Montgomery History

History Conversations REWIND | Old Roads, New Histories
2025-09-01 - 2025-09-07
with Kacy Rohn | Prerecorded virtual event | For 25 years, Montgomery County’s Rustic Roads Program has protected the historic and scenic roadways that reflect the county’s agricultural character and rural origins. An update to the Rustic Roads Functional Master Plan was approved in 2023 [the planning was in progress when this talk was recorded]. This presentation describes the work done to bring new roads and new histories into the program that reflect the diversity of the county’s past with previously underrepresented stories of women, freedom seekers, and early African American communities that enrich the historic landscapes traversed by these roadways. Presented at the 2022 History ConferenceRecording available September 1 – 7.

Annual Ice Cream Social
2025-09-06 16:30 - 18:00 (America/New_York) | Shirly Povich Field, 10600 Westlake Dr, Rockville, MD, 20852, United States
Join Montgomery History at Shirley Povich field for our annual Ice Cream Social! We’ll have a trivia contest and a very brief teaser for the History Conference from our keynote speaker, Ralph Buglass. RSVP Here

History Conversations REWIND | William Marbury—The Man Whose Lawsuit Made the Supreme Court, Supreme
2025-09-22 - 2025-09-28
with Jim Johnston | Prerecorded virtual event | Learn about a 200+ year-old tale of Supreme Court history this week, as Jim Johnston details the pivotal 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison and the man behind it–William Marbury. Born to an impoverished tobacco farmer in Prince George’s County, young Marbury had bigger dreams of fame and fortune. By 1800, he had acquired wealth and a large house in Georgetown. Following a dispute in which incoming president Thomas Jefferson told Secretary of State James Madison not to deliver Marbury his commission as justice of the peace, Marbury resolved to use his wealth to teach Jefferson a lesson. Learn about the resulting Supreme Court case, Marbury v. Madison, and how it established the proposition that the Supreme Court reigns supreme on matters of constitutional interpretation. Originally aired October 2020. Recording available September 22 – 28.

History Conversations REWIND | Immigration Stories: The Journey to Montgomery County
2025-09-29 - 2025-10-05
with Sarah Hedlund and Maria Sprehn | Prerecorded virtual event | In 1850 less than 2% of Montgomery County’s population was foreign born and by 1960 it was almost 5%. Today, more than 35% of the county’s residents are foreign born and even more speak at least one language besides English. How has Montgomery County become one of the most diverse counties in the United States? The answer lies in more than 200 years of immigration stories, soon to be featured in a new online exhibit hosted by Montgomery History. In this presentation, panelists will discuss general findings regarding the immigration history of the county as well as highlight specific immigration stories from the exhibit, based on oral history interviews, archival documents, U.S. census data, and other historical resources. The common themes behind these experiences include stories of love, war, political upheaval, and the pursuit of higher education and career opportunities, as told by immigrants from Ukraine, Latvia, El Salvador, India, Palestine, China, Congo, and many more. Originally aired at the Spring 2023 History Conference.Recording available September 29 – October 5.

History Conversations | Jerusalem-Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church – 190 Years in the Community
2025-10-16 19:00 - 20:00
with Chiquita C. Sorrels | Thursday, October 16 at 7:00 p.m. | Virtual Event | Jerusalem-Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church is celebrating its 190th Anniversary this year. Established in 1835, it is the oldest African American church in Rockville. Through church splits and mergers and multiple name changes it has served as a place of worship and supported other community needs. Join Ms. Sorrels as she takes you through the long and inspiring history of this landmark institution.

History Conversations REWIND | Montgomery County Sentinel: The Evolution of Local Journalism Since 1855
2025-10-20 - 2025-10-26
with Paul Schwartz | Prerecorded virtual event | Enjoy this must-see presentation that brings attendees through a 164-year journey of local history as told through the news stories covered in the Montgomery County Sentinel: one of the most important sources of local journalism. The paper covered everything from civil rights to the Civil War, county infrastructure, 20th century development, two world wars, the Giles-Johnson case, and more. Though the physical paper shut down in 2020, its legacy remains to this day. Originally recorded at the January 2020 Montgomery County History Conference.Recording available October 20 – October 26.

