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Transportation
in Rockville
(page
1 of 5)
Text by Maude McGovern and Maizie Cummings
Click on the images below to enlarge them.
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Introduction
Ever wonder why Rockville exists? And why here in the
middle of Montgomery County? Transportation! What we know as
Rockville began as an inn and a few small buildings at
the intersection of colonial roads.
<<
Charles
Hungerford's tavern catered
to travellers and
residents along the main road.
Charles Dawson Collection
(CD1995.005)
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And what better
place to establish a courthouse for the newly
formed Montgomery County in 1776 than here,
midway along the road between Georgetown and
Frederick? The rest, as they say, is history.
Like Civil War history when both Northern and Southern
forces repeatedly marched through Rockville, the
biggest town on the main road north out of Washington,
D.C. Later, as trains, trolleys, cars, buses,
and Metrorail arrived, each shaped the city in its own
way.
Come take a look at how
people have traveled to, through, and around Rockville over the years,
and see what’s changed and what’s
the
same.
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Rockville
Finds Its Place
The Indians wouldn’t
recognize modern-day Route 355, but it follows the same
north-south path they took through the region for thousands of
years. When European settlers came, they widened the trail
and used it to move tobacco to the port of Georgetown. And where
that route crossed other major colonial roads, enterprising
businesspeople opened inns, blacksmith shops, and other
establishments for weary, hungry travelers.
One of those
travelers, George Washington, wrote in his diary in 1791 that
he ate breakfast in
Williamsburgh (an early name for Rockville) on his way from
Georgetown to Philadelphia via Frederick, Maryland. (And if you think travel can be slow
these days, consider that Washington left Georgetown at four
in the morning and didn’t arrive in Frederick until sundown
- only 44 miles away.)
In the
center of the new County and located on the main road,
the small settlement was the logical place to
establish the courthouse for Montgomery County in
1776. |
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<<
Dennis
Griffith's 1794 Map of Maryland shows
Montgomery Court House (modern day Rockville) at the intersection
of several major roads. |
The
Rockville Pike
The Washington Turnpike Company was the first road
chartered in Montgomery County (1805). The
company planned to improve the roadway from
Georgetown, through Rockville and Clarksburg, all the
way to Frederick. The ancient Indian trail
became a 20-foot wide roadway, costing $10,000 per
mile to build. The new turnpike, with tollgates
along the way, was in business by the 1820s.
However, the Rockville Pike was rarely in good
condition. Deep ruts formed in the roadbed from
heavy wagons, and parts of the roadway washed out
after each storm.
1829
Toll Rates
- Per
score (20) of sheep or hogs - 12 1/2 cents
- Per
score of cattle - 25 cents
- For
every horse and his rider, or led horse - 6 1/4
cents
- For
a chariot, coach, or stage with 2 horses and 4
wheels - 25 cents
- For
a carriage with 4 horses - 37 1/2 cents
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