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Garrett Park - A Natural Wonder
Garrett Park - A Natural Wonder
In the late 1800s, when the idea of suburbia was still in its infancy, a small town was just beginning in Montgomery County, Maryland on the outskirts of the City of Washington. From its earliest days, Garrett Park was celebrated for its natural beauty and surroundings:
"It abounds in limpid springs of pure, cool, delicious water, and is well drained by numerous small streams. The principal one of which is 'Rock Creek,' famous for its picturesque environments, meanders for nearly two miles through the boundaries of Garrett Park. ... In landscape views it embraces the choicest gifts of nature, forest clad hills and verdant dales, dotted and enlivened with pretty country village homes."
Source: "Garrett Park: Brief Description of Where it is and What it is," 1890. Garrett Park Town Archives.
Preserving Natural Resources
Preserving Natural Resources
Although early residents began building homes and settling in Garrett Park in the early 1890s, it was not incorporated until May 1898. Within weeks of the Town becoming a legal municipality, the newly elected Town Council began passing ordinances to address all aspects of Town management. Within the first several years of incorporation, the Council not only passed ordinances to establish property taxes, general building regulations, and the keeping of the peace, but also ordinances to protect and preserve the Town's natural resources, including trees and shrubbery and song birds.
Photo: Unidentified women sit near the spring, circa 1895. Galloway Collection of Historic Photographs, Garrett Park Town Archives.
Photo: Unidentified girls play on Kenilworth Avenue in Garrett Park, circa 1895. Galloway Collection of Historic Photographs, