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Montgomery County History and Information

Montgomery County was created in 1776 and was formed from Frederick County. The County was named for Richard Montgomery (1738-1775) was an American Revolutionary War general. Born in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland, General Montgomery died leading Continental forces against Quebec. The County Seat is Rockville.

Rockville has been the county seat of Montgomery County since 1777. County officers first met at Hungerford's Tavern here, then in a house owned by Thomas O. Williams that was improved with public funds to function as a courthouse. Williams laid out lots for a town around the courthouse in 1784, naming it Williamsburg. The boundaries of the lots were disputed, so in 1801 an act was passed by the Maryland General Assembly requiring a new survey and changing the town's name to Rockville. See also County History for more historical details.

Counties adjacent to Montgomery County are Carroll County (north), Frederick County (northwest), Howard County (north), Prince George's County (east), Washington, D.C. (south), Loudoun County, Virginia (west), Fairfax County, Virginia (southwest).

Montgomery County Cities Include Gaithersburg, Rockville, Takoma Park. Towns Include Barnesville, Brookeville, Chevy Chase, Chevy Chase View, Chevy Chase Village, Garrett Park, Glen Echo, Kensington, Laytonsville, Poolesville, Somerset, Washington Grove. Villages Include Chevy Chase Section Three, Chevy Chase Section Five, Martin's Additions, North Chevy Chase. Special Tax Districts Include Drummond, Friendship Heights, Oakmont. Communities Include Beallsville, Boyds, Derwood, Dickerson. (Unincorporated areas are also considered as towns by many people and listed in many collections of towns, but they lack local government.)

Various organizations, such as the United States Census Bureau, the United States Postal Service, and local chambers of commerce, define the communities they wish to recognize differently, and since they are not incorporated, their boundaries have no official status outside the organizations in question. The Census Bureau recognizes the following census-designated places in the county: Ashton-Sandy Spring, Aspen Hill, Bethesda, Brookmont, Burtonsville, Cabin John, Calverton, Chevy Chase, Clarksburg, Cloverly, Colesville, Damascus, Darnestown, Fairland, Forest Glen, Friendship Village, Germantown, Hillandale, Kemp Mill, Montgomery Village, North Bethesda, North Kensington, North Potomac, Olney, Potomac, Redland, Rossmoor, Silver Spring, South Kensington, Travilah, Wheaton-Glenmont, White Oak

The Montgomery County Official Government Website
Montgomery County, Maryland History Books at Amazon.com
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Records at the County Courthouse

County Vital Records

ounty Census Records

County Maps & Atlases

County Military Records

County Tax Records

County Genealogical Addresses

County Church & Cemeteries

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

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Reference Materials & Finding Aids - Reference materials, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other how-to books, can be tremendously helpful in finding and interpreting historical documents. Many of these books can help you learn where to look for more information and how to use what you've already found to uncover more clues.
Montgomery County, Maryland Family Books at Amazon.com

Extended History

More than 300 years ago when the first European settlers arrived in what is now Montgomery County, an
area stretching from the mouth of Rock Creek in the south to the Monocacy River in the north, the Potomac River on the west and the Patuxent River on the east, they found evidence of occupation by Indians of the Piscataway Confederation. It was a beautiful forested area rich in game that included deer, buffalo, bear and wild turkey, with rivers and streams teaming with fish.

Captain John Smith of Virginia explored the Potomac River in 1608, and was the first European to map the area. The first to colonize the area were from England, Ireland and Wales. The first patent for land was recorded in 1688 for a tract along the banks of Rock Creek. Once here, the settlers quickly cleared much of the virgin forest to grow tobacco and food, and build homes.

Early Lifestyles
The first homes were one or two room cabins, with a loft. Often, a separate building housed the kitchen and slaves. Later, homes of brick and stone appeared. The more prosperous farms often included barns, a spring house, smoke house and slave quarters. There were a few elaborate homes with carved mantels, high ceilings and imported furniture. Apple orchards were common and the colonial cellar was stocked with produce from the farm.
In 1695, the land that now encompasses Montgomery, Prince George’s and Frederick counties, as well as
Washington, D.C., was designated as Prince George’s County. The area was divided in 1748 and the western portion—including the land that would ultimately be Montgomery—became Frederick County. On August 31, 1776, Dr. Thomas Sprigg Wootton, a member of the Maryland Constitutional Convention, introduced a bill to divide Frederick into three counties—Frederick, Montgomery and Washington. The bill passed on September 6, 1776. These were the first counties in America to be established by elected representatives. The names selected for the new counties also broke with tradition.

