Editing Rockville, Maryland (section)

==History==

===Early history===
Situated in the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] region and crossed by three [[Stream|creeks]] ([[Rock Creek (Potomac River)|Rock Creek]], [[Cabin John Creek]], and [[Watts Branch (Potomac River)|Watts Branch]]), Rockville provided an excellent refuge for semi-[[nomad]]ic [[Native Americans of the United States|Native Americans]] as early as 8000 BC. By the [[first millennium BC]], a few of these groups had settled down into year-round [[agricultural]] communities that exploited the native flora, including [[sunflower]]s and marsh elder. By AD 1200, these early groups (dubbed ''Montgomery Indians'' by later [[archaeologists]]) were increasingly drawn into conflict with the [[Senecas]] and [[Susquehannock]]s who had migrated south from [[Pennsylvania]] and [[New York (state)|New York]]. Within the present-day boundaries of the city, six prehistoric sites have been uncovered and documented, along with numerous artifacts several thousand years old. By 1700, under pressure from [[Europe]]an colonists, the majority of these original inhabitants had been driven away.

The indigenous population carved a path on the high ground, known as Sinequa Trail, which is now downtown Rockville. Later, the Maryland Assembly set the standard of 20 feet for main thoroughfares and designated the Rock Creek Main Road or Great Road to be built to this standard. In the mid-18th century, Lawrence Owen opened a small inn on the road. The place, known as Owen's Ordinary, took on greater prominence when, on April 14, 1755, Major General [[Edward Braddock]] stopped at Owen's Ordinary on a start of a mission from George Town (now Washington, D.C.) to press British claims of the western frontier. The location of the road, near the present Rockville Pike, was strategically located on higher ground, making it dry year-round.<ref name='McGuckian'>{{cite book
| author= McGuckian, Eileen S.
| title=Rockville: Portrait of a City
| location= Franklin, Tennessee | publisher=Hillsboro Press
| year=2001
| isbn = 1-57736-235-7
}}</ref>{{Rp|6–9}}

===18th century===
The first [[land patent]]s in the Rockville area were obtained by Arthur Nelson between 1717 and 1735. Within three decades, the first permanent buildings in what would become the center of Rockville were established on this land. Still a part of [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's County]] at this time, the growth of Daniel Dulaney's [[Frederick, Maryland|Frederick Town]] prompted the separation of the western portion of the county, including Rockville, into [[Frederick County, Maryland|Frederick County]] in 1748.

Being a small, unincorporated town, early Rockville was known by a variety of names, including Owen's Ordinary, Hungerford's Tavern, and Daley's Tavern. The first recorded mention of the settlement later  known as Rockville dates to the [[Braddock Expedition]] in 1755. On April 14, one of the approximately 2,000 men who were accompanying General Braddock through wrote the following: "we marched to larance Owings or Owings Oardianary, a Single House, it being 18 miles and very dirty." Owen's Ordinary was a small rest stop on Rock Creek Main Road (later the [[Rockville Pike]]), which stretched from [[Georgetown, Washington, D.C.|George Town]] to Frederick Town, and was then one of the largest thoroughfares in the colony of Maryland.

On September 6, 1776,<ref name="proctor1934">{{cite news |last=Proctor |first=John Clagett |author-link=John Clagett Proctor |date=May 20, 1934 |title=Rockville Among Old Maryland Towns |page=76 |work=Washington Evening Star |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/HistArchive/?p_product=EANX-NB&p_theme=ahnp&p_nbid=W60L63JXMTQxNTQ1ODU0NS40NDMwNDU6MToxNToxMzIuMTc0LjI1NC4xNDU&p_action=doc&s_lastnonissuequeryname=8&d_viewref=search&p_queryname=8&p_docnum=1&p_docref=v2:13D5DA85AE05A305@EANX-NB-1489DE40791B126E@2427578-148995EE73B6B74D@77-148AD6437721EFF8@ |access-date=December 22, 2016 |archive-date=February 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225042747/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/home/login?destination=infoweb.newsbank.com%3Fdb%3DEANX-NB%26wedirect%3Dtrue |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Maryland Constitution|Maryland Constitutional Convention]] agreed to a proposal introduced by Thomas Sprigg Wootton wherein Frederick County, the largest and most populous county in Maryland, would be divided into three smaller subdivisions. The southern portion of the county, of which Rockville was a part, was named Montgomery County. The most populous and prosperous urban center in this new county was George Town, but its location at the far southern edge rendered it worthless as a seat of local government. Rockville, a small but centrally located and well-traveled town, was chosen as the seat. At the time, Rockville did not have a name; it was generally called Hungerford's Tavern, after the well-known tavern in it.<ref name= proctor1934/> After being named the county seat, the village was referred to by all as Montgomery Court House.<ref name= proctor1934/> The tavern served as the county courthouse, and it held its first such proceedings on May 20, 1777.<ref name= proctor1934/>

