Editing Washington Grove, Maryland (section)

== History ==

=== Indigenous people of Washington Grove environs ===
The land where the residential community of Washington Grove now stands, and all of Montgomery County, was traveled and inhabited by indigenous people from around 10,000 BCE. Members of the [[Massawomeck]], [[Susquehannock]], [[Seneca people|Senaca]] ([[Iroquois]]), and [[Piscataway people|Piscataway]]-[[Conoy tribe|Conoy]] tribes lived in the area, primarily using the land as crossover territory toward rock shelters, encampments and sizable villages near the [[Potomac River]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tribes and Cultures |url=https://www.nps.gov/cajo/learn/historyculture/tribes-and-cultures.htm |access-date=April 20, 2021 |website=www.firstnationsseeker.ca}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=First Nations Across North America Map |url=https://www.firstnationsseeker.ca/Level3.html#anchor46875 |access-date=April 20, 2021 |website=www.nps.gov}}</ref> Tribal boundaries were fluid.

<!--The following detailed information is about indigenous cultures in the larger region and is out of scope for this article. Consider moving it to [[Native American tribes in Maryland]]:
12,000 years ago, an era colder than today’s climate, [[Paleo-Indian]] people moved together over the evergreen-covered landscape in small groups, adapting to changing seasons as they hunted bison, giant beavers, and mammoth using poles tipped with fluted points made from worked stone. Points have been found in the area where [[Seneca Creek (Potomac River tributary)|Seneca Creek]] flows into the Potomac River.<ref name=":0">''Native American Heritage Trail Guide''. ''Sugarloaf Regional Trails.org''. 2016.</ref><ref>"Walston, Mark (February 1986). "[https://mchdr.montgomeryhistory.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/20.500.12366/269/mcs_v029_n1_1986_walston.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Pre-contact Indians of Montgomery County]". ''The Montgomery County Story''. The Maryland County Historical Society. Vol. 29. No. 1.</ref><ref name=":1">"[https://apps.jefpat.maryland.gov/diagnostic/PrehistoricCeramics/prehistoryinMD.html Maryland's Prehistory]". ''Maryland Archeological Conservation Lab''. State of Maryland. 2002. Retrieved April 12, 2021.</ref>

About 9,000 years ago, the climate warmed and plants and animals similar to today’s species spread along the Potomac. Signs of human occupation can be found along the Potomac River near [[Dickerson, Maryland|Dickerson]] and other areas.<ref name=":0" />

Around 3,500 years ago, tribes settled more permanently, although they still moved seasonally across woodlands, streams, and rivers. Seed collecting led to agriculture, and pottery making began. A settlement near [[Potomac, Maryland]], dated from this period included burial sites for both humans and their dogs.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

In the environs of Washington Grove is a [[steatite]] (soapstone) quarry site listed on the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties, possibly dating from this [[Archaic period (North America)|late Archaic]] time period. The presence of flaked stone tools suggests that Native Americans conducted quarrying here prior to the site's use by local farmers and Washington Grove residents.<ref>"[https://washingtongrovemd.org/residents/our-history/wg-historic-district/ Washington Grove Historic District]". National Register nomination document. 2020. Retrieved April 12, 20221.</ref>

By 1300, indigenous people began to establish large settlements along the Potomac River, its islands, and uplands. They named the area ''Cohongoroota'', "The Land Above the Falls". The Piscataway people built longhouses {{convert|10|ft}} high and {{convert|20|ft}} long, with barrel-shaped roofs covered with bark or woven mats. Villages were surrounded by [[palisade]]s for protection, and outside were fields of maize, beans, squash, and leaf vegetables such as ''[[Chenopodium]]'' (goosefoot) and ''[[Amaranthus]]''. The bow and arrow were commonly used in hunting and warfare. A rock shelter in [[Gaithersburg]] near Seneca Creek (the Hargatt-King Rockshelter) contained a blue bead, suggesting contact with Europeans.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

