Many changes have come to the Montrose School in its century of life, but the building has remained mostly the same as the area around it transformed. When Montrose School opened in 1909, the surrounding area was mostly composed of family farms, with a few businesses along unpaved Rockville Pike. At that time more than 2/3rds of American schools were located in rural districts, one or two-room buildings being the norm. Montgomery County’s population was about 32,000, and Black and White students attended separate segregated schools. Montrose provided schooling for White children, while local Black children attended elementary school in central Rockville or in Scotland on Seven Locks Road.

The entrance into Montrose Schoolhouse was through a small south-facing porch. Just inside was (and still is!) a triangular vestibule, which held a container of water from the nearby well and was flanked on each side by a cloakroom. From the vestibule, students entered one of two classrooms, one for grades 1 through 3 and the other for grades 4 through 7, divided by a movable partition.

The United States entered World War I in April 1917, leading to deployment of American troops to Europe and creating a serious shortage of teachers. The following year, an emergency measure allowed the School Board to consolidate schools. While Montrose doors were closed until 1922, local students attended school in Rockville, many traveling by trolley.