Montgomery History

History Conversations REWIND | A Tough Row to Hoe: The Agricultural History Farm Park
2025-12-29 - 2026-01-04
with Deirdre Harris | pre-recorded virtual event | The Agricultural History Farm Park is home to 275 years of farming history that includes the lives of the Magruder family, patriots of the American Revolution; the Newman family, African Americans who left enslavement in Virginia and purchased land after the failed promise of Reconstruction, and the Bussard family, dairy farmers from Frederick County. The intricacies of this complex Maryland history runs deep into the soil of the Agricultural Reserve and is made as clear as the Rock Creek that flows along its borders through fact finding, archeological digs, and the oral histories of the farm family descendants. Literally and figuratively, life at the farm in Derwood was hard. Crops failed, social, political, and legal constraints over the years were challenging, and the road to historic discovery was sometimes painful. Learn about the people, the place, and the process of uncovering the past at the Agricultural History Farm Park. Recorded at the Fall 2023 Montgomery County History Conference. Recording available December 29 – January 4
