Laytonsville: From Crossroads to Community

01/10/2026

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2026 IS GOING TO BE A BIG DEAL

2026 is going to be a big deal in terms of American and local history. You can look forward to a double celebration of events that happened 250 years ago.

It’s “America’s Birthday” because of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The theme is generally to emphasize July 4 as a revolution of new ideas, not a lot of battles and warfare.

2026 is also "Montgomery County’s Birthday” because on September 6, 1776 the old Frederick County was divided into three new counties — Washington, Frederick, and Montgomery.

The State of Maryland's approach is that “Maryland’s history is America’s History” since Maryland is one of the original 13 colonies. The “Maryland 250” committee awarded $750,000 in grants to organizations around the state for events and projects.

Most important for us here in Laytonsville is what’s happening in Rockville. The Montgomery County Historical Society bought the Farmers Banking and Trust building in Rockville and will make it their new center for exhibits, research, and receptions. They also acquired the top floor of the old gray courthouse and will move all their collections of materials there soon, hopefully this year. The target date for celebrating all this will be September 6.

If you read through all the pictures and want to know more about Parr's Spring, here's a good source with maps and photographs.
https://www.montgomeryleek.com/home/tipofmontgomery

01/05/2026

CROSSING THE POTOMAC BY FERRY

BACK WHEN YOU COULD STILL DO THAT

Are you on your way to Loudoun County, Virginia? Well, you’d better go find a bridge. No ferry to get you across the Potomac River, at least not now. But there used to be a second way to reach Virginia from Laytonsville.

Next week the Montgomery County Historical Society will have an online presentation about the history of ferry transport at White’s Ferry along with the Edwards and Spinks locations.

This presentation was originally seen in 2024, but author Ralph Buglass has updated it with new research conducted to support reopening the ferry.

The recording will be available next week - January 12 – 18.
https://montgomeryhistory.org/event/history-conversations-rewind-crossing-the-river-the-historical-significance-of-montgomery-countys-potomac-ferries/

What makes White’s Ferry interesting again? After all, it has been closed for a while. But recently Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich announced a $3 million subsidy (split between state, county, and Poolesville) for the private owners (Chuck & Stacey Kuhn) and Rockland Farm (Libby Devlin) to reach an agreement and reopen the ferry by July 1, 2026.

Do Potomac River ferry crossings have any historical connection to Laytonsville? Yes. Our historical wayside sign on Brink Road tells about the massive Union encampment here in September of 1862. That includes the exhausting march from DC, the two future presidents, the 23rd Ohio Infantry band marching through town with the local kids following along — all those stories. The troops were sent here because Confederate troops were massing on the Virginia side of the Potomac. Where could they invade Maryland? Right here in Montgomery County? Or would they have to go north where the Potomac is more shallow?

Here’s the whole story.
https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/maryland-campaign/

12/31/2025

NEW YEAR’S EVE — DRIVE CAREFULLY !

Goodbye to 2025 — hello to new hopes for a wonderful 2026. Happy New Year.

Be careful out there, and stay safe. Along the lines of safety, we’d like to point out today’s post from Roger Lamborne on the “Olney MD Through the Ages” page. Roger posted a photo of a matchbook cover advertising the Roy W. Barber ambulance service.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1438587973133836

When you take a look at Roger’s post, don’t miss all the interesting photos and comments below it. There are good photos and more information about the ambulance service and the family.

As we look through old records from the Laytonsville area, it’s always sad to read news stories from the 1800s. At that time our local sick or badly injured people had to be carried to Gaithersburg by horse and wagon and then transported to the DC hospitals via a long train trip.

That began to change in 1909 when Dr. Jacob W. Bird arrived in Olney and recognized the need for an acute care hospital. The influenza epidemic in 1918 made the problem more urgent. At last Montgomery County General Hospital opened near Olney during a flu epidemic in 1920. Laytonsville area families finally had easier access to medical treatment and nursing care.. With the addition of safe and comfortable medical transport, the lives of Laytonsville area families were much improved.

Happy New Year, and best wishes to everyone for a safe and healthy 2026.

This advertisement for Roy W. Barber's Ambulance Service comes from the October 8, 1936 issue of the Montgomery County Sentinel newspaper..