In 1608, [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] identified 166 tribes, including the [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]]-speaking tribes of the [[Powhatan]] group in Virginia, the Piscataway in [[southern Maryland]], and the Nachotank (Anacostia) near the [[Anacostia River]].  Montgomery County was ringed by non-Algonquian-speaking groups who were often hostile but were also trading partners:  the Iroquoian-speaking Susquehannocks near the mouth of the [[Susquehanna River]] at [[Chesapeake Bay]], and the Siouan-speaking Monocans and Mannohoac west of the [[Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line|fall line]] below the Potomac River. The Potomac River valley was a major corridor in and out of the region. The tribes most prevalent in the area of Montgomery County just prior to European arrival were the Piscataway Conoy and the Susquehannock.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dent |first=Richard |title=Chesapeake Prehistory |publisher=Plenum Press |year=1995 |location=New York}}</ref>

In the late 1600s, on Conoy Island near [[Point of Rocks, Maryland|Point of Rocks]], 150 Piscataway-Conoy people retreating from colonists' discrimination built houses in a palisaded village, speaking an Algonquian language now extinct. By 1700, most indigenous tribes had suffered rapid population decline due to infectious diseases and wars, and had been forced out by English colonists.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome |url=https://native-land.ca/ |access-date=April 10, 2021 |website=Native-Land.ca |language=en}}</ref> By 1722 the tribe had lost two-thirds of their population.<ref>[[Piscataway Indian Nation and Tayac Territory]]</ref><ref name=":0" />

Fearing further encroachment and hostility, the Piscataway-Conoy people left the area, some moving into Pennsylvania and farther north. Today, descendants of the northern migrants live on the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation reserve in Ontario'''.''' Some members moved to Virginia and a few families stayed in their traditional homeland in Maryland. The three groups are identified as the Piscataway Indian Nation and Tayca Territory, the Piscataway Conoy Confederacy and Sub-Tribes, and the Cedarville Band of Piscataway Indians.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Piscataway Conoy Tribe |url=http://www.piscatawayconoytribe.com/history |access-date=April 20, 2021}}</ref>

As of December 2017, three tribes are recognized by the State of Maryland, namely the [[Piscataway Indian Nation]], the [[Piscataway Conoy Tribe]], and the [[Accohannock Indian Tribe]].  None of the three tribes are federally recognized.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 19, 2021 |title=Tribal Consultation |url=https://mht.maryland.gov/ |website=Maryland Historical Trust}}</ref>

As of the 2020 census, 40,000 Maryland residents self-identify as Native American.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 22, 2021 |title=U.S. Census website |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MD |website=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>
...end off-topic section that belongs in [[Native American tribes in Maryland]]. -->
=== Founding ===
A group of [[Methodism|Methodists]] began the tradition of having [[camp meeting]]s in the area ''circa'' 1800.<ref name= mcs>{{citation |title= Washington Grove: A Rustic Jewel in a Modern Setting |first= Joan F. |last= Marsh |work= The Montgomery County Story |publisher= The Montgomery County Historical Story |date= February 1998 |volume= 41 |number= 1 }}</ref> Camp meetings were a tradition where a group of Methodists would gather in a forest clearing to worship and socialize.<ref name= mcs/><ref name= centuries>Sween, Jane C.; Offutt, William. ''Montgomery County: Centuries of Change''.  American Historical Press, 1999.  {{ISBN|1-892724-05-7}}.</ref> Benches were arranged in a circle or oval with an elevated preachers' stand in the middle.<ref name= mcs/> Tents surrounded the area, along with carriages and wagons behind them.<ref name= mcs/> Services lasted well into the night.<ref name= mcs/> The camp meetings provided cultural and spiritual improvement to those who attended.<ref name= mcs/>

In 1873, a committee from the [[Foundry United Methodist Church|Foundry Methodist Church]], located at [[Downtown (Washington, D.C.)|14th and G streets NW]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], began a search for a permanent location to hold annual camp meetings.<ref name= mcs/> They wanted a location with sufficient space for thousands of attendees, a supply of clean water, and a shaded location to provide relief from the summer sun.<ref name= mcs/> They wanted the location to be less than a day's trip from Washington, and protection from the sale of liquor, because [[Christian views on alcohol#Methodism|Methodists did not believe in drinking alcohol]].<ref name= mcs/>

In June 1873, John T. Mitchell, Richard Willett, F. Howard, W.R. Woodward, E.F. Simpson, Mr. Worthington, Thomas P. Morgan, B. Peyton Brown, and a few others purchased {{convert|267.5|acres|km2|sigfig=2}} of land from the widow of farmer Nathan Cooke for $6,636.25.<ref name= mcs/><ref>{{cite news |title= God's First Temple: A Grand Gathering of the Methodists in the Woods |date= August 3, 1878 |newspaper= The Washington Post |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/137681921/|page= 3 }}</ref> The land was given to the Washington Grove Meeting Association, which had been recently incorporated on March 30, 1874.<ref name= mcs/><ref name= boyd>Boyd, T.H.S. (1879). ''The History of Montgomery County from Its Earliest Settlement tin 1650 to 1879''. (Heritage Books) {{ISBN|0-7884-1995-1}}.</ref>

