Montgomery County: Then and Now

Before opening his Dodge dealership in 1915, Lewis Reed was already a well-known photographer in Montgomery County. At the turn of the century, before automobiles were even around, he toured the East Coast on his motorcycle, taking photographs of landscapes, monuments, historic places, and people. He had a great eye for composition and seemed to be drawn to historic events and landmark locations. A self-taught photographer, Lewis developed all of his own photographs. He had a darkroom in his house and worked at night to develop the negatives.

Almost all the photo prints from his albums were taken during the early part of the 20th century (c. 1900-1930). His entire collection spans more than six decades and showcases his love for people, automobiles, events, landmarks, and travel throughout the first half of the 20th century. Today, his photography of rural Maryland life and Montgomery County is iconic. His photos have appeared on interpretive wayside markers, in newspapers, magazines, and in local and national historical television programming.

Montgomery History has featured dozens more of Lewis Reed's Montgomery County photographs, provided by his granddaughter Jeanne Gartner, in a previous online exhibit called "Montgomery County, 1900-1930: Through the Lens of Lewis Reed"

Barry Gartner, like his grandfather, is a native of Montgomery County and shares the same love of motorcycles, automobiles, and photography. He was one of the third-generation owners of Reed Brothers Dodge, founded by Lewis Reed in 1915 –continuing a legacy that lasted almost a century (1915-2012). He inherited his grandfather's love for tinkering with cars which led him down the path of restoring cars as a hobby. Over the years, he has restored a ‘66 Dodge Charger; a ‘28 Dodge Brothers Standard Six; and a ‘46 Dodge Deluxe which was affectionately known as "Charity." 

Barry also loves the ocean. A snorkeler from an early age, he usually carried a "disposable" underwater camera when on trips. It soon became apparent that diving down 20-30 feet to get a photo of that big fish (on one breath of air), regularly resulted in a photo of "ALL water, and NO fish." This led to SCUBA certification and advanced training courses that included deep dives, wreck dives, cave dives, night diving, and rescue & recovery. He and his wife Suzanne have traveled to many parts of the world, from Australia's Great Barrier Reef to Sub-Saharan Africa, taking photos both above and below the water's surface. They have enjoyed living on the historic Waring-Crawford farm property for the last 26 years, in the original farmhouse which was built in the mid-1800s, and look forward to the honor of preserving a piece of Montgomery County's history.