaining equipment removed following an inspection in August and that the playground was removed entirely last month.

In 2019, our own Mr. MoCo made the trek to the site. “I had to take a visit to the playground located behind the Londonderry complex in Gaithersburg. Now I can say I’ve been there.” (scroll down to see the East MoCo version of the figures). The post received over 1,000 likes and hundreds of comments. Some of the best included:

18th Montgomery History Conference on Nov. 4 Will Include Address on ‘Black Chevy Chase’ and Sessions on ‘Du-Drop Inn’ and ‘Historic Homes of the Agricultural Reserve’

By Patrick Herron

Published October 4, 2023 at 10:05PM

Per Montgomery County: The 18th Montgomery County History Conference will return as an in-person event for the first time since 2020, with the full day of activities on Saturday, Nov. 4, at Montgomery College in Rockville including a keynote address on “Black Chevy Chase” and breakout sessions “The Du-Drop Inn of Emory Grove” and the “Historic Homes and Barns of the Agricultural Reserve.”

In addition to breakout sessions on the Du-Drop Inn and the historic homes and barns of the Ag Reserve, breakout sessions will focus on the families of the Agricultural History Farm Park, Sentinel publisher Rebecca Fields, a history of enslavement in Kensington, the County’s Poor Farm, the seven enslavers who have public schools named for them and new techniques for indigenous archaeological research.

Historic Potomac Community Celebrates Major Milestone in Reconstruction With the Lifting of Scotland AME Zion Church

By MCS Staff

Published September 25, 2023 at 1:28PM

To mark and celebrate lifting the 99-year-old Scotland AME Zion Church from its original battered foundation, the Scotland community and civic leaders will host a media event at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 28.

The church at 10902 Seven Locks Road, built by hand and opened in 1924 by the Black congregants who lived nearby, was catastrophically flooded on July 7, 2019. The milestone of lifting the church so that a new foundation can be poured marks a significant milestone in the more than four-year effort that has drawn local, state, and regional attention and support. “Those of us who thought the church might be lost forever see this moment as a miracle,” said Chuck Williams, chairman of the capital campaign committee that has raised more than $3 million to date.

Remembering Roy’s Place in Gaithersburg

By Patrick Herron

Published September 11, 2023 at 10:59AM | Updated September 11, 2023 at 11:24AM

Since its closing in 2013, the absence of Roy’s Place has left a hole in the hearts of many current and former MoCo residents. According to the now-defunct Roy’s Place website, the restaurant began serving their 200+ sandwiches in Rockville in 1955. After a couple moves within Rockville, they settled in at 2 E Diamond Ave in Olde Towne Gaithersburg in 1971.

“The Bender Schmender” (corned beef, turkey, roast pork, chicken liver pate & golden brisket with lettuce, tomato, golden sauce & a psychiatric appointment) and “The Raunchy Raymond” (ham, crab salad, Swiss cheese, bacon, tomato & golden sauce all broiled on choice of bread) are just two examples of the kind of sandwich you would find on the menu.

Rockville Awarded $16,941 Grant to Study Historic City Sites

By Patrick Herron

Published September 3, 2023 at 12:59PM

Per the City of Rockville: The Maryland Heritage Areas Authority has awarded the City of Rockville grant funding to study the Avery Road Colored Cemetery and Benjamin Franklin Smith Family Homestead, located within the footprint of today’s Croydon Creek Nature Center and John G. Hayes Forest Preserve. The city was awarded $16,941 to hire a consultant to perform historical background research and use ground-penetrating radar to document what remains below ground connected to Benjamin Franklin Smith, his family and the sites’ development.

This nondestructive approach will seek to discover what lies beneath the areas, including burial sites, funerary objects, architectural relics, and stone tools, arrowheads or other artifacts. Survey findings will assist with a second phase of the project to provide overall site interpretation of the Smith homestead and cemetery sites.

‘A Bump in the Road: A History of Our Local Post Roads’ Will Be Presented Online by Montgomery History from Sept. 4-11

By Patrick Herron

Published August 30, 2023 at 4:04PM

Per Montgomery County: The early evolution of the post roads and their impact on the development of Montgomery Country will be the subject of a free online presentation from Montgomery History that will be available Sept. 4-11.

“A Bump in the Road: A History of Our Local Post Roads” was originally presented by historian Bob Hines at the 2021 Montgomery County History Conference. His talk focuses on the County’s “post system,” the early road known as the Brookeville Turnpike and how post roads shaped the future of the country. To view the presentation starting Sept. 4, go to » WATCH (montgomeryhistory.org).