12/12/2025

WHEN ICY WEATHER WAS GOOD NEWS

December 2025 has been colder than usual, and the forecast calls for still more freezing cold winds from Canada to come. Brrrrr. We're sharing this post from the page for Reed Brothers Dodge History. Why? Because 125+ years ago, frigid weather could mean good news for Laytonsville residents and farmers. Once the ponds and the low meadows froze over, it was time for the men to head out along Sundown Road and cut ice blocks.

Back then in the pre-refrigerator days, cold storage for food meant building an icehouse. Here’s how this was described to us by Laytonsville family members back in the day.

A icehouse involved digging a pit, maybe lining the bottom with fieldstone, bricks or logs, then packing it with winter ice blocks, and covering the ice with thick layers of straw or sawdust for insulation. Over the pit they constructed a pitched roof to keep out the heat and the critters. A few old boards were placed over the fieldstone as a floor, with a few more over the straw to serve as shelves. A simple ladder made it easy to climb down and fetch food items. With enough ice blocks from a cold winter, a Laytonsville icehouse might stay cool until the Fourth of July.

A farmer might own a naturally good spot for ice to form, or he might dam up a small creek. Outside of town on the north side of Sundown Road were some reliable places to cut and collect ice. It was heavy work. With an icehouse outdoors and an unheated pantry area indoors, Laytonsville families kept their families well fed throughout much of the year.

This whole process did not work for everybody, and by the time electricity arrived in the 1900s it was possible to buy ice blocks from the Purity Ice Company on Diamond Avenue in Gaithersburg. Purity Ice could produce and store six tons of ice. In 1916 it was described this way: “This plant has an ideal location in one of the most progressive towns in the county, surrounded by a thickly settled community where the demand for ice is heavy and regular . . a large and very profitable business.”

Most people wouldn’t consider the winter months of December through February a season of harvest in Montgomery County. But in our not so distant past, this was harvest time for—ICE. Rivers, lakes a…

12/08/2025

WHERE IS GRANDMA?

GAITHERSBURG HIGH SCHOOL - CLASS OF 1940

We just received a group photo of the Gaithersburg High School Class of 1940, printed in the Washington Post in June, 1940. Even better, the newspaper included all the names, although we have no idea whether the students were lined up alphabetically.

Laytonsville oldtimers -- Take a look. Do you know anyone who might have graduated that year? Maybe there's your grandma, your grandpa, a neighbor, or another local person you can recognize in this photo.

If you can figure out whether the photographer lined them up by name, let us know.

11/11/2025

HONORING OUR VETERANS

Veteran’s Day offers us an opportunity to express gratitude for the sacrifices made by our nation’s veterans. Every veteran represents a story of dedication, courage, and resilience.


So how many military veterans are there in the USA? Approximately 16.5 million. Over 50% are aged 65 or older. The US Census estimated that there are about 36,589 veterans living here in Montgomery County.


The men and women who have served have taken a front seat to some of history’s most powerful events. Honoring veterans lets us appreciate those past sacrifices while making sure our veterans feel valued and supported.

11/04/2025

LABYRINTH GALLERY - GRAND OPENING

NEW USE FOR AN OLD (REALLY OLD) BUILDING

As of next Saturday, Nov. 8, Laytonsville will have a permanent art gallery with two resident artists. Everyone is invited to the opening reception Saturday afternoon from 3-5 p.m. Be there at 4:00 for a conversation Q&A with the artists.

The gallery is located in a very old (1850s) Laytonsville building on Sundown Road, long known as Temperance Hall, then as blacksmith Frank Bell’s place, then the home of Virginia Griffith, and most recently the New to You second-hand shop. Now St. Bartholomew Church has renovated the building for use as a meeting space and as an art gallery.

6920 Sundown Road
(St. Bartholomew’s Meeting House)

You may already know our two local artists. Jennifer Rutherford is originally from Canada, but she and her family have lived in Laytonsville since 2014. Lori Myers grew up in northern Montgomery County, and her folks were farm families here and in Frederick County. Both share a love of the beautiful countryside in this area.

