Embedded Files
The events illustrated below were selected to highlight the changing landscape of Montgomery County's development, particularly as it relates to the immigrant experience. Emphasis is on agriculture, trades, transportation, and political changes that locally impacted the lives of all Montgomery County residents, as well as global events that drove migration and subsequent national policies that controlled it. These factors together combined to shape the lives and opportunities of those arriving from other countries over the last 250 years.
The events illustrated below were selected to highlight the changing landscape of Montgomery County's development, particularly as it relates to the immigrant experience. Emphasis is on agriculture, trades, transportation, and political changes that locally impacted the lives of all Montgomery County residents, as well as global events that drove migration and subsequent national policies that controlled it. These factors together combined to shape the lives and opportunities of those arriving from other countries over the last 250 years.
Only selected/particularly impactful U.S. immigration laws and policies are noted here. For a more complete list of laws regulating refugees see this timeline prepared by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
Only selected/particularly impactful U.S. immigration laws and policies are noted here. For a more complete list of laws regulating refugees see this timeline prepared by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
For information on Montgomery County's foreign-born demographics as captured by the U.S. Census, see the Census Data Timeline on this site.
For information on Montgomery County's foreign-born demographics as captured by the U.S. Census, see the Census Data Timeline on this site.
Click on the right-side arrows to see images and further information on each moment in history.
1776: Montgomery County is Formed
1776: Montgomery County is Formed
On September 6, 1776, the Maryland Constitutional Convention passed a bill sponsored by Thomas Sprigg Wootton that divided Frederick County into three parts and created two new counties -- Washington and Montgomery. Our new county was named for General Richard Montgomery, a Scottish immigrant who only lived in this country for two years before he was killed at the Battle of Quebec.
General Richard Montgomery (engraving by Alonzo Chappell)
1770s-1810s: Early Immigration
1770s-1810s: Early Immigration
Early settlers of Montgomery County were primarily English and Scottish tobacco planters who migrated from the Chesapeake and established staple crop plantations dependent on slave labor. The economy was heavily tied to the tobacco trade, with early trade routes established to ports in London and Bristol. Merchants interested in American trade later shifted operations to Cumberland, England and the Scottish ports of Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, and Glasgow.
Oxen pulling a "hogshead" of tobacco on a rolling road. Artist's rendering by Carol Stuart Watkins (Montgomery History)
1828: Construction begins on the C&O Canal
1828: Construction begins on the C&O Canal
Construction began on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, with the goal of improving transportation along the Potomac River. Many immigrant laborers, especially from Ireland, cleared the land, built the infrastructure, and later worked on canal boats and tended lockhouses. Artist's rendering of activity on and alongside the early canal (Montgomery History)
1828: Construction begins on the B&O Railroad
1828: Construction begins on the B&O Railroad
The two behemoths of transportation trade routes, constructed beginning the same year, would compete for dominance over the entirety of their creation and early use phases. The B&O Railroad would ultimately win as a faster, more reliable, and more sustainable mode of transportation for goods.
Artist's rendering of the competition between the canal and the railroad. (Montgomery History)
1830: Germantown, Maryland Established
1830: Germantown, Maryland Established
This settlement received its name for the large number of German immigrants coming to the area in the 1830s. Jacob Snyder and his family were the first. They were followed by the Metzes, Richters, Stangs, Hogans, and Grusendorfs.
The Grusendorf family outside their home near Germantown, c. 1890s
Marie Stang (holding puppy) and her family, c. 1890s (Montgomery History)
1840: Improved Farming Methods
1840: Improved Farming Methods
During the early decades of the 1800s, Montgomery County had experienced a decline in profitable tobacco agriculture due to over-planting, soil depletion, and poor farming methods. Many hundreds of acres of farmland were left fallow and abandoned when former tobacco planters sold their assets and migrated westward. Prosperity returned when farmers, led by the Quakers of the Sandy Spring area, began to improve the soil by using guano fertilizer, rotating crops, and implementing new machinery.
Quakers gathering at the Friends meeting house in Sandy Spring, undated (Montgomery History)
1846: Montgomery County Agricultural Society formed
1846: Montgomery County Agricultural Society formed
The Montgomery County Agricultural Society was organized to promote improvements in farming. They held the first county fair in Rockville this same year, a tradition that continued until the 1930s, and was then rekindled after WWII as the Montgomery County Agricultural Center's annual fair in Gaithersburg. (Montgomery History)
1850-1860: Industrial Revolution/ C&O Canal completed
1850-1860: Industrial Revolution/ C&O Canal completed
By 1860 (according to the census) at least 84 percent of the foreign born were either British (53 percent) or German (30.8 percent). Most of the British were, in fact, Irish, and the German figure understates the German influence, as many of the Swiss and French reported by the census, which was only concerned with nationality by place of birth, were German speakers.