In 1784, William Prather Williams, a local landowner, hired a surveyor to lay out much of the town.<ref name= proctor1934/> In his honor, many took to calling the town Williamsburg.<ref name= proctor1934/> In practice, however, Williamsburg and Montgomery Court House were used interchangeably. Rockville came to greater prominence when Montgomery County was created and later when George Town was ceded to the federal government to create the [[District of Columbia]].<ref name='McGuckian'/>

===19th century===
[[File:Rockville Cornerstone.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Stone marker on corner of Vinson Street and Maryland Avenue, placed there in 1803 when Rockville's streets were laid out. "BR" stands for "Beginning of Rockville".{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}]]
[[File:Rockville railroad station.jpg|thumb|right|[[Rockville Railroad Station]], built in 1873]]
[[File:Map of Rockville 1879.jpg|alt=Map of Rockville in 1879|thumb|right|Rockville in 1879<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ghostsofdc.org/2012/12/14/map-of-rockville-in-1879/|title=Map of Rockville in 1879|last=Tom|date=2012-12-14|website=Ghosts of DC|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-20|archive-date=February 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220124149/https://ghostsofdc.org/2012/12/14/map-of-rockville-in-1879/|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

A proposal to name the town Wattsville, after the nearby Watts Branch, failed because the stream was later considered too small to give its name to the town.<ref name= proctor1934/> On July 16, 1803, when the area was officially entered into the county land records with the name "Rockville", derived from Rock Creek.<ref name= proctor1934/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=2764|title=Profile for Rockville Maryland, MD|publisher=ePodunk|access-date=August 25, 2012|archive-date=February 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210103517/http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=2764|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nevertheless, the name Montgomery Court House continued to appear on maps and other documents through the 1820s.

By petition of Rockville's citizens, the [[Maryland General Assembly]] incorporated the village on March 10, 1860. During the [[American Civil War]], General [[George B. McClellan]] stayed at the Beall Dawson house in 1862. In addition, General [[J.E.B. Stuart]] and an army of 8,000 [[Confederate Army|Confederate]] [[cavalry]]men marched through and occupied Rockville on June 28, 1863,<ref>{{cite news |title= Capture of a Wagon Train: One Hundred and Seventy-eight Wagons and Over One Thousand Mules Gobbled Up: The Rebels in Possession of Rockville |work= Washington Evening Star |date= June 29, 1863 |page= 2 |url= http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/HistArchive/?p_product=EANX-NB&p_theme=ahnp&p_nbid=N5BX5EGSMTQxNTQ3NjA2Mi45ODI3NTk6MToxNToxMzIuMTc0LjI1NC4xNDU&p_action=doc&s_lastnonissuequeryname=3&d_viewref=search&p_queryname=3&p_docnum=7&p_docref=v2:13D5DA85AE05A305@EANX-NB-13DA8597DF22CB70@2401686-13D88059A3034D78@1-13DB2BC76483AFD0@ |access-date= December 22, 2016 |archive-date= February 25, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240225042819/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/home/login?destination=infoweb.newsbank.com%3Fdb%3DEANX-NB%26wedirect%3Dtrue |url-status= live }}</ref> while on their way to [[Battle of Gettysburg|Gettysburg]] and stayed at the Prettyman house. [[Jubal Anderson Early]] also crossed through Rockville on his way to and from his 1864 [[Battle of Fort Stevens|attack on Washington]].

In 1913, on the birthday of [[Jefferson Davis]], the [[United Daughters of the Confederacy]] erected a statue near the Rockville courthouse dedicated to Confederate soldiers from Montgomery County.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=106336 |title=The Confederate Monument, a War Memorial |website=The Historical Marker Database |access-date=August 18, 2017 |archive-date=August 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819062128/https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=106336 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Beat/2015/Looking-Back-at-the-Creation-of-the-Countys-Confederate-Memorials/ |title=Looking Back at the Creation of the County's Confederate Memorials |author=Mark Walston |date=July 21, 2017 |work=Bethesda Beat |access-date=August 19, 2017 |archive-date=August 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819062311/http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Beat/2015/Looking-Back-at-the-Creation-of-the-Countys-Confederate-Memorials/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The monument was removed in 2017 as part of a wave of [[removal of Confederate monuments and memorials|removals of Confederate monuments and memorials]] in response to the 2015 [[Charleston church shooting]]; its base now stands by [[White's Ferry]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/confederate-statue-moved-from-rockville-courthouse-over-the-weekend/2017/07/24/cc80fae4-70a1-11e7-9eac-d56bd5568db8_story.html |author=Bill Turque |date=July 24, 2017 |title=Confederate statue moved from Rockville courthouse over the weekend |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=August 19, 2017 |archive-date=August 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819064814/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/confederate-statue-moved-from-rockville-courthouse-over-the-weekend/2017/07/24/cc80fae4-70a1-11e7-9eac-d56bd5568db8_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1873, the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] extended its [[Metropolitan Branch]] to Rockville, connecting the city by rail to [[Washington, D.C.]] 