Here’s a link to a Family Room page about Jennifer and her work.
https://www.thefamilyroomlaytonsville.com/post/featured-artist-jennifer-rutherford

Here are links to pages about Lori’s life and her work with landscapes.
https://www.lorimyersart.com/about

https://www.lorimyersart.com/artwork/landscapes

If you have not seen the renovations at the Meeting House, this is a good time to see what has been done to keep the historical connection to the 1850s while modernizing it for modern use. It was originally built as a sort of Town Hall and meeting area for local residents, so after many years it has returned to its original purpose.

Opening Reception
Saturday, November 8
3-5 p.m.
Conversation Q&A with the artists at 4 p.m.
6920 Sundown Road
(St. Bartholomew’s Meeting House)

10/13/2025

NATIVE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN OUR REGION

WHY ARCHAEOLOGISTS TALK ABOUT THE "HOLE IN THE MAP"

Native American tribes have a history in Maryland spanning over 10,000 years, including major nations like the Piscataway and Susquehannock living in agricultural villages, farming corn, beans, squash, and to***co along the rivers. But if we search for stories and traces of these people in the Laytonsville/ Montgomery County area of central Maryland, there just is not much to discover. Local farmers used to find stone projectile points (arrowheads, scrapers, etc.) near Griffith Road and at other spots near creeks, but archaeologists have not found established villages, even before Europeans arrived.

If the Laytonsville of today is a great place for wildlife, crops, and life in general, why don’t we find more evidence of indigenous people living here? Laytonsville Historical Center member Richard Rutherford wondered about that. He set out to explore the current literature and to speak with local archaeologists and historians to find an answer. Some experts refer to our area as “a hole in the map” in terms of settled tribal territories. Others refer to it as a DMZ (demilitarized zone), where small groups ventured to hunt or to seek local stone but did not dare to build homes.

Here is a link to Richard’s summary of his research and the sources he used. The download link is at the bottom of the “Town History” page on the town website.

https://www.laytonsville.md.us/page-1105533

Here is a link to “The 31 Great Places to find Arrowheads in Maryland in 2025.”

https://rockchasing.com/arrowheads-in-maryland/

09/22/2025

LAYTONSVILLE PICNIC 2025

Sometimes September weather is hot, sometimes it’s chilly, but sometimes it’s just perfect, and that was how it was for Laytonsville’s Town Picnic for 2025.

Here are a few photos of Saturday’s entertainment and activities.

As always, we never get around at the right time to get pictures of everyone and everything going on. Please upload photos in the comments for what we missed.

09/12/2025

BACK TO SCHOOL AND DEVELOPING TALENTS

You never know what you’re going to find when you clean behind the furniture. This poster turned up behind a file cabinet in the History Center. It’s from the year ???? and pays tribute to talented students and the music faculty at Laytonsville Elementary School.

Reading, writing, and arithmetic are the essentials, but kids learn so much from music activities like chorus, band, orchestra, and concerts. Besides, we “play” music — it’s fun. Many thanks to all the L.E.S. music teachers over the years for what they have brought to this community.

Does anyone have a guess which year this poster shows, or any of the people in the photos? There are no labels or any writing on the poster.

09/02/2025

AN OVERHEAD LOOK AT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

A recent visitor to the Laytonsville History Center asked us where to find aerial maps of Montgomery County, especially the area around Laytonsville.

Answer: Not at the History Center. The county’s aerial maps are all online at this link, and they are easy to use:
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/4d1be724c222444daf63b80b676539a9

Here’s what is available:
“All images prior to 1993 considered “low res and incomplete” but images covering the entire county are provided from the years 1951, 1970, 1979, 1993, 1998, and every 2-4 years throughout the 2000s. Online GIS layer interface provided by Montgomery Planning.”

You just type your address in the search box in the upper right corner and click the search icon. Over on the left side, you click the “annotations” box if you want to see road names. Leave it empty if you don't want road names. The annotations show where future roads will be, even if the location was farmland at the time of the photo.

So give it a try. It's interesting to look at the changes in our area over the last 74 years.

08/27/2025

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/trip-ideas/maryland/tiny-town-time-capsule-md

With historic landmarks, a quaint district and quirky festivals, this tiny community in Maryland is frozen in time.