In 1860, a free public school system was established for the first time, with William Henry Farquhar as superintendent.
In addition to the first generation ("foreign born") population recorded by the census, the children and grandchildren of the previous generation of immigrants from England, Scotland, Germany, and other European countries had become established in skilled trades and crafts.
John C. Riley (left), tender at Riley's Lock, seated with Sidney Samuel Connell, level walker for the C&O Canal. The smaller building at left is called a "doghouse:" a shelter used by the lockkeeper to answer lock calls from boats at night without disturbing the family in the main house. (Montgomery History)
1861-1865: Civil War
1861-1865: Civil War
During the Civil War both Union and Confederate troops passed through the county several times, though no major battles were fought here. Union forces occupied various camps to guard against river crossings, but raids and skirmishes were the extent of military action. Nevertheless, the war affected county residents in many – and lasting – ways.
Union troops on the streets of Poolesville, 1862 (Montgomery History)
1873: Metropolitan Branch of the B&O Railroad opens
1873: Metropolitan Branch of the B&O Railroad opens
The Metropolitan Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad began service into Montgomery County, with 30 stops on the line. This led to the development of suburban resorts and communities along this route, as well as improved transportation for farm products.
Train approaching along the Metropolitan line, undated (Montgomery History)
1870s-1880s: Western European immigration
1870s-1880s: Western European immigration
The 1880 census marks the first year that "country of origin" is included in census data. However, only Western European countries are specified; other countries of origin are not necessarily indicated. The collection of data on immigration during this time period is severely hampered by the questions the census bureau chose to ask (and not ask) when enumerating the population. See the Census Data Timeline for more information about how data collection varied over the years.
Cartoon published in Harper's Weekly, 1882 (Library of Congress)
1882: Chinese Exclusion Act becomes law
1882: Chinese Exclusion Act becomes law
This new law prohibited Chinese immigration to the United States and severely limited the mobility and opportunities of current Chinese residents who could no longer bring family members over or apply for citizenship themselves. It stipulated a 10-year ban on Chinese laborers entering the country, and was extended and upheld through various political maneuvering for at least the next 50 years.
View the original Act at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
1890s: Montgomery County suburbs expand
1890s: Montgomery County suburbs expand
The transportation service provided by the Metropolitan Branch starting in 1873 was spotty through the next 15 years due to economic recessions and labor shortages. But by the 1890s, full service along the line was more consistent and had spurred a boom of suburban construction, creating the first "bedroom communities" for commuters who worked in the District. Trolley lines began to supplement transportation into Montgomery County, and these suburban communities began to develop their own businesses and services for the local residents.
"Summer" trolley car of Glen Echo Electric Railway Co. stops below the house of Edwin Baltzley, developer of Glen Echo Heights and National Chautauqua (later Glen Echo Amusement Park), c.1892 (Montgomery History)
1891: The U.S. Bureau of Immigration Established
1891: The U.S. Bureau of Immigration Established
In 1891, Congress created the Bureau of Immigration to oversee the admission of immigrants, including those considered “refugees.” For the first time, limits on the number of immigrants allowed were enforced.
1900s-1910s: Non-European immigration
1900s-1910s: Non-European immigration
Despite the continuing restrictions imposed by the Chinese Exclusion Act, non-European immigrants began relocating to pockets of Montgomery County by the early 20th century. By 1910, immigrants from China and Japan had settled in Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Bethesda as business owners and entrepreneurs. In addition, there was significant immigration from regions of Russia, as people escaped increasing religious discrimination and political unrest.