Earlier counties had all been named for old world figures such as Prince George and Queen Anne, but these were named after two popular Americans of the time—George Washington and Richard Montgomery.

Origin of Names
Richard Montgomery was born on December 2, 1738 in Raphoe, Ireland. At 18 he was commissioned as an officer in the British army and fought in the French and Indian Wars, before emigrating to America in 1772. He was commissioned a brigadier general in the fledgling colonial army and he commanded an expeditionary force sent to Canada that captured Montreal. On December 4, 1775 his forces laid siege to Quebec. Although his troops were greatly outnumbered, he led several daring attacks on the fortress. On December 31, he was killed by cannon fire. Montgomery never set foot in the Maryland county that bears his name.

Many family names appear on the map of the County, the legacy of early settlers. They include: Layton, Clarke, Poole, Hyatt, Neel, Browning, Clagett, King, Dawson, White, Dickerson, Spencer, Burton, Darne, Brooke and Gaither.

Germantown got its name from German settlers who moved there from Pennsylvania. Seneca was named
after the Indian tribe. Bethesda derives its name from the Presbyterian Bethesda Meeting House built there. When Montgomery County was established, the State appointed commissioners to buy four acres of land for a courthouse and jail. The place they selected was first called Montgomery Courthouse, and then became known as Williamsburg. Eventually, it became Rockville, taking its name from Rock Creek.

Early Federal Period
When it was first selected to be the County seat, the community that would become Rockville consisted of
about a half dozen buildings, at a crossroads on the road which led from Georgetown to Frederick. Located on this road was Hungerford’s Tavern, a one-half story building with a large meeting room dominated by a stone fireplace and four smaller rooms. Hungerford’s Tavern became the center of political activity and the meeting place of pre-revolutionary patriots. The Hungerford Resolves, protesting British acts and arguing for an end of trade with England, were signed there in 1774.

Hungerford Drive in Rockville preserves the name. In December 1791, the Maryland General Assembly
passed an act ceding 36 square miles of Montgomery County to the federal government to be used as the
nation’s capital. As a result, the District of Columbia was born and Montgomery County lost Georgetown, its port city. Virginia also ceded land for the federal city, but this land was later returned to the state and is now Arlington County.

During the War of 1812, the village of Brookeville enjoyed a moment of prominence. On August 26 and
27, 1814, it became the “Nation’s Capital for a day.” President James Madison and Attorney General Richard Rush and other cabinet members sought refuge there while the British sacked Washington and burned the White House.

During the 19th century, horses were the principal means of transportation. Of immense commercial
importance was the development of the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal, which would eventually stretch 184 miles between Washington and Cumberland. Begun in 1828, the project was not completed until 1850. The cost was approximately $11 million. The locks, which could lift or lower a boat about eight feet, were considered engineering marvels in their day. A canal museum has been established in the National Park at Great Falls. It includes a restored lock and many canal artifacts displayed in a former stone tavern.

Agricultural Decline and Recovery
The practice of clearing forests and planting tobacco and corn eventually exacted a price. Farm lands became depleted and new land to clear became scarce. The agricultural economy began to suffer and the younger generation began moving away. By 1840, worn-out farms and run-down houses surrounded by broken fences were a common sight. This low point was followed by an agricultural revitalization. The Society of Friends (Quakers) in Sandy Spring introduced new farming practices such as crop rotation, deeper plowing and fertilization. Soon County farms began producing rich crops of corn, wheat and oats, and, by 1860, the area was in the midst of a period of farm prosperity.

Until 1860, private schools existed in the county for those who could afford an education. In that year, the
county established a free public school system for white children. Black children received little or no education.

