MoCo History Archives - Page 18 of 31

Black History in MoCo: Josiah Henson

Published February 7, 2023 at 11:57AM

Last April, Montgomery Parks opened the Josiah Henson Museum and Park, a 3.34-acre park located at 11420 Old Georgetown Road in the Luxmanor Community of North Bethesda. The museum and park is dedicated to telling the story of resilience and perseverance in overcoming slavery, based on the detailed words and experiences of Josiah Henson – enslaved in Montgomery County for much of his life.

The Josiah Henson Museum and Park tells the inspirational life story of Reverend Josiah Henson, who was born into slavery yet defied the odds to become an influential author, abolitionist, minister, public speaker, and a world-renowned figure. One of Henson’s many accomplishments was his 1849 autobiography, The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, which inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe’s landmark anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

MCPS Black History: A Reluctant Revolutionary, Dr. Betty Holston Smith by Student Journalists

By MCS Staff

Published February 3, 2023 at 8:52AM | Updated February 3, 2023 at 9:33PM

For many high school students, the first day of school is filled with hugs and joyful chatter as they gather in the hallways, reconnecting with friends and teachers. For Betty Holston, the first day of school was filled with hushed silence and stares from white students. She was not the only African-American student to enroll in Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in 1956. There was Nancy Browne who lived on River Road in Potomac. But unlike Nancy, Betty lived on Hawkins Lane, an unpaved road that led to a small number of wooden homes which were occupied by black families who held service jobs for wealthy white families in the area. “We were segregated racially, of course, ” Dr. Betty explained, “but we were also isolated from other black communities.” In short, Betty stood out immediately at B-CC for two reasons: she was definitely not white and her family was definitely not well-to-do.

A “Better” 11th Grade: “11th grade was better, meaning I was better,” said Dr. Betty. “But everything else was the same.” She still lacked friends, and, the administration demeaned her, advising her, at one point, to switch from an switch from an academic track to a commercial one because her “brain wasn’t developed enough for college study.”

Black History in Rockville

By MCS Staff

Published February 1, 2023 at 8:37AM

Rockville celebrates Black History Month in February and encourages community members to explore our city’s rich African American heritage. Visit www.rockvillemd.gov/history to find the city’s African-American Heritage Walking Tour story map. The map, developed by the city’s Department of Community Planning and Development Services, runs 2 miles and includes 18 locations in and around Rockville Town Center highlighting people and places important to the city’s Black history from the 18th- through 20th-century.

Rockville 11’s YouTube channel offers a playlist highlighting activists, pioneers, places, city leaders, Black history facts and community members who remind us of the many contributions made by African Americans to Rockville and our country. Find it at bit.ly/RkvBHMPlaylist.

17th Annual Montgomery History Conference to be Held Online (January 21-28)

By MCS Staff

Published January 14, 2023 at 9:53AM

The conference is scheduled to include a special sneak preview of excerpts from Ain’t no Back to a Merry-Go-Round, an inspirational documentary that highlights the protests that led to desegregation of Glen Echo Park in the 1960s. Breakout sessions will cover topics such as restrictive covenants and housing discrimination, Frieda’s Cottage, LGBTQ+ history, the archaeology of the enslaved, suburban growth in the 1980s and the changing face of agriculture. There also will be a session on the Oyster Wars on the Chesapeake Bay.

17th Annual Montgomery History Conference to be Held Online in January

By Patrick Herron

Published December 29, 2022 at 1:38PM

Per Montgomery County: Montgomery History will hold its 17th Annual Montgomery County History Conference as an online event Jan. 21, 25 and 28. The conference will offer a myriad of opportunities to participate, including three keynote sessions, 12 breakout sessions and a film screening.

Breakout sessions will cover topics such as restrictive covenants and housing discrimination, Frieda’s Cottage, LGBTQ+ history, the archaeology of the enslaved, suburban growth in the 1980s and the changing face of agriculture. There also will be a session on the Oyster Wars on the Chesapeake Bay.

‘Glen Echo’s Wurlitzer Band Organ—A 50-Year Perspective’ Will Be Focus of Montgomery History Free Online Presentation Starting Monday, Dec. 19

By Patrick Herron

Published December 15, 2022 at 9:17AM

Per Montgomery County: Durward Center, the restorer and caretaker of Glen Echo’s Wurlitzer 165 Band Organ for the last 50 years, will explore the journey of the organ at the historic park in a free online presentation from Montgomery History. The presentation will be available for a one-week period starting Monday, Dec. 19.

Glen Echo Park is an arts and cultural center in Glen Echo. The park’s site was initially developed in 1891 as a National Chautauqua Assembly. Following the foreclosure and sale of the Chautauqua grounds in 1903, leisure facilities were developed there to serve Washington’s growing population. In 1911, the site was expanded to become the privately owned Glen Echo Amusement Park, a popular facility that operated until 1968. The National Park Service now operates the park, which serves the Washington area as a regional cultural resource offering classes, workshops and performances in the visual and performing arts.