A person could build a cottage on the land by purchasing five shares of stock for twenty dollars per share.<ref name=united>{{cite news |title= The United Christians: A Glimpse of the Work Going on in the Methodist Camp |newspaper= The Washington Post |page= 2 |date= August 12, 1878 |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/137681628/ }}</ref> The first share had to be purchased with cash, while the other four could be financed at an annual interest rate of six percent.<ref name=united/> Alternatively, a tent could be rented for between $9 and $15.<ref name= mcs/> There were two dining courts, and a market would provided fresh meat and produce.<ref name= mcs/> The center of the camp was originally named The Plaza and later The Symbolic Circle, and there were six numbered avenues radiating from it.<ref name= mcs/> Tents were arranged in a grid along avenues named for participating churches.<ref name= mcs/> Families would stay over to attend a two-week-long meeting of the Methodist Episcopal churches of the District of Columbia.<ref>{{cite news |title= Opening of the Methodist Camp-Meeting To-morrow |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= August 6, 1879 |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/137724736/ }}</ref> Named Washington Grove Camp, the first camp meeting began on August 5, 1874,<ref>{{cite news |title= Maryland Items |work= The Baltimore Sun |date= August 1, 1874 |page= 3 |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/534192503/ }}</ref> with 240 tents.<ref>{{cite news |title= Washington Grove Camp-Meeting |work= The Baltimore Sun |date= August 7, 1874 |page= 4 |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/534195800/ }}</ref>

In 1877, a [[tabernacle (Methodist)|tabernacle]] with a [[Belfry (architecture)|belfry]] for a bell was built in the center of the circle.<ref name= mcs/> The bell called people to prayer, and it was also rung at the end of the camp meeting.<ref name= mcs/> The tabernacle was a large open-air chapel that could seat 500 worshipers.<ref name= mcs/> In addition to religious services, lecturers spoke on such topics as [[women's suffrage]] and the problem of [[poverty]] in cities.<ref name= mcs/>

The Maryland legislature gave camp-meeting managers control of all land within a two-mile radius of a meeting site in order to prohibit businesses from opening nearby.<ref>{{cite news |title= The Camp Grounds: Worshipping in the Woods at Gaithersburg |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= August 6, 1878 |page= 2 |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/137682524/}}</ref> The camp-meeting managers used this power to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages anywhere on the grounds.<ref>{{cite news |title= The Feast of Tabernacles |date= August 14, 1879|newspaper= The Washington Post |page= 4 |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/137761885/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= Rain and Religion |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= August 18, 1879 |page= 1 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/137695379/ }}</ref> While entertaining programs were allowed, card playing, theater going, and dancing were all banned.<ref name= mcs/> In 1879, they voted to prohibit the selling of anything at all on Sundays.<ref name=tents>{{cite news |title= The City of Tents |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= August 9, 1879 |page= 2 |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/137776252/ }}</ref> The Barrett Brothers, who operated the camp store, asked for an exception to sell ice cream and sandwiches on Sundays, but their request was denied.<ref name=tents/>

Reverend William Burns of Dumbarton Methodist Church built the first cottage in 1878.<ref name= mcs/> By 1879, seventeen cottages had been built, each with green and white exteriors and large porches, surrounding a large tabernacle.<ref>{{cite news |title= A Christian Camp: Opening of the Methodist Meeting at Washington Grove |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= August 8, 1879 |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/137771295/ }}</ref> The cottages peaked roofs resembled that of the original tents, and the architectural style was [[Carpenter Gothic]], which was fashionable at the time.<ref name= mcs/> The round-trip train fare between the District and Washington Grove was eighty cents in 1879.<ref>{{cite news |title= The Coming Camp Meeting |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= July 23, 1879 |page= 1 |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/137683081/ }}</ref>