‘The Roots of Modern Bethesda – Part II’ Will Be Presented Online by Montgomery History on Thursday, July 27

By Patrick Herron

Published July 19, 2023 at 3:09PM

Per Montgomery County: The Bethesda Historical Society’s Hank Levine, who last year led a Montgomery History presentation on the development of Bethesda from 1750-1920, will advance the story of one of the County’s most prominent communities in The Roots of Modern Bethesda—Part II. The online presentation will start at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 27.

In his original look at the evolution of Bethesda, Mr. Levine addressed the geography and advances in transportation that set the stage for the development of the community.In his continuing look at Bethesda, Mr. Levine will tell the story of how in the century after the end of World War I Bethesda became the affluent suburb and urban center of today.

Last Chance to Own a Piece of Lakeforest Mall: Auction Ends Tomorrow, New Items Just Added

By Patrick Herron

Published July 5, 2023 at 10:48AM

Lakeforest Mall closed permanently to the public on March 31st, after almost 45 years. The mall first opened on September 12, 1978. At that time, the mall’s anchor stores were JCPenney, Sears, Woodward & Lothrop, and Hecht’s. The mall was one of the first in the United States to feature an indoor ice skating rink on the lower level, in the “H section”, along with being the biggest indoor shopping mall in the county at the time of grand opening. The ice skating rink was replaced by a NTI Theaters movie theater in 1984, later renamed Cineplex Odeon Lakeforest 5, then by a food court, which now occupies the space. The mall was built on top of Lake Walker, a park on the property prior. The mall opened with approximately 30-50 stores, with some of the first stores being relocated from the then nearby indoor Village Mall (now an outdoor strip mall called Montgomery Village Center since 1991) and absorbed onto the property.

Peerless Presents the History of the Railroad and Explores Public Art in Rockville

By MCS Staff

Published July 2, 2023 at 7:05AM

Learn how the railroad changed Montgomery County and explore public art with Peerless Rockville in July and August. Historian Susan C. Soderberg’s illustrated presentation, “From Corn to Commuters: How the Coming of the Railroad Changed the Way of Life and the Future of Montgomery County,” explores how a branch line became the mainstay of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and evolved into our present-day commuter and freight line.

The free presentation, the latest installment of the Glenview Mansion and Peerless Rockville Speaker Series, will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 13 at Glenview Mansion at Rockville Civic Center Park, 603 Edmonston Drive. It features the railroad stations designed by E. Francis Baldwin, extraordinary feats of engineering such as the curving trestle over Little Seneca Creek and the Bollman Truss viaduct over the Monocacy River, and new suburban and agricultural towns spawned by this catapult into the Industrial Age.

Finding Lost Cemeteries in Montgomery County (By: Brian Crane)

By MCS Staff

Published June 25, 2023 at 10:45PM | Updated June 26, 2023 at 1:43PM

Written by Brian Crane for Montgomery Planning and first appeared in Montgomery Planning’s The Third Place Blog.

Montgomery Planning is exploring the relationship between burial grounds and surrounding landscapes to better understand these sites and find graveyards whose locations have been lost. Cemeteries are important because they are valued by descendants and may hold valuable information about people’s lives historians and genealogists cannot find anywhere else. Since 2017, county law has required Planning staff to keep an inventory of all the graveyards in the county.

‘The Man Behind the Stations on the Metropolitan Branch Railroad’ Presentation May 20 in Germantown

By Patrick Herron

Published May 15, 2023 at 12:23PM

Per the Germantown Historical Society: On Saturday, May 20 at 3pm at the Germantown Library Susan Cooke Soderberg will be giving a PowerPoint presentation on: The Man Behind the Stations on the Metropolitan Branch Railroad as part of the celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Metropolitan Branch of the B & O Railroad. 150 years ago on May 25, 1873 trains began running across Montgomery County. The coming of the railroad changed the agriculture, the economy and the society of the County. By 1893 the line had 18 stops between Washington D. C. and Point of Rocks.

Most of these stops had a station house for the ticket master and waiting passengers – some large and fancy, some small and plain. All but one of these station houses were designed by noted architect E. Francis Baldwin. Five of these buildings still exist and are preserved with historic designation on what is now known as the MARC Brunswick Line. The Architect E. Francs Baldwin is renown for designing many buildings in a variety of styles from the Catholic Cathedral in Savannah, Georgia to the Power House in Baltimore. His attention to detail extended even to the waiting shelters at the train stops. Free tickets available at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-man-behind-the-stations-on-the-metropolitan-branch-railroad-tickets-628856475647, but Walk-ins are welcome.