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PotomacPotomac Insiders Guide A contestant in the Great Falls Race in the Potomac Whitewater Festival navi- gates much of Classified, Page 18 Classified, ❖ the 60-foot drop all at once. Real Estate, Page 19 Real Estate, ❖ Things To Do: All Year Long Calendar, Page 4 Calendar, Page 4 Ultimate Park Guide Parks, Pages 10-11 Requested in home 8-26-10 home in Requested Time sensitive material. sensitive Time Looking Ahead in Postmaster: Attention PERMIT #86 PERMIT Martinsburg, WV Martinsburg, High School Sports PAID U.S. Postage U.S. Sports, Page 16 STD PRSRT www.ConnectionNewspapers.comAugust 25-31, 2010 ❖ Volume XXIV, Number 34 Potomac Almanac ❖ August 25-31, 2010online ❖ Insiders at potomacalmanac.com Community Guide 2010-2011 ❖ 1 Potomac Insider Sprinkles Catering to Potomac for 21 years FREE Super Premium Ice Cream Kiddie Size or Potomac History by the Numbers 35 Flavors Homemade • Custard Compiled by Cupcake Ken Moore/The Almanac • Fat Free Frozen Yogurt • Sugar-Free CarboRite® Potomac Place Shopping Center • Low-Carb Wow Cow® 10148 River Road 12,000 • Latte, Espresso, Cappuccino Potomac Village, Md. 20854 Years ago, Potomac was initially settled by Paleo-Indians, based on evi- • Rich & mellow brewed coffee 301-299-8415 dence of habitation along the Potomac • Donuts, Bagels and Cupcakes Limit one coupon per customer River. • Party Catering Exp. 10/1/10 1700s European explorers settled the area in the early 1700s, establishing estates and tobacco plantations with slave labor. Tobacco was the most suitable crop for the region’s climate and soil. 1714 Land now known as Potomac Village settled and called Offutt’s Crossroads. 1751 Magruder’s Blacksmith’s Shop, built by 1751 at the intersection of Seven Locks and River roads, is the oldest standing structure in Potomac. Ninian Magruder, a blacksmith, served the needs of merchants and travelers and fixed wagons and shod horses. His ini- tials are carved on the chimney. River Road was used to transport tobacco to the port of Georgetown. 1840s Many farmers grew discouraged and moved west after the cultivation of to- bacco depleted the soil’s nutrients. (Wheat was the next planted crop until Potomac Village Deli Catering the mid-19th century.) 7 Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner Catering River Road developed from a trail to a wagon road to help farmers take pro- One of the mules at Great Falls that pull the canal boat duce to markets. Eventually, wagon roads connected through the locks. The boats run Wednesday, Thursday, 301•299•5770 Georgetown with farmland of Potomac Saturday and Sunday. and Rockville. Landowners petitioned www.potomacvillagedeli.com the county to designate Seven-Locks emancipation, many autonomous Afri- Road as a county thoroughfare after the 1850s can-American communities developed wagon road became so well traveled. Construction of the Washington Aq- and many black landowners, who South Glen Road, Kentsdale Drive, ueduct, designed to tap clean water earned a living as laborers on local Tuckerman Lane, Bells Mill Road and supply above Great Falls for use in the farms, provided food for their own fami- Brickyard Road also improved in this District, led to growth in population. A lies on their own small farms. One fashion. dam was built at Great Falls to divert community developed along Oaklyn water into a conduit that ran to reser- Road and another, the Cropley commu- voirs in the District. nity, developed near the place Angler’s Home of Your 20 Inn now stands. Miles of the C&O Canal in use be- tween Georgetown and Seneca by 18,000 1831, only three years after President Union troops garrisoned into the area. 1881 John Quincy Adams broke ground for Blockhouse Point (See Insiders Parks Offutt’s Crossroads renamed Corporate & Residential the canal near Little Falls in 1828. By pages 10-11) provided a vantage point Potomac. Thomas Perry built the Perry 1850, the canal was in use to for Union soldiers on the lookout for Store on the corner of River and Falls Cumberland. Confederate troops. Darnestown was roads the year before. His wife, Marian the site of many Civil War battles, and Perry, served as postmistress. The origi- Catering Headquarters area residents had divided loyalties. nal building is part of the Chevy Chase 1859 Bank building. In 1986, the building was The canal was used to transport grain, moved 21 feet to accommodate the wid- flour, coal and farm produce after fertil- 1861 ening of the intersection. izers were imported via the canal and Civil war soldiers discovered gold in Serving the used to re-enrich Potomac soil. the area, and mines were developed in Rock Run and near Great Falls. (See 1940s/1950s Insiders Parks