In 1879, the trustees voted to borrow $4,000 in order to build a hotel<ref>{{cite news |title= Camp-Meeting Chronicles: What Was Done by the Washington Grove Association During the Year |date= October 15, 1879 |newspaper= The Washington Post |page= 4 |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/137703668/ }}</ref> on the western area of the grounds.<ref>{{cite news |title= Washington Grove Camp: Description of the Grounds--Natural and Artificial Attractions |work= The Baltimore Sun |date= July 31, 1883 |page= 3 |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/534713890/ }}</ref> Completed in 1881, the hotel was three stories in the center and two stories in the wings. It had 23 sleeping rooms, a parlor, a dining room, and a kitchen.<ref name=season>{{cite news |title= The Campmeeting Season: Improvements at Washington Grove -- Meeting of the Association |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= May 7, 1881 |page= 4 |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/137826788/ }}</ref> The cost to build the hotel came in under the $4,000 budget.<ref name=season/> Building of a chapel to hold 800 people began in 1889.<ref>{{cite news |title= A Chapel at Washington Grove |date= August 5, 1889 |newspaper= The Washington Post |page= 6 |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/138320677/ }}</ref>

In 1880, the Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association decided that a hotel was needed.<ref name= mcs/> To build the hotel, they chose Wash Williams, a furniture store owner.<ref name= mcs/> The Albany Hotel had big porches, a large dining room, a barber shop, and a small store.<ref name= mcs/> Rooms cost between $6 and $7 per week, and dinner cost fifty cents.<ref name= mcs/> During the same year, rules were established protecting existing trees when cottages and streets were built.<ref name= mcs/>

In order to accommodate larger groups of people, an auditorium with seating for 1,400 people was built in Woodward Park in 1905.<ref name= mcs/> The auditorium symbolically moved away from the Sacred Circle.<ref name= mcs/> Admission to the wholesome entertainment cost $2 per adult and $1 per child for the season.<ref name= mcs/> Some of the entertainment included musical programs, educational lectures, and spelling bees.<ref name= mcs/> Religious services were held at the auditorium as well.<ref name= mcs/>  As the auditorium increasingly became the center of life at the camp, the old Tabernacle was torn down.<ref name= mcs/>

Because the land was owned by the Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association, it had complete control over who purchased and leased the plots. In the early 20th century, the Washington Grove Camp Association, and later the Town of Washington Grove, placed [[Sundown town|restrictive covenants]] in deeds and leases in order to prevent African Americans from buying, renting, or leasing land in Washington Grove.<ref name="Edwards, Philip K 1988">Edwards, Philip K. Washington Grove, [[1873-1937: A history of the Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association]]. N.p.: Philip K. Edwards, 1988.</ref>  This is exemplified in one of many deeds, such as one dating from 1925 that reads,

<blockquote>That whereas the death rate of persons of African descent is much greater than the death rate of persons of the white race and affects injuriously the health of the town and village communities, and as the permanent location of persons of African descent in such places as owners or tenants constitutes and irreparable injury to the value and usefulness of real estate in the interest of public health and to prevent irreparable injury to the grantor or its successors and assigns, and the owners of adjacent real estate, the grantees, their heirs and assigns, hereby covenant, and agree with the grantor, its successors and assigns, that they will not sell, conveyor rent the premises hereby conveyed, the whole or any part thereof, or any structure thereon, to any person of African descent.<ref>Edwards, Suzanne H. [[A History of Racism in Washington Grove]]. N.p.: n.p., 1974.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/20/AR2006022001590.html|title=When Signs Said 'Get Out'|last=Carlson|first=Peter|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 21, 2006|access-date=July 26, 2013}}</ref></blockquote>

A [[African Methodist Episcopal Church|Black Methodist]] camp was founded in 1864 as [[Emory Grove, Maryland|Emory Grove]], that predated Washington Grove.<ref name="Edwards, Philip K 1988"/> Less than a mile separated the two towns, and many of the residents of Emory Grove worked for the residents of Washington Grove.<ref name="Edwards, Philip K 1988"/> The superintendent of the Washington Grove grounds was a resident of Emory Grove named William A. Scott.<ref name="Edwards, Philip K 1988"/> Following an incident in 1892 where an Emory Grove native, Jessie Lancaster, ransacked homes in Washington Grove, William A. Scott was forced out.<ref name="Edwards, Philip K 1988"/> Subsequently, in 1897 the gates to Washington Grove were closed, thus preventing anyone from walking through Washington Grove.<ref name="Edwards, Philip K 1988"/> This closing severely hindered the ability of Emory Grove residents to reach the train stop on the other side of Washington Grove.<ref name="Edwards, Philip K 1988"/>

