Historical Timeline 1873-1999

Compiled by George Paine
sources: Edwards (1988), Shantz (1975), Town Directories (various 1960-1997)

Year	Event
1873	Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association established
1874	First Camp Meeting Association charter approved by Maryland General Assembly
1875	Fence built around the camp grounds
1877	Tabernacle built in The Circle
1878	First cottages built
1880	Albany Hotel built
1883	Second Camp Meeting Association charter approved by General Assembly
1884	Wooden floor added to the Tabernacle
1886	J. C. Lang surveys the Grove Washington Grove Post Office opens in Albany Hotel
1888	Sunday 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
1891	C. J. Maddox resurveys the Grove
1893	Association trustees permit the playing of baseball
1896	Woodward Park cleared
1897	Hotel sustains minor damage by fire
1898	4th of July address given by Mrs. J. Ellen Foster; Association trustees forbid bicycles from walkways on Sundays
1899	Tabernacle floor rebuilt and raised
1902	Assembly Hall built; First Chautauqua assembly held; First Field Day held on Labor Day
1904	First cottage intended for year-round occupancy constructed; sale of Sunday newspapers banned in the Grove
1905	Tabernacle 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
1907	Fire destroys one cottage and damages three others on Grove Avenue; Men’s Athletic Association forms; Fire Committee
1908	Presiding Elder’s cottage destroyed by fire
1910	Maple 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
1911	Sewer line constructed under Grove Road
1912	Washington Grove Band formed; Odd Fellows Lodge formed
1913	Women’s Guild of Washington Grove established
1914	Electricity service extended to the Grove; street lighting converted to electricity; Superintendent’s cottage remodeled at Women’s Guild expense
1915	Friday and Saturday night cinema begins in the Auditorium
1917	Girls Athletic Association clubhouse wired for electricity
1918	Grove 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
1920	Telephone 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
1921	Auditorium roof rebuilt at Women’s Guild expense; Girls Athletic Association holds its last meeting
1922	Association trustees continue prohibition against playing of tennis on Sundays; Tornado strikes the Grove
1924	Last Camp Meeting held
1925	Washington Grove Methodist Church offers to purchase Assembly Hall
1926	Woman’s Club established; Hotel fixtures sold at auction
1927	Hotel demolished; Girls Athletic Association clubhouse turned over to the Woman’s Club; Maple Lake dam rebuilt; water and sewer service extended to the Grove
1928	Washington Grove Band disbanded; Grove roads resurfaced with packed cinders; Gaithersburg-Washington Grove Fire Department established
1929	Baseball grandstand condemned and dismantled; Association devolves remaining religious functions to the Washington Grove Methodist Church
1933	Association 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
1935	House numbering established
1937	Association dissolved; Town of Washington Grove incorporated
1939	Grove 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
1945	Land in or near Town cleared for County Livestock Show by German prisoners of war housed in Emory Grove camp
1949	Woman’s Club holds first annual Flower Show; Grove Recreation Club established
1951	B&O work train derailment caused by a collision with a large dog
1955	Washington Grove Methodist Church built; Town acquires planning and zoning authority
1956	New Washington Grove Elementary School constructed adjacent to old school in Oakmont
1957	Old Washington Grove Elementary School burned by fire department
1957	Derailment litigation resolved by decision of the U.S. Supreme Court; Assembly Hall renamed McCathran Hall
1958	B&O station demolished
1963	Auditorium demolished
1975	Adoption of Master Plan; 'Grove Gatherings' history published
1980	Town included in the National Register of Historic Places
1984	Southland Corp. litigation begins
1985	Southland Corp. litigation settled
1987	50th Anniversary of Incorporation of the Town
1988	History of Camp Meeting Association published
1990	7-11 closes under terms of settlement agreement with Southland Corp.
1992	Curbside recycling begins
1995	The Janus Museum established; "Bed & Breakfast" controversy begins
1996	Council votes to prohibit bed & breakfast inns; McCathran Hall renovation and expansion; Song 'Meet Me at McCathran Hall' composed
1997	Train station rebuilt with State and Federal funds
1998	125th 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.
1999	Ice 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