The Origins of Darnestown

The Origins of Darnestown (HM1BIT)

Location: Gaithersburg, MD 20878 Montgomery County
Buy Maryland State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 39° 6.197', W 77° 17.453'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 570 views
Inscription
Darnestown Road is one of the oldest roads in Montgomery County. Once an old trail, the route dates back to 1600 when it was used by the Seneca Indians. Native Americans Established villages, planted maize, and fished along the Potomac Palisades.

The land that eventually became Darnestown began to be settled in the mid-18th century by Scottish and Irish frontiersmen, many of whom became farmers. One of the first settlers Ninean Beall, acquired a tract of land called "Barren Hill," located between Darnestown and Germantown, in 1749. Beall, a tavern keeper, started a long lineage in the community.

One of Beall's granddaughters, Elizabeth Gassaway, married William Darne in 1798. Elizabeth inherited the land originally named Mt. Pleasant. When the first post office was established ca. 1815-20, the town took Darne's name, as he was the largest land owner. Consequently, Darne was a slaveholder, owning 18 bondspeople who worked the fields. His wife Elizabeth, inherited the property upon his death in 1845. During his lifetime, William Darne served as a State Representative, Levy Court Judge, and later as director of the C&O Canal. The town was called "Darnes" or "Darnes Town" and eventually became known as Darnestown.

Canals & Trains

Darnestown's period of greatest prosperity mirrored the rise and fall of the Chesapeake& Ohio (C&O) Canal. This canal was an important part of the transportation of commercial goods from the mountains to tidewater, greatly reducing the time it took to get these goods from one place to another. Construction of the 184 mile canal began in 1828 and reached Cumberland, Maryland in 1850. Though railroads had already begun to surpass canal travel by this time, transportation of goods continued to be by canal in Darnestown. Farmers from surrounding areas brought their grain to the mills of Darnestown, where it was milled and transported via canal to Georgetown.

When the railroad came to Germantown and Gaithersburg by the early 1900s, the need for the canal decreased until it stopped operating in 1924. Commerce was drawn elsewhere and Darnestown's place as a crossroads center faded away with the end of the C&O canal.
Details
HM NumberHM1BIT
Series This marker is part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal series
Tags
Year Placed2012
Placed ByMontgomery Parks M-NCPCC
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Friday, October 10th, 2014 at 10:02am PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 301906 N 4330736
Decimal Degrees39.10328333, -77.29088333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 39° 6.197', W 77° 17.453'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds39° 6' 11.82" N, 77° 17' 27.18" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)301, 240, 202
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 14015 Darnestown Rd, Gaithersburg MD 20878, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. What historical period does the marker represent?
  2. What historical place does the marker represent?
  3. What type of marker is it?
  4. What class is the marker?
  5. What style is the marker?
  6. Does the marker have a number?
  7. This marker needs at least one picture.
  8. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  9. Is the marker in the median?