Street scene from Rockville shows Mr. Lee's laundry business on E. Montgomery Ave., c. 1905 (Montgomery History)
1917-1919: U.S. involvement in World War I
1917-1919: U.S. involvement in World War I
On September 28, 1917, a draft for World War I began, and the first 40 men reported for duty at the Montgomery County Courthouse (visible through the trees on the right) in Rockville. (Montgomery History: Photo by Lewis Reed)
1921-1924: The Quota Acts
1921-1924: The Quota Acts
The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the Immigration Act of 1924, together known as “The Quota Acts,” set specific limits (quotas) on how many immigrants the U.S. would admit from every country each year. These acts made immigration easier for northern and western Europeans and much harder for immigrants from the rest of Europe and other nations. (Political cartoon illustrating the efforts of the quotas courtesy of Library of Congress)
1920s-1930s: The Inter-War Era
1920s-1930s: The Inter-War Era
During this time, the immigrant population in Montgomery County continued to diversify with interesting peaks-- for example, the number of immigrants from both Sweden and Switzerland tripled between 1920 and 1940
At left: The Rio Grande restaurant, opened by Narciso (“Chico”) Diaz, a chef at the Mexican Embassy, who moved from Durango, Mexico to the U.S. during this period, in 1923. He came to D.C. in 1927, opening the first Rio Grande restaurant there in 1939, and then moved it to Rockville in 1945. The restaurant operated out of his house, providing “a disarmingly simple surrounding” and served family-style authentic Mexican dishes. President George H.W. Bush was a diner in 1989.
1941-1945: U.S. involvement in World War II
1941-1945: U.S. involvement in World War II
The lasting and tragic ramifications of World War II, particularly on European and Asian countries, caused waves of immigration for decades to come.
Below: Tire and scrap metal collection for the war effort, in front of the Bethesda Theater in 1942 (Montgomery History)
1943: Chinese Exclusion Act repealed
1943: Chinese Exclusion Act repealed
In 1943, when China was a member of the Allied Nations during World War II, Congress repealed all the immigration exclusion acts and foreign-born Chinese also won the right to seek naturalization. However, quotas remained, leaving a yearly limit of 105 Chinese immigrants. The so-called "national origin system," with various modifications, lasted until Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1965.
Dr. C.K. Liang, a senior technical expert chemist, working in the Chemistry Division Laboratory of the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, 1945. Dr. Liang was sent here by the Chinese government under the auspices of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration to do various research work and study post-war problems. (Library of Congress)
1945-1965: Post-WWII Global Migration
1945-1965: Post-WWII Global Migration
Between 1945 and 1965 approximately 2,338 foreign born residents from 110 different countries applied for U.S. citizenship in Montgomery County. The largest numbers came from Germany, England, Canada, Hungary, Italy, China, Greece, and France, along with representation from Latvia, Japan, Cuba, Philippines, Morocco, Columbia, Spain, Ukraine, India, El Salvador, Sudan, and many others.
A 1946 Montgomery Independent Standard article announced the first French war bride to move to Silver Spring, Mrs. Charles A. Olsen, formerly Gisele Louise Aubin.
“After nearly a year in this country, Mrs. Olsen is more enthusiastic than ever about it. Upon her arrival she knew only a few words of English and had to depend upon her husband to do most of her interpreting for her. But now she can hold her own with any American girl, and even go most of them one better because of her enthusiastic approval of the United States and Silver Spring in particular. When asked recently if she weren’t homesick for France and if she wouldn’t like to return, the answer was an emphatic, 'No!'” [errors in original text corrected]
1948: U.S. passes the Displaced Persons Act
1948: U.S. passes the Displaced Persons Act
Harry Truman signed the Displaced Persons Act in 1948 to assist in the resettlement of thousands of European refugees who had been displaced from their home countries due to World War II. According to the act, 200,000 displaced persons could immigrate to the U.S. above the normal quota restrictions. More than 80,000 visas were issued to Jewish displaced persons, though as Truman noted when he reluctantly signed it, the language of the bill prohibited immigrants who had entered a refugee camp after December 22, 1945, effectively denying access to many Jews who had survived the Holocaust then subsequently fled Poland after that date. The language was later amended in 1950 to remove the cutoff date.
Harry S. Truman, who signed the Displaced Persons Act in 1958
Montgomery County resident Talia Brodecki holds a portrait of her relatives who were Holocaust survivors (Gazette photo by Dan Gross, 1993)
1950s: Immigration from Latin America and the Caribbean
1950s: Immigration from Latin America and the Caribbean
The earliest waves of immigrants from Latin America arrived from Cuba and the Dominican Republic beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, joining Puerto Ricans and South Americans from a handful of countries such as Bolivia and Peru. This early wave of immigrants included professionals and students seeking higher education.
Richard and Teresa Wright at the University of Illinois, 1959 (Photo courtesy of Teresa Wright) Read more of Teresa's story here.
