I’d like to use this first post to provide a rationale for this blog as well as a defense of why we study history at all. In the broadest sense, our history is our identity. Who we are and what we do each day are informed by the history of our communities, our families, and the wider world. Thus, understanding history is important to contextualizing our everyday lives. To that end, local history is essential.

If you are reading this, then you likely live in Germantown. You may work in the industrial corridor along I-270 or commute to an office downtown on the Marc train. You may live along Clopper Road or Waters Landing Drive or Richter Farm Road. Your kids may go to Fox Chapel ES, Neelsville MS, or Seneca Valley HS. You may spend your weekends watching movies at the Regal Cinemas or hitting holes-in-one at Top Golf. Heck, if you’re a real history nerd (like me), you may even hike out to some of the historic mills or graveyards in the area.

But how did these things get there? Where did these names come from and why do they look the way they do? It may seem meaningless trivia, but how you interact with each of these things is a consequence of the intentional or unintentional actions of those who lived here before you. The very concept of being a “Germantowner” is colored by the experiences of your fellow residents and the reputations of local institutions.

In this blog, I will attempt to delve deeply into important events and figures in our history. Things that define who we are and how we experience life in Germantown. I hope you learn something in reading this, because I know I will in putting it together.