Montgomery County is Maryland’s most populated area, its technological center, and its main job generator. This vibrant, diverse and resourceful county offers numerous recreational and educational facilities. Available to visitors and residents alike are the many parks, museums, public galleries, theaters, and historic sites. In addition, its prime location allows businesses direct access to federal agencies, embassies, and financial institutions in the Washington DC area.
Location
Montgomery County is located in the state of Maryland, just north of Washington, DC. It is one of 23 Maryland counties, and is in the Washington DC metro area. Montgomery County is a short Metro ride away from the Washington DC area, approximately 40 minutes away from Annapolis and downtown Baltimore, and less than two hours away from the Atlantic Ocean and east coast beaches.
Airports
Montgomery County is served by three major airports: Baltimore-Washington International, Washington-Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Baltimore-Washington International Airport is located in Baltimore, Maryland.
Washington-Dulles International Airport is located in Sterling, Virginia.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is located in Arlington, Virginia.
Other public use airports are: Montgomery County Airpark, located in Gaithersburg, MD,
Davis Airport, in Laytonsville, MD and College Park Airport, located in College Park, MD.
Terrain
Montgomery County consists of rolling land with small hills. Elevations range from 52 feet above sea level near the District Line to 850 feet above sea level in the northern part of Montgomery County near Damascus. It covers an area of 507 square miles, of which 12 square miles are water.
Population
The population in Montgomery County is approximately 5.4 million. It has a workforce of almost 445,000 people, composed largely of graduates from the outstanding area schools. Approximately 60 percent of its residents hold a bachelor’s degree and 31 percent have a graduate or professional degree.
The median income for a household in the county is $71,551. Fifty-eight percent of Montgomery County residents are employed in the DC Metro area and nine percent work elsewhere in Maryland.
Jobs
Montgomery County is the country’s fourth largest economic and retail market. It has become an international business center for bioscience, technology, law, and finance. Over 110 foreign companies have set up businesses here creating over 15,000 jobs and over 600 local businesses are engaged in exporting. The effect of Washington DC’s international economy on this region has generated 330,000 jobs.
Montgomery County is a thriving business center. It is the hub of Maryland’s biotech community, the third largest in the country. Over 200 biotech companies and industry leaders, such as Human Genome Sciences and MedImmune, are located the County. It is also home to 19 federal agencies, and world-famous educational and research
organizations.
Montgomery County has 30,750 businesses and employs over 371,000 workers in information technology, telecommunications, biotechnology, software development, aerospace engineering and various professional services. Its leading companies are Acterna, Discovery Communications, GE Global eXchange Services, Hughes Network Systems, Human Genome Sciences, IBM, The Institute for Genomic Research, Lockheed Martin, Marriott International and MedImmune.
Colleges/Universities
Montgomery County has many colleges and universities. Colleges in Montgomery County include The University of Maryland at Shady Grove, Johns Hopkins University, Columbia Union College, Maryland College of Art and Design, Montgomery College, and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
Montgomery College is one of the nation’s top community colleges, with over 40,000 students. The University of Maryland at Shady Grove offers bachelors, masters and doctoral programs. Johns Hopkins University in the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center has a 35 acre campus, offering graduate and undergraduate degree programs.
Housing
Montgomery County has a wide variety of available housing including Victorian style homes, Colonial style homes, Ramblers and Cape Cods. There are farm country homes in the north around Poolesville and Damascus, and luxury estate homes in Potomac and Bethesda. Over 325,000 households are in apartments, condos, townhouses, single-family homes, and on farms.
The average cost of a home in Montgomery County has risen from $175,225 in 2001 to $561,125 in 2005. Twenty percent of the total housing market consists of homes priced above $1,000,000. The median price of condominiums in Montgomery County is $271,500.
Historic Places of Interest
Montgomery County has a wealth of historical sites.
Agricultural History Farm Park displays the agricultural history of the area.
The Beall-Dawson House is a Georgian-style mansion built in 1815.
The Clara Barton National Historic Site is the home of the founder of the American Red Cross.
Gaithersburg Heritage Community Museum is located in the old B&O train station.