History Conversations REWIND | A Brief Survey of Our Inheritance
2025-10-27 - 2025-11-02
with Kenny Sholes | Prerecorded virtual event | The lands around us have played an important part in American history over the last few centuries. The fields we pass through each day have spurred economic development, been the scene of battles, provided escape from the pace of daily life, and brought families together at the dinner table. Dotting this landscape is an array of impressive historic homes – standing as visual reminders of those who came before us. In this presentation, we will review some of the incredible historic homes in the Medley District area of the Ag Reserve, using the homes as a way to better understand the people whose land we’ve inherited and how their dreams, goals, and struggles were not all that different from ours today. Originally aired May 2020. Recording available October 27 – November 2.

History Conversations REWIND | Flee North
2025-11-03 - 2025-11-09
with Scott Shane | Prerecorded virtual event | Scott Shane’s Flee North tells a very local tale of both tragedy and triumph. It unearths the lost story of Thomas Smallwood, born into slavery, who bought his freedom, educated himself, and became a shoemaker in Southeast Washington, a short walk from the U.S. Capitol. In 1842, Smallwood began to organize mass escapes from slavery by the wagonload, with the help of a young white partner, Charles Torrey — and wrote about the escapes in extraordinary satirical dispatches for an abolitionist newspaper in Albany, New York. It was Smallwood, Scott Shane discovered, who gave the underground railroad its name. But Smallwood’s daring operation took place against the very dark background of the domestic slave trade, which thrived on Washington’s mall and at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, shipping thousands of people every year away from their families to the cotton and sugar plantations of the Deep South. The book’s third major character, Baltimore’s Hope Slatter, was the era’s dominant slave trader, operating from his private “slave jail” near the city’s harbor. The domestic slave trade, still too little understood, became an engine driving the underground railroad. Originally presented at the 2024 Montgomery County History Conference. Recording available November 3 – 9.

2025 Montgomery County History Conference
2025-11-08 08:00 - 17:00 | 20200 Observation Dr, Germantown, MD 20876, 20200 Observation Dr, Germantown, MD, 20876, United States
SAVE THE DATE — November 8, 2025 | The Montgomery County History Conference returns November 8, 2025 at Montgomery College’s Bioscience Education building on the Germantown campus! | Join us as we celebrate and reflect on the 250th anniversary of Montgomery County. Learn More Here

History Conversations REWIND | Building Washington National Cathedral
2025-11-10 - 2025-11-16
with Andy Bittner | Prerecorded virtual event | At 83 years, the building of Washington National Cathedral was the longest-lasting construction project in the history of Washington D.C., and it resulted in one of the great wonders of the 20th century. Join Andy Bittner, author of the book Building Washington National Cathedral, as he takes you on a photographic journey through the years of the cathedral’s construction and introduces you to some of the key figures in that amazing story. Originally aired August 2022.

History Conversations REWIND | A WWI Soldier’s Story
2025-11-10 - 2025-11-16
with Ed and Nancy Bodmer | Prerecorded virtual event | In this lecture titled A World War I Soldier’s Story, Ed and Nancy Bodmer recount Charles Roszier Bodmer’s heroic experiences in World War I with his uniform, helmet, letters, and pictures. Recording available November 17– November 23.

History Conversations REWIND | Clara Barton at Antietam
2025-11-24 - 2025-11-30
with Susan Rosenvold | Prerecorded virtual event | Discover Clara Barton’s first foray on the field of battle, from the meeting that gained her permission to take supplies to and travel with the Army through Maryland, to her experiences at the Battle of Antietam and her return to Washington D.C. Despite the horrors and challenges she faced, it solidified her determination to become a dedicated humanitarian and led to the establishment of the American Red Cross. Originally aired in September 2020. Recording available November 24 – November 30.

History Conversations REWIND | Emancipation in Montgomery County, Maryland
2025-12-01 - 2025-12-07
with Eileen McGuckian and Susan Soderburg| Prerecorded virtual event | On November 1, 1864, Maryland became the first state below the Mason-Dixon Line to free enslaved people within its boundaries by popular vote. On the 156th anniversary of Emancipation in the Old Line State, two chroniclers of Montgomery County history will describe local experiences with slavery, war, emancipation, and its aftermath. Originally aired October 2020. Recording available December 1 – 7.