In July 1891, the [[Tennallytown and Rockville Railway]] brought [[tram|trolley]] service to the city. The line connected to the [[Georgetown-to-Rockville streetcar service|Georgetown and Tennallytown Railway]] terminus at Western Avenue and Wisconsin Avenue, and thence to downtown Washington, D.C.

===20th century===
[[File:Looking north on what is now 355 in Rockville 1970.jpg|thumb|Downtown Rockville, 1970]]
[[File:Rockvillemd.jpg|thumb|right|Downtown Rockville, 2001]]
[[File:Rockville town center2.jpg|thumb|right|Rockville Town Center, 2006]]
[[File:Rockville - Maryland Ave at Middle Ln.jpg|thumb|right|Downtown Rockville, 2009]]
[[File:RockvilleMaryland-Northwest.jpg|thumb|Rockville, Maryland - Looking Northwest]]

Trolley service operated for four decades, until, eclipsed by the growing usage of the automobile, service was halted in August 1935. The Blue Ridge Transportation Company provided bus service for Rockville and Montgomery County from 1924 through 1955. After 1955, Rockville would not see a concerted effort to develop a [[public transportation]] infrastructure until the 1970s, when the [[Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority]] (WMATA) began work to extend the [[Washington Metro]] into Rockville and extended Metrobus service into Montgomery County. The [[Rockville (Washington Metro)|Rockville station]] of Washington Metro began service on July 25, 1984, and the [[Twinbrook (Washington Metro)|Twinbrook station]] began service on December 15, 1984. Metrobus service was supplemented by Montgomery County's own Ride On bus service starting in 1979. [[MARC Train|MARC]], Maryland's Rail Commuter service, serves Rockville with its Brunswick line. From Rockville MARC provides service to [[Washington Union Station]] (southbound), and [[Frederick, Maryland|Frederick]] and [[Martinsburg, West Virginia]] (northbound), as well as intermediate points. [[Amtrak]], the national passenger rail system, provides service from Rockville to [[Chicago]] and Washington D.C.

The mid-20th century saw substantial growth in Rockville, especially with the annexation of the [[Twinbrook (Rockville, Maryland)|Twinbrook]] subdivision in 1949, which added hundreds of new homes and thousands of new residents to the city. In 1954, [[Congressional Airport]] closed, and its land was sold to developers to build residences and a commercial shopping center.<ref>{{cite news |title= Congressional Airport Sold For Dwellings |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= April 4, 1954 |page= M6 |id= {{ProQuest|148631747}} }}</ref> The shopping center, named Congressional Plaza, opened in 1958.<ref>{{cite news |title= New Rockville Shop Center Is Dedicated |first= S. Oliver |last=Goodman |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 1, 1958 |page=C14 |id={{ProQuest|148990982}} }}</ref> These new areas provided affordable housing and grew quickly with young families eager to start their lives following [[World War II]].

During the [[Cold War]], it was considered safer to remain in Rockville than to evacuate during a hypothetical nuclear attack on Washington, D.C. Bomb shelters were built, including the largest one at [[Glenview Farm|Glenview Mansion]] and 15 other locations. The I-270 highway was designated as an emergency aircraft landing strip. Two [[Nike (rocket)|Nike]] missile launcher sites were located on Muddy Branch and Snouffer School Roads until the mid-1970s.<ref name='McGuckian'/>{{Rp|163}}

In 1975, [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]] and [[Zelda Fitzgerald]]'s caskets were reinterred at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Rockville, where his father, Edward, and a number of Key family members had been buried.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-09-13 |title=Scott and Zelda: Fractious in life, but together in death in a Rockville cemetery plot |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/f-scott-fitzgeralds-long-journey-to-a-rockville-cemetery/2014/09/13/4a97e826-39b3-11e4-9c9f-ebb47272e40e_story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324084942/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/f-scott-fitzgeralds-long-journey-to-a-rockville-cemetery/2014/09/13/4a97e826-39b3-11e4-9c9f-ebb47272e40e_story.html |archive-date=March 24, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |author-first=John |author-last=Kelly}}</ref>