What schools did exist were established privately by the communities able to invest in their children’s education. In 1872, the Maryland State Assembly appropriated state funds so there could be schools for African American children. In that year, Montgomery County Public Schools created a segregated school system. Slaves played a significant role in the development of the County, although slavery was never practiced in Montgomery County to the extent it was in the deep south. The shift away from tobacco plantations to dairy and diversified crops contributed to the decline of slave labor. Ironically, it was the life story of a Montgomery County black slave named Josiah Henson on a plantation in northern Bethesda that became a focal point in the abolitionist movement. Henson, who told of his harsh treatment, became the model for the principal character in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

After escaping to Canada, Henson wrote, “The sternest and most covetous master can not frighten or whip the joy out of us. Certainly, old Riley never did out of me.” Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published in 1852 and did much to influence public opinion against slavery. President Abraham Lincoln called Mrs. Stowe “the little woman who wrote the book that made this big war.”

The War Between the States
The Civil War divided Montgomery County, as it did the rest of the nation. Maryland remained in the Union, but support for the South was very strong and many young men crossed the Potomac to join the rebel army. Because sympathy for the Confederate cause was so widespread, President Lincoln ordered federal troops into the county to protect Washington.

There were no major battles fought here, but the County’s critical geographic location resulted in both
armies marching and countermarching across the landscape. At one time, there were 18,000 Union troops
around Darnestown and another 20,000 at Poolesville.

Robert E. Lee led a Confederate army across the Potomac at White’s Ford in September 1862. There were cavalry skirmishes with Union troops near Poolesville. The two armies later clashed in one of the bloodiest battles in American history along Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, west of Montgomery County. En route to Gettysburg, Stuart captured 150 Union wagons just south of, what is now, the corner of Viers Mill road and Rockville Pike.

A month later, J.E.B. Stuart passed through the County returning from raids in Pennsylvania and Major John Mosby and Col. Elijah White’s 35th Battalion Virginia Cavalry and their raiders frequently penetrated the County.

In 1863, Lee mounted his second invasion of the north, and Union forces under the command of General Joseph Hooker gave chase, crossing from Virginia into Maryland near Point of Rocks. The armies met at Gettysburg.

In July, 1864, General Jubal Early led a Confederate army on a raid that ended in the Battle of Monocacy.
He defeated troops commanded by General Lew Wallace, who later gained fame as the author of the
novel Ben Hur. General Early marched his troops through Montgomery County and camped in Rockville.
They proceeded to present-day Silver Spring, from where they unsuccessfully attacked Fort Stevens in the
District of Columbia. During Early’s retreat, the Confederate cavalry, which formed his rear guard skirmished with Union cavalry in the streets of Rockville.

Throughout the war, both sides sometimes plundered the countryside, stealing horses and food. Much of the wooden fencing in the County reportedly found its way into army campfires. A prominent County resident, Montgomery Blair, served as Lincoln’s postmaster general during the War Between the States.
Changes in the Post Civil War Period Since Maryland had remained in the Union, Montgomery
County did not undergo many of the problems experienced in Virginia and other southern states during
Reconstruction. Despite strong opposition from some citizens, the County established its first free schools for African American children.

From 1870 to 1895, life in Montgomery County tended to reflect the mood of the nation in an age of materialism and pro-business sentiments that saw rapid development of railroads, telegraphs, electric service, and towns.

Great Falls was developed as a source of water power and was believed to be the largest of its kind in the
world at the time. The opening in 1873 of the Metropolitan branch of the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) railroad
brought passenger service to the County for the first time and helped boost the County’s economy. With the decline of farming, proximity to Washington, D.C. began to be critical to the County’s development.
Washington’s population doubled and continued to grow. Trolley cars were introduced and the Metropolitan
Branch of the B&O Railroad made it feasible for developers to begin building residential homes in the suburbs.

Among the first of these suburbs were Chevy Chase, Kensington, Takoma Park and Garrett Park. Resort hotels were constructed at Glen Echo, Rockville, and Forest Glen. Summer retreat houses were built at Washington Grove. Between 1866 and the early 1900s, the assessed value of real estate in Montgomery County nearly doubled, soaring to more than $12 million.

20th Century
After 1900, the Montgomery County school budget began to show the effects of suburban growth. In 1908,
there were 6,483 students and a budget of $76,000. Many Montgomery County students attended schools in the District of Columbia. In 1912, the District stopped accepting Montgomery students and in 1913, a
$140,000 bond issue was authorized for new school construction. By 1921, the school budget had grown to more than $316,000.

