Three Gaithersburg Area Locations Make 'Endangered Maryland 2013' List

Of the 10 landmark locations selected by Preservation Maryland for its "Endangered Maryland 2013" list, three fall in the Gaithersburg area of upper Montgomery County.

Posted by MarylandLife.com, the list includes Belward Farm, unincorporated Washington Grove, and Darnestown's Montanverde.

The following excerpts were included in the "Endangered Maryland 2013" list:

Belward Farm:

The Civil War-era Belward Farm, owned by the Banks family for over 100 years, is one of the last remaining farms in the Gaithersburg region. To preserve it, Elizabeth Banks sold the land to Johns Hopkins at a greatly reduced price with the understanding that the university would build a small-scale facility there. Upon her death, Hopkins reneged. It now plans to erect a high-rise commercial complex on the site, which will destroy most of the pristine farm.  

Washington Grove:

Founded in 1873 as a Methodist camp meeting ground, the unincorporated Washington Grove was designed to be a town “with a different spiritual intention from the outer world.” Two forest preserves, grassy walkways, and a lack of thru-traffic give the community a unique, peaceful feel. However, encroaching development and efforts to rezone the surrounding area threaten to shatter that peace, permanently altering Maryland’s only “town within a forest.”    

Montanverde:

An early 19th-century country house, Montanverde was once owned by Major George Peter, the last military officer commissioned by George Washington. During the War of 1812, Peter commanded the Georgetown Artillery and went on to become the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Congress from Maryland’s Sixth District. Guests to the home included Zachary Taylor and Abraham Lincoln. Without intervention, the structure is at risk of being razed and its surrounding 13-acre property subdivided.

The full "Endangered Maryland 2013" list can be viewed here.