pages 10-11) The Mary- Many farms between Potomac Village Community 116 land Mine, at Falls and MacArthur, was and Rockville were converted into hous- Years that the Seneca Stone Quarry’s one of 14 gold mine in the Potomac area ing developments. for over reddish sandstone was mined from 1774 and operated intermittently until 1951. to 1900. The Seneca sandstone was used for 287 35 Years the iconic Smithsonian Institution Build- 1865 Percent population increase in the ing, many of the lockhouses and most of By time of the Civil War, Offutt’s 1960s in Potomac. the aqueducts along the Canal, such as Crossroads had two general stores, a — SOURCE: Montgomery County Park the one at Riley’s Lock. blacksmith shop and a post office. After and Planning 2 ❖ Potomac Almanac ❖ August 25-31, 2010 ❖ Insiders Community Guide 2010-2011 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Potomac Insider Welcome his issue of the Potomac Almanac Tincludes our annual Newcomers and Community Guide. Through narrative, listings, viewpoints and photographs, we endeavor to capture what it means to live here, highlights of places to visit and things to do, a snapshot of local history, help finding community resources and tips on adjusting to living here. If you are new to the area, you’ll find re- sources and ideas on these pages and on our Web site, www.PotomacAlmanac.com. Even some longtime residents may not have visited some of the key places in and nearby their community. Photo by Ken Moor Photo We offer many more resources on our Web site. There you will find the complete commu- nity guides for each of our 15 papers, in- cluding more extensive listings than appear in the newspapers. You can also access the print edition of each of our papers online, e/The Almanac showing each page exactly as it appears in the paper, including cover, photos, display ads and classified advertising. Go to www.ConnectionNewspapers.com, and click on “Print Editions” in the red bar. As a local, weekly newspaper, the The sun sets over Callithea Farm, a county park and equestrian center next to Blockhouse Point off River Almanac’s mission is to bring the news you Road. need about your community, to give you the information you need to enjoy the best things in and near your community, to ad- vocate for community good, to provide a forum for dialogue on local concerns, and Living in Potomac to celebrate and record milestones and events in community and people’s lives. Residents reflect on their community. AT THE ALMANAC, we invite newcom- Here are some thoughts on what makes SUSANNE LEE: treasure - Query Mill Hill Farm - superb or- ers to the area and long-time residents alike Potomac special: What do you love about Potomac? ganic vegetables - sold at the Rockville to be a part of providing more reader in- That we are the “Green Wedge” between Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. put. Let us know how we’re doing and let GINNY BARNES: Virginia and Gaithersburg. Home to lots What advice would you give a new us know what is going on in your What do you love about Potomac? (but never enough) tree canopy, Great Falls, resident on how to make them- part of the community. If you have ques- Potomac has an abundance of trees, for- and the C & O Canal. selves at home and get involved tions or ideas, call us or send us an e-mail. ests and stream valleys leading to the River. What “insider’s tip” about here in Potomac? We invite you to send letters to the editor Thanks to good planning, Potomac Village Potomac would you share with a Join and become active in the West Mont- or to send an e-mail letting us know about still has the feel of a village that grew up friend? gomery County Citizens Association. something you especially liked or didn’t like around a country crossroads. It doesn’t Best sights — kayakers “playing” in the about our coverage. sprawl down River or Falls Road and it is white water at Great Falls overlook just be- ADAM GREENBERG: We appreciate readers’ ideas. If you see becoming more walkable as we add paths fore sunset, early spring wildflowers along What do you love about Potomac? something that you think might be a story, and sidewalks. the C & O Canal. A little known Potomac See Living in Potomac, Page 12 or something you have a question about, What “insider’s tip” about give us a call, or drop us a line. If you know Potomac would you share with a of a person or an organization doing im- friend? portant work, something that might make For its size, the C&O Canal represents one a good feature story, we are looking for of the most diverse parks in the National people to feature each week. Park System. I consider it one of Potomac’s We want to know if someone in your fam- greatest assets.