Glen Echo Park was a Chautauqua Assembly in the 1890s, then an amusement park for many decades, and is now being restored.
C&O Canal is a historical site with hundreds of miles of beautiful trails along side the old. Their visitor’s center provides exhibits, special programs, and mule-drawn barge rides.
Hyattstown Mill is a grist mill built in 1918, on the site of a previous 1780s mill, which now houses an arts center.
National Capital Trolley Museum preserves and recounts the history of electric railways.
The Oakley Cabin in Brookeville is a refurbished slave cabin dating back to the early 1800s.
Sandy Spring Museum is a historical museum that was founded in 1980. Sandy Spring Slave Museum & African Art Gallery displays the rich heritage of Africans/African-Americans in the building of America.
The Seneca Schoolhouse is a one room schoolhouse that was built in 1863 out of local sandstone.
Parks/Sports/Recreation/Golf
One third of Montgomery County’s land area is “green”, with many gardens, golf courses and parks, including a 93,000-acre agricultural preserve.
Rock Creek Park is one of the oldest national parks and one of the largest forested urban parks in the United States. It contains a wide range of natural, historical, and recreational features, and offers picnicking, hiking, biking, skating, horseback riding, tennis and golf. The main visitor center is the Nature Center, which includes a Planetarium. The park's history includes buildings such as the Old Stone House, the oldest house in Washington, and Pierce Mill.
Great Falls Park, located on both sides of the Potomac River, in Potomac, Maryland and McLean, Virginia is one of the most popular parks in the area, covering an area of 800 acres. It is the home of the Great Falls, which drop a dramatic 76 feet just below the overlooks near the Visitor's Center. The park has history, greatly impressive natural features, excellent hiking trails, and plenty of picnic space.
Some of the county’s other beautiful parks and gardens are Black Hills Regional Park, Brighton Azalea Gardens, Brookside Gardens, Cabin John Regional Park, Croyden Creek Nature Center, McCrillis Gardens and Gallery, and Seneca Creek State Park and Gardens at Glenview Mansion.
The county also has many excellent golf courses. Falls Road Golf Course is Montgomery County’s most popular course. Tournament Players Club at Avenel in Potomac hosts the PGA tour. Other courses include Laytonsville Golf Course which is one of the longest public courses in the County, Rattlewood Golf Course and Hampshire Greens. A private country club and a golf driving range are located in Olney, with a second driving range and mini-golf course a short distance to the south.
The Maryland SoccerPlex and Discovery Sports Center is a top-notch, 162-acre recreational facility, with several soccer fields, a 3,200 seat championship field, the Discovery Sports Center and a 66,000 square foot multi-sport facility.
Wheaton Regional Park offers horseback riding, ice skating, ballfields, carousel, tennis, train rides and camping.
Some of the many other recreational activities available to visitors and residents in Montgomery County area are boating, canoeing, hiking, biking, and fishing.
Special Attractions/Events
Some special attractions available in the County are the Clara Barton National Historic Site in Glen Echo, the Olney Theatre, which has provided live theater for over fifty years, and the historic C&O Canal Trail.
The new AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring offers a 49,000 square-foot complex with three theatres, a café, a film-based retail outlet, offices, meeting spaces, and exhibition areas. The renovated 1938 Silver Theatre shows contemporary and classic films. Also in Silver Spring is Round House Theatre, a black box theatre which has professional productions, family shows, and works related to education.
Some of the best Washington DC monuments and attractions are less than 30 minutes away via Metro and include The National Museum of the American Indian, The National World War II Memorial and Smithsonian Institute, The White House, Kennedy Center, the Air and Space Museum and the National Gallery of Art.
Interesting Facts
Montgomery County was formed in 1776 during the Revolutionary era.
The county was named after General Richard Montgomery, killed during the Revolution.
Brookeville, located in Montgomery County, has a historic role as the nation's "Capital for a Day," When the British troops invaded and burned Washington, during the War of 1812, President Madison sought refuge and handled government business from the home of Mr. Bentley, in Brookeville.
An acorn-shaped gazebo can be found in Acorn Park in Silver Spring, which was constructed around 1850. The park is all that remains of the historic Francis Preston Blair's estate.
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