1950-1953: U.S. involvement in the Korean Conflict
1950-1953: U.S. involvement in the Korean Conflict
1955-1975: U.S. involvement in the Vietnam Conflict
1955-1975: U.S. involvement in the Vietnam Conflict
The Vo family, from Vietnam. Mr. Vo (center) owned and operated a bicycle repair shop in Kensington. (Montgomery History: Sentinel photo morgue)
1965: U.S. passes the Immigration Act
1965: U.S. passes the Immigration Act
Signed by president Lyndon B. Johnson on October 3, 1965 (as pictured below), this historic legislation removed long-standing restrictions, allowing more people from non-European countries to migrate. Effective July 1, 1968, Congress enacted a legal framework that prioritized highly skilled immigrants and opened the door for people with family already living in the United States. The law capped visas at an overall limit of 290,000 per year and a maximum of 20,000 granted from any one country. Following passage of the bill, annual immigration jumped to nearly a half million people, and only 20% came from Europe.
1960s-1970s: Immigration from South and Central America
1960s-1970s: Immigration from South and Central America
This wave of immigration included many refugees seeking an escape from various economic and political crises in South and Central American countries. In addition, it reflects the recruitment of domestic workers, mostly women, by Central American diplomatic and international staff starting in the 1960s and continuing over the next few decades.
Juana Gonzalez, who came to the U.S. in 1978 to work as a housekeeper for a diplomatic family. She later opened her own restaurant business. (Photo courtesy of Juana Gonzalez) Read more of Juana's story here.
1976: U.S. and Montgomery County both celebrate their Bicentennials
1976: U.S. and Montgomery County both celebrate their Bicentennials
1980s-1990s: Immigration from War-Torn Countries in Latin America
1980s-1990s: Immigration from War-Torn Countries in Latin America
Multiple armed conflicts in countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua during this time compelled individuals and families to escape the violence through migration.
Neftali Granados, who moved to Montgomery County from El Salvador (Photo courtesy of Granados family)
Fernando Ruiz and his daughters, Claudine and Jennie, prepare to ride their Spanish Paso Fino horses in the 1989 4th of July Parade. Ruiz and his family emigrated from Colombia and established "Paso Farm" in Clarksburg. (Gazette photo by Dan Gross)
2001: Gilchrist Center for Cultural Diversity opens
2001: Gilchrist Center for Cultural Diversity opens
One of many examples of Montgomery County’s commitment to welcoming and serving its immigrant population, the Charles W. Gilchrist Center for Cultural Diversity opened in Wheaton, Maryland on September 8, 2001 to serve the growing immigrant population. Now known as the the Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center, four locations operate across the county to offer free classes, referrals to support services, citizenship application assistance, and more. Named for former County Executive Charles W. Gilchrist who "envisioned the changing demographics of the County and encouraged everyone to welcome the new faces and cultures that were beginning to redefine our community."
2011-2017: Five Global Sister Cities established for Montgomery County
2011-2017: Five Global Sister Cities established for Montgomery County
Montgomery Sister Cities were established to connect the county with the countries of origin of its residents, enriching understanding of the cultures and economies of those home countries to build America’s most welcoming community. Current Sister Cities and their establishment dates:
2011 Morazan, El Salvador
2012 Gondar, Ethiopia
2014 Xi'An, China and Hyderabad, India
2017 Daejeon, South Korea
2012: State of Maryland officially recognizes the Piscataway Indian Nation and the Piscataway Conoy Tribe
2012: State of Maryland officially recognizes the Piscataway Indian Nation and the Piscataway Conoy Tribe
See pictures from this event and read more about the Piscataway Indian Nation on the Land Acknowledgement page on this site.
Young man photographed by Lynne Bulhack at the dedication of the Native American Trail. (Sugarloaf Regional Trails, 2016)
2020: Montgomery County's population exceeds one million people
2020: Montgomery County's population exceeds one million people
According to census data, 1/3 of Montgomery County's residents were born in another country and nearly 40% speak another language besides English. As of 2022, four of Montgomery County's cities made the top-ten list of most diverse places in the United States: Germantown, Gaithersburg, Silver Spring, and Rockville.
2026: U.S. and Montgomery County will both celebrate their Semiquincentennials (250th anniversaries)
2026: U.S. and Montgomery County will both celebrate their Semiquincentennials (250th anniversaries)
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