Those marked with * are NOT open to the public. Those with an HPC# are County Historic Sites.

View map of Germantown historic district

Germantown Station Historic District (1880s-1920s)
Germantown. & Mateny Hill Rd.
When the Metropolitan Branch of the B & O Railroad (now CSX) was completed in 1873 the commercial center of the town moved from the intersection of Clopper Road and Rt. 118 one mile to the east to be next to the railroad tracks. A carriage-making business, saddle shop, general store, and a seed and fertilizer store were the first businesses, followed soon by a steam-powered grain mill. Houses for the railroad workers, mill workers, and a large livery stable were built up the hill from the train station.

Bank (1922)
Mateny Hill Rd. & Germantown Rd.
Incorporated as an independent bank by Andrew Baker, Augustus Selby, William Waters, Norman Waters, and Henry C. Pumphrey in 1922, it merged with the 1st National Bank of Gaithersburg in 1958 and then with Suburban Trust Bank in 1960. This fine example of period bank architecture was donated to the County in 1983. The two columns flanking the door are hollow tin, and the bars are wrought iron. HPC#19/13. Picture from 1955.

 

 

Burns House* (1904)
19311 Germantown Rd.
Although built later this house is almost identical in style to the Reed House (G), with different columns and trim. It was built by Harry and Mary Burns. Harry was the mail carrier for the west side of Germantown. Their daughters, Ella and Grace, lived in the house until 1971.

Harris/Allnutt House* (1878)
19300 Mateny Hill Rd.
Alice and Richard Harris were one of the first to build a house near the new railroad station. Richard was a storekeeper and sold goods from the first floor of the house at first. When he died in 1902 the property was sold to Charles and Sarah Collins who may have run a boarding house, and then to Frank and Agnes Allnutt in 1923. Frank worked for the railroad. The southeast wing of the house was added in 1996. The outbuildings on this property represent what usually surrounded most houses in the late 19th and early 20th century with a chicken house, well house, carriage house and stable. Most families also kept a large vegetable garden. HPC#19/13.

Johnson House* (1890s)
19310 Mateny Hill Rd.
Elizabeth and Hugh Anderson, an agent for the railroad, bought this property from Elizabeth Blunt in 1893. The house they built was sold to Jennie and Charles Johnson in 1908. Charles was Germantown’s Postmaster. It was sold again in 1948 to Roy Selby who ran a store across the railroad tracks with his brother Roland. HPC#19/13.

Jordan House* (1860s)
19323 Germantown Rd.
The rear section of this house was built in the 1860s as the residence of Thomas Henderson as shown in this location on the 1878 map. The front section was then built in the late 1870s by John Gassaway for his store clerk. From 1905 to 1919 it was the home of Dr. Isaac Simpers, the local physician, and from 1930-1987 it was the home of Wilson and Charlotte Jordan. Wilson was the Southern Methodist minister and then local plumber and electrician.

Kirby/Duvall House* (1910)
19319 Germantown Rd.
The original part of the home was built by Benson Talbott in 1890. It was sold to Perrie Waters in 1900, who owned the nearby general store. This house was rented to Ben Duvall, the local tinsmith, for many years. From 1922 to 1960 it was the home of Milton and Mary Kirby. Milton worked for the railroad and Mary had the finest garden in town. Distinguished from its neighbors by it’s “L” shape, this house has lovely decorative porch brackets and gable pendant.

Liberty Mill site (1888 & 1917)
Mateny Hill Rd. & Germantown Rd.
The Bowman Brothers built a steam-powered mill at this site in 1888. When this mill burned down in 1914 an electric-powered mill was built and bought by the Liberty Milling Company in 1917. Augustus Selby was the manager and it became the second largest mill in Maryland. The structure burned in 1972. A plaque at the site has a picture of the Mill. HPC#19/13.

Marth/Wallich House* (1916)
19201 Blunt Ave.
This house was built by Roy and Ada Marth. Roy had a blacksmith shop on the west side of the house which had been there before the house was built. In 1931 Eddie Wallich, who worked for the railroad, bought the property and lived there until the 1970s.

Mill Scales (c1920)
The little tin structure on the hill opposite the train station houses the scales that weighed the trucks full of grain coming into the Liberty Mill. The truck would stop on a spring-supported platform next to the scale house. HPC#19/13

Presbyterian Chapel* (1901)
19411 Germantown Rd.
Reverend Henderson, who lived in a manse across the street, helped to raise the money to build this chapel which opened in 1899. The chapel served the people in town and saved them a trip to Neelsville, Darnestown or Boyds. to attend church. A steeple on the west corner housed a bell which rang in times of community emergency as well as for church services. The bell is now on display at Neelsville Presbyterian Church. The building is now a veterinary clinic and the wing on the south side was added in 1990.

Pumphrey/Mateny House (1893)
19401 Germantown Rd.
Robert Pumphrey built this house to have a store downstairs and house his family upstairs. The store-front windows on the north-east corner are closer together. Henry Mateny, a local cattle dealer, married the Pumphrey’s daughter, Helen, and inherited the house in the 1930s. The decorative gable bracketing and palladian window in the gable as well as the projecting bay on the front make this a unique example of vernacular Victorian architecture. HPC#19/13-5.

Rayfield/Browning House* (1894)
19215 Blunt Ave.
The minister of the Baptist Church, Rev. J.D. Rayfield, built this house soon after he moved to Germantown. In 1922 the house was bought by Charlton Browing who carried the mail for the eastern side of Germantown for 50 years. The building is a distinguished example of the Victorian “I” house with a transomed and sidelighted front door. The wing to the rear of the building was added in 1995. HPC#19/13.

Reed House* (1901)
19307 Germantown Road
Built by Charles and Ida Mansfield, this house became the home of Frank and Lula Reed in 1906. Frank ran the nearby livery stable (see Q). It is a typical “I” house of the period distinguished by its classical columns and unique gable window.

Selby/Soderberg House* (1927) and Livery Stable
19313 Germantown Rd.
This house was built in 1927 by Andrew Baker on the site of the livery stable barn which had burned down. The livery stable served patrons coming in on the train from about 1880 to 1920. The four-bay carriage house of the stable complex still exists next to the house. The house was purchased in 1935 by Eugene and Alberta Selby. Eugene had a general store in Gaithersburg (now the Center Market).

Shewbridge House* (1921)
19315 Germantown Rd.
This bungalow style house was built in 1921 by Ewell and Edith Shewbridge. Ewell was a telegraph operator for the railroad. He directed the trains when they changed from the double track to the single track that ran through Germantown until 1929.

Store* (1880s)
Mateny Hill Rd. & Blunt Ave.
This one-room store was built soon after the train line came through. It has also been used as a barbershop, a butcher shop, and a mail warehouse at various times. HPC#19/13

Train Station

Mateny Hill Rd. & Germantown Rd.
A station was built on this site in 1878 but was torn down to make way for the new station designed by Francis Baldwin, who created all of the station houses on the Metropolitan Line. This Baldwin station burned down in 1978 but was reconstructed by the County. HPC#19/13