The County experienced another boom in population and land development following World War I. Civic associations and community improvement organizations began to assume an important role in local government and were demanding better services. In 1918, the state legislature created the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission to improve water and sewer service. The development of Silver Spring began in 1921 with the subdivision of 19 acres owned by E. Brooke Lee, who was known as “The Colonel” because of his National Guard rank.

Except for school teachers, the County government had been a part-time operation. After 1922, the County
began hiring full-time police officers, building inspectors, health workers, secretaries and other employees. In 1927, the state legislature created the Maryland- National Capital Park and Planning Commission. A
zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations, and building codes were quickly adopted.

Between the Wars
In the 20 years preceding the Great Depression, land values more than doubled, but government debt had
increased by more than seventeen-fold. When the Depression forced property values down, Montgomery
County had to do some serious belt-tightening. The next decade saw growing opposition to tax increases and bond issues, and elected officials began preaching the gospel of pay as you go. Agricultural prices dropped, and farmers in the County were among the hardest hit by the Depression.

The large number of federal employees cushioned some of the economic effects and by 1935, housing starts began to increase and the population grow. African Americans, many of whom were farm workers, left the County. By 1940, the African American population had declined from 17 to 3 percent. Montgomery County increasingly became a suburban community with a growing dependence on federal employment.
World War II required the County to send many of its sons to fight in the global conflict, and “The war effort”
became the intense focus of the federal government and local residents. Housing construction and suburban growth came to a halt, but the County’s first skyscraper, the 20-story Bethesda Naval Medical Center, was completed.

Current County Government
Under the current system, the Executive submits yearly operating and construction budgets which the Council must approve. The Executive appoints the various department heads, and other County employees are part of a merit system.

Under the Charter, the County must submit to an independent annual audit, make centralized purchases and use competitive bidding.

The Council sits as a legislative body and initiates, repeals and amends local laws for the County as stated by the Express Powers Act. In addition, sitting as the District Council, the Council legislates in all areas of planning, zoning and land use. The Council cannot enact laws for any incorporated town, village, municipality or special taxing area on any matter covered by the powers granted to these jurisdictions.
In November 1986, the voters amended the Charter to increase the number of Council seats from seven to nine in the 1990 election. Five members are elected from geographic council districts and four are elected at large.

PRINCIPAL HISTORIC EVENTS

1774 At Hungerford’s Tavern, in what is now Rockville, patriots of lower Frederick County met to protest British taxes and injustices, and to draft the “Hungerford Resolves.”
1776 Montgomery County formed from part of Frederick County.
1776-1948 Montgomery County governed under the County Commissioner system.
1777 County seat established at town of Williamsburg, site of the present city of Rockville.
1779 First county court house built at Williamsburg.
1791 Georgetown, then a part of Montgomery County, is ceded to the Federal government to form part of the new District of Columbia.
1801 The name of the county seat was changed from Williamsburg to Rockville, named after Rock Creek.
1828-1850 Decline in County agriculture, due to overproduction of tobacco, poor farming methods, and emigration of farm labor. Prosperity returned when Quakers in the Sandy Spring area introduced imported fertilizer and farm machinery.
1840 Second court house was built.
1861-1865 During the Civil War, both Union and Confederate troops passed through the County several times.
1860 Free public school system established in Montgomery County.
1891 Third court house built. The red brick building is still standing, preserved by citizens groups.
1931 Fourth court house was built of grey stone.
1948 Home rule charter adopted, allowing for a Council-form of county government. Montgomery was the first county in Maryland to establish a charter form of government.
1954 County schools desegregated.
1968 New charter adopted, allowing for an elected County Executive, and a seven-member elected County Council.
1970 First County Executive takes office under the new charter.
1976 Bicentennial of Montgomery County and the Nation.
1981 Executive Office Building and Judicial Center built.
1987 Montgomery County proclaimed a Bicentennial Community in recognition of the 200th Anniversary of the U.S. Constitution.
1990 Council expanded from seven to nine members.
1997 Unification of the City of Takoma Park into Montgomery County.

Courthouse History

Montgomery County History and Information

Records at the County Courthouse

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County Vital Records

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ounty Census Records

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County Maps & Atlases

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County Military Records

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County Tax Records

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County Genealogical Addresses

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County Church & Cemeteries

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Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Extended History