Uncovering a Forgotten History: A New Park for the Westbard Sector

Plantations, Slave Life, Civil War, Emancipation, and the Jim Crow Era in the Westbard Sector

Little Falls Watershed Alliance has started a history committee as part of our advocacy for the new Willett Branch Park in the Westbard Sector.  The Park would honor the local history and we were curious to learn more about the neighborhood.

What we found was that the area north of what is now Little Falls Parkway on either side of River Road was once a vibrant African American community settled by freed slaves.  The plantations were located south in the Green Acres and Brookdale areas and the slaves settled on land off of River Road after emancipation.  There was also a Rosenwald School (one of over 5,000 schools in the south funded by the CEO of Sears, Julius Rosenwald) which shut down in 1954 when schools were desegregated.  The students went to Somerset Elementary School, Western Junior High or BCC High School.  And there was a cemetery where the HOC parking lots are.  It was sold in 1958 when the area was redeveloped but oral history suggests that the graves are still there under the asphalt.  

The African American residents were displaced by development in the early 1960s, the houses bulldozed for apartments and commercial buildings.  The Rosenwald school was torn down and a communication tower built on it site.  All that remains to remind of us of this forgotten history is the Macedonia Baptist Church at 5119 River Road.  This historic church was built in 1932 on land deed to them by the Clipper Family and still hold services and Bible study every week.  

You can find more information about the history of the area in the Westbard Sector plan appendix.

Preserving History in a New Park for the Westbard Sector

Please write to the Planning Board and Staff and the County Executive expressing your support for a new Willett Branch Stream Valley Park which honors and highlights the rich and forgotten history of the area. Ask that no new buildings be allowed in the stream buffer and on top the cemetery - the heart of the park where early African American residents were buried.

John Marcolin, Project Manager 

Montgomery County Park and Planning

8787 Georgia Ave.

Silver Spring, MD 20910

john.marcolin@montgomeryplanning.org

Casey Anderson, Chair

Montgomery County Planning Board

8787 Georgia Ave.

Silver Spring, MD 20910 

MCP-Chair@mncppc-mc.org 

Ike Leggett, County Executive

Executive Office Building

101 Monroe St., 2nd Floor

Rockville, MD 20850

Ike.leggett@montgomerycountymd

Emerald Ash Borer Update

Emerald Ash Borer Update   

Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is in Maryland and it's attacking ash trees.  Unfortunately, it's has a 100 percent mortality rate for trees without treatment.  Worse than that, the trees look pretty healthy until they are about to die.  The borer makes little tunnels under the bark which weakens the tree.  We have a lot of Ash in the area and in the Parks.  Trees that are along trails and Parkway will be removed so that they do not cause any safety issues for Park users.  Trees deep in the forest will be left to decompose.

If you have an ash in your yard, you need to get it evaluated immediately.  It's possible to treat the tree and save it, but you must commit to treating the tree for the rest of its life.  Any certified arborist will be able to help you.

How to identify an Ash?- 

Ashes are canopy trees with compound leaves and opposite branching.  Very few trees have opposite branching so that's a good place to start.  This website has really good description of the tree.  http://treedoctor.msu.edu/ash/ashtree_id.html

Ash Trees in Little Falls Park

Patrick Harwood of Montgomery Parks is in charge of the Emerald Ash and writes:

I just wanted to give the folks in the Little Falls area a heads up about the Tree removal work we will be starting in the next couple of weeks. We will be removing approximately 60 Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) infested Ash tree along Little Falls Parkway and a portion Little Falls paved trail.

The areas we will be working in are;
Norwood local park, heading south from Norwood following the paved trail south to Hillandale Road then heading south on the paved trail to Dorset Ave.

We will also be removing ash trees at many points along Little Falls Parkway from Hillandale Road to Massachusetts Avenue.

Expect Delays on the Parkway:
There will be intermittent delays on both the Parkway and trails while the work is being done. The delays on the trails should be no longer than 15 minutes on the trails to allow for safe tree removal and trail user passage. The parkway will have rolling single lane closures and be flagged in the single lane portion. Our goal is to minimize disturbance to commuters and trail users. The work will be planned outside of rush hour as much as possible.

In advance of  the work beginning we will be placing educational and notice of work signs out for park users to get more info on EAB and the work. Electronic signage will stationed along the Parkway with notice of the work and possible delays.

More Information:
EAB do not harm humans or any other species of tree other than ash (Fraxinus sp.). EAB only feed on live ash trees.

For more information on the Emerald Ash Borer go to www.emeraldashborer.info and visit our website http://www.montgomeryparks.org/?s=Emerald+ash+borer for more information on EAB in Montgomery Parks.

Feel free to contact me if you have any comments questions or concerns.

Thanks,
Patrick Harwood
MNCPPC, Montgomery Parks
16641 Crabbs Branch Way
Rockville, MD 20855
301-258-4017