=== Twentieth century ===
Eventually, people began to live in the area year-round.<ref name= mcs/> In 1910, the church formed a year-round congregation.<ref name= mcs/> By the 1920s, the Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association began selling portions of land, slowly replacing the [[99-year lease]]s.<ref name= mcs/> By 1924, camp meetings were no longer held.<ref name= mcs/>

The [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]] affected the area significantly.<ref name= mcs/> The Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association had a difficult time paying its bills, it cut back on its insurance, and at one point it needed a donation to pay the community's electricity bill.<ref name= mcs/> Because some residents could no longer afford vacation homes, some of the homes were rented out while others stood vacant and neglected.<ref name= mcs/>

By 1934, the Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association recognized that the area had dramatically changed since its founding.<ref name= mcs/> Some residents wanted the area to be annexed to the town of [[Gaithersburg, Maryland|Gaithersburg]].<ref name= mcs/> Reorganization committees met for several years to determine a plan for the future of the community.<ref name= mcs/> In 1937, the Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association was dissolved; the Maryland Legislature incorporated the community as a town on March 26, 1937.<ref name= proceedings/><ref name="mht_ihp">{{cite web|url=https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-617.pdf |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Town of Washington Grove |date=June 1978 |access-date=January 1, 2016 |author1=John H. Pentecost |author2=Andras Nagy |author3=Thomas McCathran  |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Maryland Historical Trust}}</ref> [[Governor of Maryland|Maryland Governor]] [[Harry Nice]] signed the town's charter into law on May 18, 1937.<ref name= mcs/> On July 10, 1937, the town held an election where it chose its first mayor and six members of the town council.<ref>{{cite news |title= To Hold First Election: Town of Washington Grove Will Name Officials July 10 |work= The Baltimore Sun |date= July 1, 1937 |page= 9 |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/539039887/ }}</ref> Irving L. McCathran was elected the town's first mayor.<ref>{{cite news |title= Washington Grove Election Today |work= The Baltimore Sun |date= July 9, 1938 |page= 18 |url= https://www.proquest.com/docview/537720784/}}</ref> He served as mayor for twenty years.<ref name= mcs/>

By the late 1940s, Washington Grove began to look run down.<ref name= mcs/> Assembly Hall was in poor condition, the parks were unkempt, and many cottages so dilapidated that they were torn down.<ref name= mcs/> There was too little money to maintain the Auditorium, and it was demolished.<ref name= mcs/> The surrounding farms in Gaithersburg were beginning to be sold to developers, changing the surrounding area and putting pressure on the town to change dramatically.<ref name= mcs/> In 1955, the Town of Washington Grove obtained zoning and planning powers in order to control future growth.<ref name= mcs/>

In 1975, a master plan was written in order to retain the existing historic nature of the town.<ref name= mcs/> The town applied for [[National Register of Historic Places]] status in 1979, and it was approved the following year.<ref name= mcs/>

=== Today ===
The original layout of small houses fronting grassy walkways was preserved in the center of town, with vehicular access via paved streets leading to the backs of the houses. Houses built more recently do not front the walkways, but preserve a Grove flavor by the variety of architectural styles resulting from their being constructed one at a time in various styles rather than in tracts.

More than half of the town is publicly owned. The East Woods and West Woods, designated as wildlife sanctuaries, are the only municipality-owned forests in Maryland. The many walkways and parks are popular not only with residents but also with people from neighboring communities. On a fine evening, the walkways hum with people and cats strolling, walking dogs, and chatting. Residents meet for musical picnics at the Gazebo, town meetings in McCathran Hall, and summer days swimming in Maple Lake, the Town's swimming hole in the West Woods. Other town activities include the Summer in the Parks program for children, a book club, a movie club, and the Mousetrap series of concerts.

In 2013, Preservation Maryland placed Washington Grove on its list of threatened historic properties.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.preservationmaryland.org/uploads/file/Endangered%20Maryland%202013%20Press%20Release.pdf 2013 Endangered Maryland List Released]". ''Preservation Maryland''. April 4, 2013. Archived from [http://www.preservationmaryland.org/uploads/file/Endangered%20Maryland%202013%20Press%20Release.pdf the original] on September 20, 2015.</ref>