Montgomery County to Launch Online Map of African-American Historical Sites

Montgomery County Councilmember George Leventhal along with members of the Montgomery County Planning Board staff will launch a new online map to celebrate African-American historical sites throughout the County.

The online map is part of the County’s Black History Month celebration and the announcement will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 1 p.m. in the third floor hearing room at the Council Office Building in Rockville.

“The goal of this online resource is to raise awareness about the rich and storied past of the County’s historic African-American communities and buildings,” said Councilmember Leventhal in a news release. “It is my hope that this tool will encourage our community to learn more about the County’s African American history in an accessible, easy and interesting way. Thanks to former Councilmember Cherri Branson, who now serves as the director of the County’s Office of Procurement, for proposing to create this resource and the Planning Board and planning staff for working with us to make this map a reality for our residents.”

Leventhal, the Montgomery County Planning Board and its staff worked together to create the online map of sites which includes the County’s formal register of architecturally and historically significant buildings and places. Each map has a picture, a description and links with background information.

The historically designated sites in the County that are on the map include:

1. Boyds Historic District, Boyds
2. Howard Chapel and Cemetery, Laytonsville
3. Elijah Church Cemetery, Poolesville
4. Gibson Grove AME Zion Church, Bethesda
5. Hawkins Lane Historic District, Chevy Chase
6. Good Hope Methodist-Episcopal Church and Cemetery, Silver Spring
7. Warren Methodist and Martinsburg Negro School, Martinsburg
8. Norbeck Rosenwald School, Rockville
9. Mount Zion School, Brookeville
10. Odd Fellows Lodge, Sandy Spring
11. Pleasant View Church and School, Gaithersburg
12. Poplar Grove Baptist Church, Darnestown
13. Black and White Inn, Gaithersburg
14. Sarah Posey House, Gaithersburg
15. Scotland AME Zion Church, Potomac
16. Sharp Street Church, Sandy Spring
17. Smithville Colored School, Silver Spring
18. Tobytown Cemetery, Potomac
19. Josiah Henson Park, Bethesda
20. Underground Railroad Experience Trail, Sandy Spring
21. Oakley Cabin African American Museum and Park, Olney
22. Thomas Harper Cabin Brookside Nature Center, Wheaton
23. Sandy Spring Slave Museum and African Art Gallery, Sandy Spring
24. Button Farm Living History Center, Germantown

About Willie James Inman

Willie James Inman is a Community Engagement Specialist and Multimedia Journalist at Montgomery Community Media (MCM). You can email story ideas at winman@mymcmedia.org or reach him on Twitter @imwilljames.

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