From the 1960s, Rockville's town center, formerly one of the area's commercial centers, suffered from a period of decline. Rockville soon became the first city in Maryland to enter into a government funded [[urban renewal]] program. This resulted in the demolition of most of the original business district. Included in the plan was the unsuccessful [[Rockville Mall]], which failed to attract either major retailers or customers and was demolished in 1994, various government buildings such as the new Montgomery County Judicial Center (opened 1982), and a reorganization of the road plan near the courthouse. The once-promising plan was for the most part a disappointment. Although efforts to restore the town center continue, the majority of the city's economic activity moved to [[Maryland Route 355|Rockville Pike]] (MD Route 355/Wisconsin Avenue). The [[U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission]]'s headquarters is on the Pike, just south of the city's corporate limits.

The [[R.E.M.]] song "[[(Don't Go Back To) Rockville]]", released in 1984, was written by [[Mike Mills]] about not wanting his girlfriend Ingrid Schorr to return to Rockville, Maryland.<ref name="Black, Johnny 2004">Black, Johnny (2004). ''Reveal: The Story of R.E.M.'' Backbeat Books. {{ISBN|0-87930-776-5}}.</ref>

=== 21st century ===
In 2004, Rockville Mayor Larry Giammo announced plans to renovate Rockville Town Square, including building new stores and housing and moving the city's library. As of 2007, the new [[Rockville Town Center]] includes shops, restaurants, condominiums and apartments, as well as stages, fountains and the new Rockville Memorial Library.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rockville Town Center |url=http://www.rockvillemd.gov/towncenter |date=June 2007 |publisher=City of Rockville, MD |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070617103452/http://www.rockvillemd.gov/towncenter/ |archive-date=2007-06-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Duncan Opens New Rockville Library; State-of-the-art Facility Anchors Town Center Redevelopment |url=https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=2511&Dept=71 |date=2006-11-29 |publisher=Montgomery County Public Libraries |location=Rockville, MD |id=Press release}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Norris |first=Sean Patrick |title=Rockville remembers Montgomery's fallen service members |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2010/06/10/rockville-remembers-montgomerys-fallen-service-members/7059f336-d2b7-46ab-bfb7-93b7b80b8eb5/ |date=2010-06-10 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> 

The city is closely associated with the neighboring towns of [[Kensington, Maryland|Kensington]] and [[North Bethesda, Maryland|North Bethesda]], an unincorporated [[census-designated place]]. The [[Strathmore (Maryland)|Music Center at Strathmore]], an arts and theater center, opened in February 2005 in the latter of these two areas and is presently the second home of the [[Baltimore Symphony Orchestra]]. The Fitzgerald Theatre in Rockville Civic Center Park has provided diverse entertainment since 1960. In 1998, Regal Cinemas opened in Town Center<ref name="McGuckian" />{{Rp|217}} and the city annexed 900 acres of land.<ref name="FAQ">{{cite web|url=http://www.ci.rockville.md.us/DEPT/POLICE/FAQ.html|title=Rockville City Police Department|date=2 September 1999|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990902051340/http://www.ci.rockville.md.us/DEPT/POLICE/FAQ.html|archive-date=2 September 1999}}</ref>

The city has a brass band in the [[Brass band (British style)|British style]].

===Historic places===
{{See also|National Register of Historic Places listings in Montgomery County, Maryland}}
Historic structures on the [[National Register of Historic Places|Register]] in and around downtown Rockville are:
* [[Beall–Dawson House]] (1815)
* [[Bingham-Brewer House]] (1821)
* [[Dawson Farm]] (1874)
* [[Glenview Mansion (Rockville)|Glenview Mansion]] (1926)
* [[Montgomery County Courthouse Historic District]] (1939)
* [[New Mark Commons]] (1967)
* [[Third Addition to Rockville and Old St. Mary's Church and Cemetery|Old St. Mary's Church]] (1817)
* [[Rockville Park Historic District]] (1884)
* [[Rockville Railroad Station]] (1873)
* [[West Montgomery Avenue Historic District]] (1880)

====Rockville vicinity====
* [[Montrose Schoolhouse]] (1909)<ref name="nrisMSH">{{NRISref|version=2013a|dateform=mdy|access-date=December 28, 2019|refnum=83002956|name=Montrose Schoolhouse}}</ref>