History Conversations REWIND | Potomac Marble: The History of the Search for the Ideal Stone
2025-12-08 - 2025-12-14
with Paul Kreingold | pre-recorded virtual event | In his talk, “Potomac Marble: The History of the Search for the Ideal Stone,” Paul Kreingold explores the aftermath of Washington’s 1814 destruction by the British, highlighting President Monroe and Benjamin Latrobe’s quest to rebuild the Capitol Building with symbolic and aesthetically pleasing materials. They selected Potomac Marble, a limestone conglomerate found along the Potomac River, for the Capitol’s columns. Kriengold discusses the challenges they faced, including political opposition and quarrying difficulties. His research has led to the rediscovery of these historic quarries, and he will present polished samples, discuss British methods for burning stone buildings, early 19th-century quarrying techniques, and the use of the Potomac Canal for transporting the stone to Washington, D.C. for carving. Originally aired February 2024. Recording available December 8 – 14

Potomac Marble Walking Tour
2025-12-13 11:00 - 15:30 | Dickerson Conservation Area, 20700 Martinsburg Rd, Dickerson, 20842, United States
December 13 at 11 AM | With Paul Kreingold | Discover the stone that was used to rebuild Washington D.C. after the British invaded in 1814.Join historian Paul Kreingold on a hike to learn about the lost history of the Potomac Marble! Paul will lead a tour of the 200-year-old quarries discovered during the research for his book Potomac Marble: History of the Search for the Ideal Stone. Mr. Kreingold is the Conservation Director of the Loudoun County Chapter of the Izaak Walton League and a Virginia Master Naturalist, Banshee Reeks Chapter. Learn more about this walking tour and reserve your spotRegister Here liability waiver and medical form →

History Conversations | Before it was Leisure World, it was the Edmonson Farm
2025-12-16 14:00 - 15:00
with Dianne Bradley and Juanita Sealy-Williams | Tuesday, December 16 at 2:00 p.m. | Virtual Event | Prior to the Civil War, Paul Edmonson, a freed Black man, lived with his family on what was then one of the largest Black-owned farms in Montgomery County, now part of the land comprising Leisure World. However, while he was free, Paul’s wife and their 14 children were all still enslaved. Join Dianne Bradley and Juanita Sealy-Williams as they tell the fascinating story of Paul’s journey to free his family from slavery and their part in the abolition movement.

History Conversations REWIND | A Short History of a Long Treasured Icon: the American Front Porch
2025-12-22 - 2025-12-28
with Sandy Heiler | pre-recorded virtual event | America engaged in a century and a half love affair with an architectural feature that no one actually needed but nearly everyone wanted. This talk traces the history of the front porch through the social movements and architectural styles of the 19th and early 20th centuries, from the end of the Revolution to the beginning of WWII. There’s probably no other architectural feature that evokes such feelings of comfort, welcome, and nostalgia as the front porch. It’s an outdoor living room for leisure activities—for relaxing, visiting, entertaining, and people-watching—all out in the fresh air. At the same time, it’s an important architectural feature on the front of a house. It doesn’t just enhance the main facade; it’s often the most distinctive part of the design. Join Sandy Heiler as she discusses styles and features, history, and the true meaning of the front porch. Originally aired July 2021. Recording available December 22 – 28

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

History Conversations REWIND | Service, Sacrifice, and the Creation of Camp Schmitt
2026-01-05 - 2026-01-11
with Kevin Patti | pre-recorded virtual event | This presentation traces the remarkable history of eight former members of Takoma Park’s Boy Scout Troop 33 who served in the United States military during World War II and lost their lives. Of the eight, two of whom were Eagle Scouts, four became officers, one was awarded the Silver Star, one the Air Medal, and two the Purple Heart. The presentation also details how the community, scouts, and scout leaders gave of their time, talents, and resources to build a boy scout camp, Camp Schmitt, in honor of the eight men in 1959. Originally aired November 2024. Recording available January 5 – 11.

