rustic roads & waterways
journey through time and Nature in the Ag Reserve
By sarah rogers
A short drive from Washington D. C. and Baltimore, Montgomery County’ s 93,000- acre Agricultural Reserve is located in the northern part of the County and is recognized as a national model for farmland and open space preservation. The Reserve was founded in 1980 to protect the County’ s farmlands, natural areas, and rural culture from the suburban development occurring in the other parts of the County. Special zoning and policies are in place to conserve this pastoral working landscape and critical water supply with its nearly 800 farms. The farms vary from small organic parcels to those specializing in heirloom crops, to large corn and soybean operations.
Bordered by the Potomac and Patuxent rivers, the rolling hills and
majestic woodlands have been a place of abundance and beauty for thousands of years. Several Indigenous groups used the piedmont as a preserve for hunting, fishing, and
Members of the Piscataway tribe at Monocacy Aqueduct on the C & O Canal. foraging. At the time of European contact, the Algonquians( largely Piscataway groups) were the predominate residents of the area. Over time, the clash of cultures, land use, and illness diminished Native habitation but a number of County roads, woodlands, open landscapes, and islands in the Potomac River familiar to Native Americans remain.
Europeans brought a tradition of personal land ownership and large-scale farming. Settled nearly a century after other parts of the state, the Reserve is dotted with historic farm complexes and fields. Later, as the large historic farms broke up into smaller acreages, opportunities grew for African Americans, immigrants, and others to rent or buy land and pursue agriculture.
The early small towns in the Agricultural Reserve supported local farms and sprung up at historic transportation crossroads. Most had a blacksmith, a mercantile shop, church, tavern, bank, and a Post Office. The buildings along the main streets have changed little over time.
Brookeville and Sandy Spring were settled by Quakers who were millers, tradesmen, and agricultural innovators. Slavery was abolished in these towns in the early 1800s due to religious convictions, and several safe houses on the Underground Railroad were located here aiding freedom seekers.
The building of the C & O Canal established Darnestown and Poolesville as shipping centers to Georgetown and other markets up and downstream, while Beallsville, Boyds, Barnesville, and Dickerson grew as stops on the B & O Rail-
32 plenty I spring sowing 2025