Editing Washington Grove, Maryland (section)

=== 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/>