July 2023

Hello Montgomery County history buffs!

Montgomery Planning’s Historic Preservation Office has two history-making updates to share. First, the Montgomery County Council unanimously voted to designate the former Edward U. Taylor elementary school site in Boyds historic by adding it to the county’s Master Plan for Historic Preservation. Second, two new historic markers have been installed in Montgomery Parks facilities for the public to view.

Edward U. Taylor School Given Historic Designation

The Montgomery County Council unanimously voted July 11 to add the former Edward U. Taylor Elementary School property to the county’s Master Plan for Historic Preservation. The County Council’s vote designating the Taylor School a historic site aligns with the recommendations of the Montgomery County Planning Department and the Montgomery County Planning Board, both part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC).

The Taylor School was built in 1952 as an elementary school for Black students at a time when Montgomery County used legally sanctioned racial segregation to prohibit Black children from attending white schools. The facility was built to modern school design standards and represents the movement by the county’s Black community to have better facilities and opportunities after decades of public underinvestment in educational facilities for Black children. One of the last schools to be desegregated in 1961, the Taylor School was the only segregated Black elementary or high school that retained its original use as a school building when it integrated.

Read our press release for more details.

New Historic Markers Installed

Two new historical markers from the Remarkable Montgomery: Untold Stories project, a Montgomery Planning and Montgomery Parks collaboration, were installed in Montgomery Parks facilities recently.

The Commonwealth Farm marker commemorating a group of enterprising women in Colesville was installed July 14 in Peachwood Neighborhood Park.

Watch this YouTube video to learn more about the women and the farm.

A marker commemorating Montgomery County woman suffragist Lavinia Engle was installed two weeks ago at Forest Glen Park. The county native was a lifelong advocate for women’s rights and social services and became the first woman in the county to be elected to the Maryland House of Delegates.

Watch this YouTube video for more information about Lavinia Engle's life.

Connect with Historic Preservation

Reach us by phone or email:

Telephone: (301) 563-3400

Email: MCP-Historic@montgomeryplanning.org

Learn more: montgomeryplanning.org/historic