Brookeville is a quiet town located in Montgomery County (less than 20 miles from Washington DC) with a population of 134 people and is mostly residential (location https://www.google.com/maps/place/Brookeville,+MD+20833/@39.1797554,-77.0547512,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89b7d6d569ab0761:0xd785efeab880fa3b). The town is formally incorporated and covers an area of 0.1 square miles. Since Brookeville’s founding in 1794, the community has evolved and kept pace with the times, but never lost its historical integrity. It has become home to people seeking the charm and comfort of a previous era.
Some background on my town selection. Friends have been giving me suggestions for future town visits. One friend gave me the name of a town that was not coming up on my list of Maryland Cities and Towns. So, I did an independent search on the town and found that it wasn’t on my list because the town was an UNINCORPORATED town.
Hmmmmm………so, what is an UNINCORPORATED town? Here are some interesting facts about these towns. If a town is UNINCORPORATED, the town does not have a city government; the fire department is likely a volunteer one supported with fundraisers, donations, and maybe grants; what regulations there are, are County regulations; there may or may not be a Post Office; there likely will be a school or schools and, yes, the towns do have names. But if you drove through one, you'd just think “this is a small town” - there's no real way to tell if a town is INCORPORATED just by looking at it. Additionally, some of these towns can have hundreds to thousands of people.
So, back to Brookeville. Brookeville was INCORPORATED by the Maryland General Assembly in 1808, which appointed three Town Commissioners – making Brookeville the oldest INCORPORATED town in Montgomery County. Can you believe that? This little 134 person town is INCORPORATED. Pretty impressive!
As mentioned earlier, one of the reasons why I wanted to visit this quiet little town was that it played a significant role during the War of 1812. In 2014, a Washington Post article summarized the history of this town as:
As the British burned the U.S. Capital in 1814, refugees from
Washington D.C. and Georgetown fled to this [Brookeville] town. President James Madison spent two nights in
Brookeville as he sought refuge at the Market Street home of Postmaster Caleb
Bentley. The house is known today as, “The
Madison House.” In addition to providing
refuge to the President and the U.S. Attorney General, Brookeville’s
townspeople provided refuge for other Washingtonians fleeing the invasion and
burning of the city, as well as American Soldiers from the Battle of
Bladensburg making Brookeville “The United States Capital for a Day.”
The Madison House literally sits on the border of this town – the “Welcome
to Brookeville” sign is posted in the yard.
People currentlyoccupy The Madison House as a residence, so this unfortunately
this meant I probably wasn’t going to be able to take a tour. I tried, though. The owner was in the backyard cutting the
lawn and was inaccessible, but I was hoping someone else was home. No such luck.
More history…….The Madison House not only housed President Madison for
two nights, it actually sits on top of the historical Underground
Railroad http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Railroad. According to “Pathways to
Freedom – Maryland & the Underground Railroad”:
The Madison house at Georgia Avenue and Market Street has ties to
the Quaker abolitionist community in nearby Sandy Spring. Decades after the end of the Civil War, a
secret room was discovered within the foundations of the house, which had long
been rumored to be a stop on the Underground Railroad. This room was accessible only by lifting the
floorboards of the family room above it, then traveling the stone staircase. An old gun was also found in the secret
chamber.
From there, I drove by the Brookeville Academy, which is one of
the first private schools in Montgomery County, built in 1810. Now it serves as a unique community center
used for meetings, social and cultural events.
Not far from the Academy is The Valley House. This is also occupied by residents as is The
Madison House. The Valley House is one
of the oldest in Brookeville as it is one of the four remaining late 18th
century buildings in the town. It is
believed that it was built by the founders of the town prior to Brookeville’s
founding in 1794 (remember Brookeville was INCORPORATED in 1808 – different than
when it was founded.)
It was still early in the day, so I headed over to the Brighton
Azalea Garden. Situated overlooking the
Brighton Dam, I could easily see how the five acres of nothing but Azaleas
would be quite breathtaking.
Unfortunately, we haven’t had the warmest/sunniest of spring days, so
nothing was in bloom, yet. However, the
walk through the small wooded park proved to be VERY enjoyable as it was so
peaceful. Not a soul was around. I had to keep reminding myself it was
Saturday, too.
My stomach is rumbling……time for lunch. So, I headed over to the Sunshine General
Store (which has been around since the 1950s/1960s and used to sell gas) where they
serve the FAMOUS Sunshine Burger http://peepmeat.com/restaurant.php?id=83.
From what I understand from my readings, there is actually a cult
following with regards to these burgers.
When I got there, the place was packed!
I later found out that it’s like that from the time the place opens for
business until the time they close. And
the intoxicating smell coming from the building.......heavenly! I can really appreciate a good burger (even
though it’s not on my personal menu)! So,
I made my way up to the order counter where I disappointed a bunch of turkey
hunters by ordering……a PB&J. However,
I really wanted to get a glimpse of the burgers on the grill! GINORMOUS as you can see by the picture! A few minutes later, one of the ladies behind
the counter yelled out that if anyone ordered a burger with lettuce, that they
were out of lettuce – I smiled. This was
a pretty cool place.
While I waited for my sandwich, a nice lady in the crowd asked if
I was a reporter. This was probably due
to all of the pictures I was taking. I
told her about the blog - she became very interested in hearing about it and
contributing what she could. She told me
about the places to visit in Brookeville (many of which I had already visited
today), but I was thankful for the additional suggestions. She smiled as she proceeded to tell me about
the plans to pick up some Sunshine Burgers so she could surprise her children
as they adored them. She also told me of
how she was thinking of sending an email to Guy Fieri of “Diners Drive Ins and Dives” about coming out here to
review the place. One of the turkey
hunters chimed in that he wanted to do that, as well. My sandwich was ready, but the six stools
were taken at the counter and the one table was full, so I went out to my car
to eat. As I turned to look back at the
establishment, I saw a “Live Bait” sign in the window and remembered seeing the
live bait in the store – again, I smiled.
This was a pretty cool place.
From there, I drove over to “Sharp's at
Waterford Farm” www.sharpfarm.com . This is a 530 acre working farm, family-owned
and operated since 1903. From
mid-April through mid-November (during the week), they offer a variety of educational
programs and tours. I may have to go
back as I honestly wanted to see one of the presentations entitled, “The
Wonderful World of Worms.” Although this
class is described as “a great introduction for children to learn how they can
make a difference in the environment by learning about composting,” it is for Ages
4 and Up, so I’m going to throw in the “Up” card when I come back. I, too, would like to see the entire cycle,
from food scraps or other organic waste, to the final product. Additionally, some of the points covered in
this class are:
•What are the body parts of an earthworm?
•What do earthworms eat?
•What is compost?
•How do you make a compost pile?
•How do earthworms improve our soil?
•See actual working worm composting bins!
As today is Saturday, I was only able to look at the numerous farm
animals and walk through the LARGE greenhouse with starter plants for sale. Check out this cute little baby donkey with
his mama! Hopefully, I will be able to
get back here during the week to see/experience more things.
It looked like rain was beginning to move in, so I decided to “call
it a day.” As I drove out of town, it
was amazing to realize that a town with so much significance to our Nation’s
history was less than an hour’s drive away.
I am really looking forward to my next Maryland adventure.
Until then, I may have to craft an email to Guy Fieri……..
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