History Conversations | Where the Fleet Begins: Carderock and the Naval Surface Warfare Center
2026-01-20 14:00 - 15:00
with Jonathan Thompson, US Navy | Tuesday, January 20 at 2:00 p.m. | Virtual Event | The Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center has a rich history, dating back to its inception in 1939. It was established to replace the Experimental Model Basin, which was one of the largest and finest model basins for testing models of ship designs being developed of its time. The division has since grown to become the Navy’s center of excellence for ships and ship systems, with a focus on improving the performance of ships, submarines, military watercraft, and unmanned vehicles. It has a distinguished reputation as the birthplace of superior naval technology and continues to be a major component and field activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command.

History Conversations | The Early Slave Trade in Montgomery County
2026-01-27 14:00 - 15:00
With Anthony Cohen | Virtual Event | The African slave trade was firmly entrenched in Montgomery County by the time of its founding in 1776. Discover the European and African nations involved, the earliest enslaved arrivals, and learn of their customs and skills, and how they helped to transform the landscape of the region. This presentation will show how the international movement morphed into a domestic trade, from the Chesapeake to the Deep South after the Louisiana Purchase, and its lingering effects from the time of Revolution to Maryland emancipation in 1864.

History Conversations REWIND | The Making of a Pearl: The Life of Quince Orchard Resident Ida Pearl Green
2026-02-02 - 2026-02-08
with Dr. Kisha Davis | pre-recorded virtual event | Through daily weekday breakfasts with her grandmother, Dr. Kisha Davis learned stories of family and an African American community in Quince Orchard which went much deeper than the name of her school or a road named Quince Orchard. At 105 years young at the time of this recording, Mrs. Green was a lifelong resident of Montgomery County. Through her family’s history from slavery through integration of both schools and churches, her granddaughter shares the complex history of race relations in the county. It is a testament to resilience and turning adversity into something beautiful. Originally aired February 2024

History Conversations | Immigrant Rights in Montgomery County: What Does Due Process Look Like?
2026-02-12 19:00 - 20:30
Recording available soon!Presented in Partnership with League of Women Voters of Montgomery County |Thursday, February 12 at 7:00 p.m. | Virtual Event | Do you know the status of civil and human rights for immigrant and refugee populations in our county? To learn more about this critical topic, join us on February 12, 7-8:30pm, to hear perspectives from: Earl Stoddard, Assistant Chief Administrative Officer, Montgomery County, MarylandAma Frimpong, Legal Director, CASA Stephanie Wolf, Director of Immigration Services Division, Maryland Office of the Public Defender The program, presented in partnership with Montgomery History, will be moderated by Maria Sprehn-Malagón, a professor of anthropology at Montgomery College who focuses on oral history, immigration, and Latino culture in the Washington, D.C. area.

History Conversations REWIND | Gibson Grove: Gone but not Forgotten
2026-02-16 - 2026-02-22
with Dr. Alexandra Jones | pre-recorded virtual event | The historic African American community of Gibson was built on self-reliance, education, faith, and mutual support in a time when African Americans were discriminated against and prevented from attending schools, obtaining insurance, and being buried in the same cemeteries as their European American counterparts. This community has all but faded in the memories of many in Montgomery County, and today the few remaining historical sites are being threatened by the expansion of the Beltway. However, a new community of advocates has stepped in to save these sacred spots. This talk will explore the history of Gibson Grove and the actions being taken to save the two sites associated with this community. Originally aired January 2022

History Conversations REWIND | African American Benevolent Societies in Montgomery County and Morningstar No. 88 of Order of Moses
2026-02-23 - 2026-03-01
with Diane Baxter and Paige Whitley | pre-recorded virtual event | Benevolent societies in African American communities were an important support center for local black populations in the segregated post-Emancipation era. Historians note their role in not only providing a communal support system to members during times of sickness and death, but also in building civic identities and training for civic activism. This talk provides an overview of benevolent societies in Montgomery County during Segregation and notes clues public records can provide as to their existence and workings. The case of Morningstar No. 88 of the Order of Moses in Cabin John, Maryland, and the remarkable artifacts (some of which are available online through the Montgomery County History Digital Repository) preserved by descendants and others provide additional glimpses into members’ lives and the workings of this organization. What might be hiding in your attic? Originally aired January 2021