Silver Spring B&O R.R. Station to Hold Open House This Saturday, December 3

By Patrick Herron

Published November 29, 2022 at 12:44PM

This Station is a Montgomery County Historic Site and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Open House is Co-Hosted by Montgomery Preservation Inc. https://www.montgomerypreservation.org/ & Silver Spring Historical Society, https://www.facebook.com/sshistory/

B&O STATION SAFETY MEASURES: Montgomery Preservation continues to prioritize the health and safety of our visitors, volunteers, and guests, with social distancing and a masking policy that follows CDC and Montgomery County rules. Anyone inside the building must wear a mask in consideration for vulnerable patrons and staff. Masking is optional outdoors.”

“Remembering the Shady Grove Music Fair“ Little Falls Village Virtual Presentation

By MCS Staff

Published November 27, 2022 at 9:11AM | Updated November 27, 2022 at 1:06PM

Per MCPL: For most of the 1960s and 70s, Gaithersburg was an entertainment mecca for the greater DC area. Shady Grove Music Fair—first under a big-top tent and then in a theater-in-the-round venue complete with a revolving stage—hosted Broadway hits and a wide variety of pop, rock and soul singers. Stars included Simon and Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Duke Ellington and even the Jackson 5 for a full week with tickets starting at an unbelievable $4.75. After only 16 years, the curtain came down for the last time in 1978—but what an amazing run!

Our popular speaker, Ralph Buglass, is a member of the Montgomery County Speaker Bureau and an avid history buff. With Peerless Rockville, he is co-author of Images of America: Rockville, a pictorial history of the city’s 250 years. Buglass has taught at lifelong learning institutes associated with Johns Hopkins and American universities and Montgomery College.

Historic African American Community ‘Gibson Grove: Gone But Not Forgotten’ Will Be Featured in Montgomery History Free Online Presentation That Will Be Available Starting Monday, Nov. 21

By Patrick Herron

Published November 16, 2022 at 9:39PM

Per Montgomery County: The historic African American community of Gibson Grove no longer exists in Montgomery County, but its spirit lives on. The Montgomery History free online presentation, “Gibson Grove: Gone But Not Forgotten” will tell the story of the community and its people. The presentation will be available starting Monday, Nov. 21, and can be accessed for one week.

According to a story about Gibson Grove in Maryland Matters in 2021 by Chandler Louden, after the end of the Reconstruction (1865–1877), the rise of segregation led to a large disparity between white and Black communities. Many Black communities did not have adequate infrastructure for things such as schools and cemeteries. To address their needs, they began forming benevolent societies and fraternal organizations funded by member dues. The societies acted as insurance agencies providing payments to families during illness and upon the death of loved ones and provided for burials. The societies were a source of social support and community cohesion.

Sandy Spring Slave Museum and Former NFL Player Richie Anderson Establish the Richie Anderson Project Youth Advisory Committee

By MCS Staff

Published November 15, 2022 at 6:30AM

Sandy Spring Slave Museum & African Art Gallery (SSSM), Inc has announced that they, along with former NFL player and MoCo native Richie Anderson, have established the Richie Anderson Project Youth Advisory Committee.

Richard “Richie” Anderson grew up in the Sandy Spring community and attended Sherwood High School where he excelled as a student-athlete in Football, Basketball, and Track-and-Field. His excellence in athletics allowed him the privilege to be a 2010 Sherwood Hall of Fame member. After high school, Anderson played for Penn State University football on a scholarship, leading him to be drafted into the NFL by the New York Jets in the 1993 NFL draft.

Germantown Historical Society to Hold Presentation on the Metropolitan Branch of the B & O Railroad

By Patrick Herron

Published November 8, 2022 at 11:47AM | Updated November 9, 2022 at 8:24AM

Many of you have ridden over this viaduct on the train or seen pictures of it, but not many have actually visited the structure from below. That is because there are only two ways to access it – either by a very steep and overgrown path from Waring Station Road at the top, or through the private property of the Izaak Walton League below. For this event the League has granted GHS and our guests access through their property. We may even have a picnic in their pavilion if the weather cooperates.

From the time the Metropolitan Branch of the B & O Railroad began service to Washington D.C. in the spring of 1873 it started to transform the County. Suburban railroad towns started popping up down-county and the farmers up-county began planting peach and apple trees and milking cows. Steam-powered mills and factories were built near the train stations, bringing us into the Industrial Age. City folk came up from the city in the summer to escape the sweltering heat, noise and pollution. So people in the up-county opened their homes as rooming houses or built hotels to accommodate them.