African American History: Online Exhibits
Lincoln Park History Project
Lincoln Park, one of the first real estate ventures for African-American homeowners in Montgomery County, is a 19th century suburban community that retains the feeling of a small town within the borders of Rockville. Lincoln Park residents have maintained strong ties to kin and community for generations, and descendants of many original homeowners still live in Lincoln Park.
In 2000, representatives from several Montgomery County cultural history organizations joined together in an effort to promote and share the history of Lincoln Park. Spearheaded by the Rockville Regional Library, the partners included the Lincoln Park Historical Foundation, the Montgomery County Archives, Montgomery History, Peerless Rockville, the Montgomery County Department of Recreation and Parks, and several long-time residents of the Lincoln Park region. Planning and information-gathering culminated in a temporary physical exhibit and also in a website called the “Lincoln Park History Project,” which was hosted by the public library. The content of that website was transferred to the custody of Montgomery History in 2026.
Scotland Photo Gallery, 1966-1970
This photo gallery is comprised of images from the community of Scotland in the late 1960s. At that time an all-African-American community of people underwent a years-long process of reclaiming their land and rebuilding their infrastructure. The images were digitized from a collection of negatives donated by Joyce Siegel, who had worked with the Scotland community during this time period. Joyce’s husband Alan was an avid amateur photographer, and took hundreds of photos of the events happening in Scotland between 1966 and 1970 with a focus on the community members and their neighborhood.
Opened October 15, 2019
Curated by Sarah Hedlund
“The Decree Had Been Handed Down” The Experience of Public School Desegregation in Montgomery County
To tell the story of the desegregation ruling, and the subsequent efforts to integrate the public schools in Montgomery County, we turn to six women who lived that experience directly. Using sound clips from their oral history interviews, along with photographs, and other historical documentation from Montgomery History’s archives and special collections, this exhibit relates the experience of the desegregation process in Montgomery County–before, during, and after–in their words.
Originally opened October 17, 2017; expanded April, 2020.
Curated by Sarah Hedlund