History Conversations REWIND | Lilly Stone - A Daring Woman
2026-03-02 - 2026-03-08
with Judy Welles | pre-recorded virtual event | In this talk based on her book about the prominent Montgomery County socialite and businesswoman Lilly Stone, Judy Welles tells the story of a daring woman whose remarkable life extended from the Civil War through the Cold War. After Clara Barton encouraged her to join the DAR, Lilly Stone went on to organize the first literary and arts clubs in her farming community, design the first flag for Montgomery County, Maryland, and found the Montgomery County Historical Society. At the stage of life when most people retire, the widowed Mrs. Stone instead entered an industry dominated by men. In 1924, she founded Stoneyhurst Quarry, which yielded distinctive stone used in building the National Cathedral, the National Zoo, and hundreds of other buildings and homes around the nation’s capital. Lilly’s papers and letters, documented by Welles, describe the divided loyalties of County residents living close to the Potomac River during the Civil War, detail her son’s experience as a soldier in World War I, and tell how German POWs came to work at her quarry during World War II. Through her accomplishments in business and her passion for preserving history, Lilly Stone made history herself.Originally aired September 2023.

History Conversations REWIND | “I commence my journal…”: What Carrie Miller Farquhar Told her Diary…and What She Left Out
2026-03-09 - 2026-03-15
with Joanna Church | pre-recorded virtual event | Like many women of her generation, Carrie Miller Farquhar (1842-1904) kept a diary for much of her life. These twelve volumes, now in the Montgomery History collections, detail both her young adulthood in Alexandria and Sandy Spring, and (after a gap of nearly two decades) her married life on a farm in Norbeck. Carrie’s words offer present-day historians a wealth of detail about mid-late 19th century education, faith, politics, war, agriculture, child-rearing, and social activities in Montgomery County. At the same time, we know from other sources that there are many stories and events that Carrie did not choose to write down, including her somewhat tumultuous courtship with Roger Brooke Farquhar, Sr., whom she married in 1867. This presentation will reap the benefits of this wonderful primary source – sharing Carrie’s story, using moments described in her diary from the exciting to the mundane – and examine the limitations of relying on a single voice, even a seemingly candid one, to study the past. Originally aired July 2021

History Conversations REWIND | Glen Echo’s Wurlitzer Band Organ – A 50-Year Perspective
2026-03-16 - 2026-03-22
with Durward Center | pre-recorded virtual event | Go behind the scenes as Durward Center, the restorer and caretaker of the organ for the last 50 years, dives into the history of the organ at the Park, its modifications, restoration, and maintenance. Plus, you’ll get a close up view of the organ’s internal mechanism and how it works. Music enthusiasts, this one’s for you! Originally aired July 2021

History Conversations REWIND | Negative Space: Rebecca G. Fields, Owner and Proprietor of the Montgomery County Sentinel, 1871-1930
2026-03-23 - 2026-03-29
with Sarah Hedlund | pre-recorded virtual event | Any history of Montgomery County’s oldest newspaper of record will contain the following information: “The Sentinel was founded in 1855 by Matthew Fields, a Confederate sympathizer who was arrested during the Civil War for his opinions. After his death in 1871, his widow took over the publication.” The story almost always ends there…but the full story of “his widow” has barely begun. Rebecca Fields was a rare woman business owner in a male-dominated business, and she ran that business for almost 60 years after her husband’s death. She was a complicated and unconventional woman whose true thoughts, opinions, attitudes, and politics are simultaneously known and unknowable, hidden in the white space between lines of type and glimpsed in the thinnest threads of her descendants’ memories. Archivist and researcher Sarah Hedlund uncovers the life and career of one of Montgomery County’s most overlooked historical figures, in search of the woman behind the press. Presented at the Fall 2023 Montgomery County History Conference

History Conversations | Who Owns the Potomac and Why?
2026-03-31 14:00 - 15:00
With Micheal Nardolilli | Virtual Event | Have you ever looked at maps and wondered why the boundary line between Virginia and Maryland on the Potomac River is so odd? It is not in the middle of the river, like it is in most places, and it doesn’t really follow the curves of one shoreline or the other. Michael Nardolilli, the Executive Director of the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin will explain the weird history behind the stateboundaries along the Potomac River.
