House and Home
In 1915, a typical house in Montgomery County contained 700 to 1,200 square feet of living space, two or three bedrooms and probably no indoor bathrooms. By the early 20th century, many people constructed new houses according to plans purchased from a catalog (like Sears & Roebuck), choosing from a range of floor plans that allowed for additions to be built as a family grew. Stately Victorian homes as well as more humble log-cabin farmhouses built in the 19th century still dominated the landscape, and were often inherited from generation to generation.
Here are some houses on which Lewis Reed trained his lens in the first decade of the 1900s-- some identified, some not--but all a fascinating glimpse into the everyday world as it was back then.
MARTIN THOMPSON HOUSE, 1907
This classic hewn-log home was probably built by James Martin Thompson (1825– 1902), Lewis Reed’s maternal grandfather, who was a carpenter and a farmer. The family named the farm “Pleasant Hills," according to the common practice of giving a name to homestead property. The house was accessed from Darnestown Road, across from the Thomas Kelley farm, and found at the end of a long tree-lined drive.
The above photo won an honorable mention for Lewis Reed in a contest sponsored by Rotary International.
PHILIP REED HOUSE
Philip Reed (1845-1918), father of Lewis Reed, was born in Darnestown. He was a blacksmith, meaning he not only shod horses--a vital service-- but also forged tools necessary for all kinds of work in the late-19th and early-20th centuries: everything from ladles to crowbars. As many blacksmiths and wheelwrights were multi-trained craftsmen, Philip was also skilled as a cabinet maker. His shop stood on the same property as his farmhouse, as seen in the photo to the right. Other views of his family around their home can be seen below.
Above: the Reed family enjoying a sunny day on the front porch.
Top left: several Reed boys in front of their house (Lewis Reed is on the far right)
Bottom left: Lewis Reed's sister Mary Geneva poses in the road with a rocking chair she seems to have taken from the porch. There's a very fancy birdhouse mounted on a pole next to the pine tree behind her.
Edgar (above), and Cathrine (right) relax inside the new family home in Rockville.
Following the death of his wife, Philip Reed purchased Lot #3 on the east side of Park Avenue in Rockville, and built a house there. The Reed family moved to this house in 1910, leaving behind the farmhouse in Darnestown.
WILLIAM EDWARD VIETT HOUSE
Born of German parents, William Edward Viett (1877-1929) married fellow German immigrant Irene Oorukens in 1898 and had three daughters, two of whom survived to adulthood. He was a lifelong resident of Rockville and active there in civil service, appointed as a local constable from 1910-1914 and twice elected Sheriff of Montgomery County, in 1909 and 1911. In 1912 he was appointed Chief of Police of the Union Railway Station in Washington, D.C. He also worked as a plumber and pipe fitter.
The following photos give a rare glimpse of what daily life looked like inside the Viett home in the early 1900s. Exterior photographs of houses were already rare in this time period, but photos of interior rooms are even more rare.
Above: street view of the Viett home, c. 1910. A doll buggy is visible near the front steps.
Top right: the front entryway, with a unique hall clock near the landing.
Bottom right: the front parlor (across the hall from the entryway above), used for receiving guests and displaying family portraits.
Possibly a close up view of the dining room with many decorations and heirlooms on all available surfaces. The decor is in line with a streamlined Edwardian style, as opposed to a more cluttered Victorian one.
A main floor room arranged for in-house concerts, with piano and plenty of chairs for listeners. Note the picture rail encircling these rooms on the main floor, a classic element of 19th and early-20th century homes. This was to prevent damage to the walls by suspending all artwork and other hanging items from hooks tethered to the railing.
FOLKS AT HOME
In the early 1900s, families rarely took their own photographs. Most people would never even consider owning a camera, which then was an expensive and complicated piece of equipment. If they wanted a picture of their family or their home, they hired a photographer like Lewis Reed to take it for them. Reed frequently photographed families in front of their houses, capturing domestic life and providing a glimpse of what everyday life was like in Montgomery County in days gone by.
Unfortunately, Lewis Reed didn't capture the names of any of these families below, nor the locations of their homes. If you recognize any of these properties, please send us a comment (link found at the bottom of this page) and let us know!
An unusual view of the backyard of a house, with its screened-in porch and children relaxing in big floppy hats.
Below: this family is clearly dressed in their Sunday best on a winter day. The sidewalk in front of their house is made of wooden planking.
Above: This unusual group of people posing at the back door of an unidentified building may be running a store. The crates and debris on the ground, and the back side of a possible sign on the roof indicate a mercantile rather than a home.
Below: Several women can be seen on this house's front porch, with its flowering vines strung from trellis to rail.
This modest house has had an addition put on--it looks rather new and perhaps Father wished to show it off. Here, a portion of the family poses on the front porch (possibly with a set of inlaws)...
...and here a different grouping are at the side door. In this less formal shot, there are far more children, as well as two dogs and a cat in the picture.
These photos are very interesting in that they depict a small child posing with likely her nursemaid or a house servant who is African American, and still a child herself. Above, a view of the front porch...
...and the same house with the girls now playing in the side yard. The smaller child is in a buggy styled to look like a sleigh.
One downside to photographing an entire house is you lose the detail of each family member. These families clearly cared more about seeing their faces than their houses. Notice the youngest girl above couldn't keep still long enough, so her face is blurred. There is a chicken near the steps in the photo to the right.
Darnestown Houses
These are photos Lewis Reed took from the neighborhoods where he lived, in and around Darnestown. He may have walked around town taking these photographs of houses, or he may have taken them while riding around on his motorcycle. We know they stood in Darnestown, but don't know any more about them. Do you recognize any of these homes that may still be standing today?
Above: a few family members can be seen relaxing on the shady porch of this stately home.
At left, a couple old friends chat in the front garden, and (above left) two young girls express interest in Lewis Reed's camera while their father looks on from the porch.
Above left, the women of the family pose for the camera (while a young man photobombs from behind a bush). Above right, the women pose in the side yard. Note these two houses have very similar designs, but the one above does not have a porch out front, the one at right is narrower (only two windows across the front) and the chimneys are differently positioned within the floor plan. Below right, another house in a similar style.
Main Street in Darnestown? c. 1903
This is an unusual shot-- one of Lewis Reed's motorcycle buddies is waiting for him left of center, near either a road or a walkway. At right is possibly a farm supply store-- there are several hand plows stacked up on the unrailed porch, which looks like the entrance to a mercantile. The building behind the motorcycle looks more like a store or hotel than a private home, especially as it is positioned, facing the building on the right, and has a prominent double porch. Can you identify where this photo may have been taken?