Montgomery County History Timeline, 1776-2026

Montgomery County was founded in 1776 after Dr. Thomas Sprigg Wootton, a member of the Maryland Constitutional Convention, introduced a bill to the Maryland General Assembly to divide a much-larger Frederick County into two counties: Frederick and Montgomery. The bill passed on September 6, 1776. Montgomery County was named for General Richard Montgomery, a Revolutionary War hero who died in action in 1775 fighting for the Continental Army in Quebec. Montgomery and Washington counties were the first in the nation established by elected representatives, and the first in Maryland named for popular Americans as opposed to old world monarchs.

In the 18th century, the county seat (now Rockville) was called “Williamsburgh,” site of Hungerford’s Tavern where Patriots of Lower Frederick County had met in 1774 to protest British injustices to the colonies and to draft the “Hungerford Resolves.”

Williamsburgh (now Rockville) was also frequently called “Montgomery County Courthouse” for its most popular landmark. Between 1783 and 1793 streets and housing lots were created in the growing town.

White’s Ferry (originally Conrad’s Ferry) was one of many ferries that operated on the Potomac River connecting Maryland and Virginia. Following the Civil War, each boat was named “Jubal Early” in honor of the Confederate general who in 1864 led an army into Maryland to attack Washington, DC. In 2020 it became the last ferry to cross the Potomac River.

The port city of Georgetown, then part of Montgomery County, was ceded to the Federal government to form part of the new capital, the District of Columbia.

The Maryland General Assembly passed an act to survey, mark, bound and erect Rockville into a town, formerly known as Williamsburgh. The name Rockville was ostensibly chosen for nearby Rock Creek. The surveying was completed in 1803 (pictured below).

After the Plan of Rockville was established on paper, the first boundary stones were placed: the B.R. (Beginning of Rockville) stone on Vinson St. at Maryland Ave., and a second stone at South Jefferson St. between Rockville Academy and Prettyman House. The B.R. stone was moved in 1961 to the site of what was then Rockville Public Library (lot 1)

The Washington Turnpike Company was chartered to build a road from Georgetown to Rockville.

Sons of Samuel Wade Magruder, Patrick and his brother George, built Magruders Mill on Cabin John Creek. Prior to becoming Librarian of Congress, Patrick Magruder served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1805-1807.

The first class had 30 male students, and students often boarded with teachers or local residents. Early principals and teachers were religious leaders who offered a classical education. Students without means were able to attend thanks to funds appropriated by the Maryland General Assembly. The Academy closed after World War I.

Considered to be the oldest African American community in upper Montgomery County, Big Woods was founded by James Spencer, a Free Black man.

In the last year of the War of 1812, retreating troops from the Battle of Bladensburg, along with government officials and citizens, fled the burning of the Capitol by British troops and found refuge in Montgomery County. President James Madison spent two nights in Brookeville.

Built by Upton Beall and his wife, Jane Robb. Beall served as Clerk of the Court when Rockville became the County seat. According to legend, Gen. Lafayette was served tea there on New Year’s Eve 1824. The home was a residential space until 1965, when it was purchased by the City of Rockville and used for many years as the headquarters of the Montgomery County Historical Society.

It is the oldest church still in use in Rockville. F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda are buried there.

Formed in Sandy Spring with support from the Quaker community when members emancipated their slaves after the Revolutionary War. Originally known as “An Independent Methodist Church for Colored People of Sandy Spring,” it was the first Black church in Montgomery County.

The two behemoths of transportation trade routes, constructed beginning the same year, would compete for dominance over the entirety of their creation and early use phases. The B&O Railroad would ultimately win as a faster, more reliable, and more sustainable mode of transportation for goods. The C&O Canal was completed in 1850, costing approximately $11 million.

This settlement received its name for the large number of German immigrants coming to the area in the 1830s. Jacob Snyder and his family were the first. They were followed by the Metzes, Richters, Stangs, Hogans, and Grusendorfs, among others.

Built in 1833 by Francis Cassatt Clopper, who designed the first Rockville courthouse. This mill burned in 1947 and was left in ruins

By 1835, Montgomery County had outgrown the first courthouse and petitioned the General Assembly for approval to construct a new courthouse. The petition was granted to erect a courthouse on public grounds in Rockville to include all offices necessary to conduct the duties of and secure the records/public documents of Montgomery County. The new courthouse, a two-story brick building with one-story wings, opened in 1840.

The spring was discovered by Francis Preston Blair, so named because mica sand particles made the water sparkle. He purchased one thousand acres of land that he named Silver Spring and built a summer home on it for his family. A boundary marker between Montgomery County and the District of Columbia stands on the property owned by Blair.

The Montgomery County Agricultural Society was organized in 1846 to promote improvements in farming and began holding annual fairs. The first fair held at the Rockville Fairgrounds, now the site of Richard Montgomery High School, was in 1849, a tradition that continued until 1932 when it closed due to the financial crisis. The Rockville Fairgrounds included a racetrack built in the early 1900s for horse and bicycle racing. The first automobile race was held in 1923.

Josiah Henson published a memoir of his time enslaved on a plantation in Bethesda, Maryland, which inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852, fueling the abolitionist movement nationwide.

Though many newspapers were published during this time, the Sentinel is the paper that stood the test of time, remaining in publication until 2019. It was founded by Matthew Fields, then after his death in 1871, his wife Rebecca Fields and their children owned and published the paper for the next 60 years until they sold the business in 1932.