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Historical Timeline 1873-1999

Compiled by George Paine
sources: Edwards (1988), Shantz (1975), Town Directories (various 1960-1997)
YearEvent
1873Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association established
1874First Camp Meeting Association charter approved by Maryland General Assembly
1875Fence built around the camp grounds
1877Tabernacle built in The Circle
1878First cottages built
1880Albany Hotel built
1883Second Camp Meeting Association charter approved by General Assembly
1884Wooden floor added to the Tabernacle
1886J. C. Lang surveys the Grove Washington Grove Post Office opens in Albany Hotel
1888Sunday excursion trains discontinued by the B&O RR at the request of the Association; 1890 Washington Grove Post Office relocated (across the B&O tracks) to Oakmont; Broadway (above Center Street) renamed as an extension of Grove Avenue
1891C. J. Maddox resurveys the Grove
1893Association trustees permit the playing of baseball
1896Woodward Park cleared
1897Hotel sustains minor damage by fire
18984th of July address given by Mrs. J. Ellen Foster; Association trustees forbid bicycles from walkways on Sundays
1899Tabernacle floor rebuilt and raised
1902Assembly Hall built; First Chautauqua assembly held; First Field Day held on Labor Day
1904First cottage intended for year-round occupancy constructed; sale of Sunday newspapers banned in the Grove
1905Tabernacle demolished; Auditorium built; sewer line constructed under Chestnut Road; telephone service extended to the Hotel
1906 Washington Grove Association drops 'Camp Meeting' from its name; B&O station built, replacing depot
1907Fire destroys one cottage and damages three others on Grove Avenue; Men’s Athletic Association forms; Fire Committee
1908Presiding Elder’s cottage destroyed by fire
1910Maple Lake formed when Maple Spring dammed to supply ice for the Grove; Methodist Church congregation established; Preacher's lodge moved to Woodward Park, becomes Men’s Athletic Association clubhouse; Girls' Athletic Association clubhouse built in Woodward Park; Railroad Street built around the South edge of the Grove; Telephone service extended to two Grove cottages; Women’s Society established
1911Sewer line constructed under Grove Road
1912Washington Grove Band formed; Odd Fellows Lodge formed
1913Women’s Guild of Washington Grove established
1914Electricity service extended to the Grove; street lighting converted to electricity; Superintendent’s cottage remodeled at Women’s Guild expense
1915Friday and Saturday night cinema begins in the Auditorium
1917Girls Athletic Association clubhouse wired for electricity
1918Grove chestnut trees (Castanea dentata) succumb to blight, most are replaced with elms (Ulmus americana L.); Girls Athletic Association not allowed to put on public dance for convalescent soldiers from Walter Reed hospital
1920Telephone service becomes available throughout the Grove; Odd Fellows building (later used for the Post Office) constructed; Girls Athletic Association puts on first public dance in the Grove
1921Auditorium roof rebuilt at Women’s Guild expense; Girls Athletic Association holds its last meeting
1922Association trustees continue prohibition against playing of tennis on Sundays; Tornado strikes the Grove
1924Last Camp Meeting held
1925Washington Grove Methodist Church offers to purchase Assembly Hall
1926Woman’s Club established; Hotel fixtures sold at auction
1927Hotel demolished; Girls Athletic Association clubhouse turned over to the Woman’s Club; Maple Lake dam rebuilt; water and sewer service extended to the Grove
1928Washington Grove Band disbanded; Grove roads resurfaced with packed cinders; Gaithersburg-Washington Grove Fire Department established
1929Baseball grandstand condemned and dismantled; Association devolves remaining religious functions to the Washington Grove Methodist Church
1933Association trustees continue prohibition against playing of tennis on Sundays
1934 Men’s Athletic Association clubhouse dismantled; materials are used to construct a kitchen addition to the Woman’s clubhouse; several cottages damaged by fire on upper Grove Avenue; 'Grove Gatherings' newspaper begins publication; Association permits sports, other than baseball, on Sunday afternoons
1935House numbering established
1937Association dissolved; Town of Washington Grove incorporated
1939Grove roads paved; Women’s Athletic Association clubhouse burns down; Acorn Lane opened; Indoor plumbing installed in the Auditorium
1940 Woman’s Clubhouse built on site of the Albany Hotel; Sunday morning tennis playing prompts calls for suppression by Town ordinance, but none is adopted
1945Land in or near Town cleared for County Livestock Show by German prisoners of war housed in Emory Grove camp
1949Woman’s Club holds first annual Flower Show; Grove Recreation Club established
1951B&O work train derailment caused by a collision with a large dog
1955Washington Grove Methodist Church built; Town acquires planning and zoning authority
1956New Washington Grove Elementary School constructed adjacent to old school in Oakmont
1957Old Washington Grove Elementary School burned by fire department
1957Derailment litigation resolved by decision of the U.S. Supreme Court; Assembly Hall renamed McCathran Hall
1958B&O station demolished
1963Auditorium demolished
1975Adoption of Master Plan; 'Grove Gatherings' history published
1980Town included in the National Register of Historic Places
1984Southland Corp. litigation begins
1985Southland Corp. litigation settled
198750th Anniversary of Incorporation of the Town
1988History of Camp Meeting Association published
19907-11 closes under terms of settlement agreement with Southland Corp.
1992Curbside recycling begins
1995The Janus Museum established; "Bed & Breakfast" controversy begins
1996Council votes to prohibit bed & breakfast inns; McCathran Hall renovation and expansion; Song 'Meet Me at McCathran Hall' composed
1997Train station rebuilt with State and Federal funds
1998125th Anniversary of the B&O Metropolitan Branch, and of the Grove; State moves alignment of Route 124 away from Washington Grove Lane; SPCA cat shelter closes.
1999Ice storm strikes the Grove in January; Town launches its website; SPCA cat shelter reopens in Olde Towne Gaithersburg; Nature trail built in the East Woods; Town assumes maintenance responsibility for Ridge Road
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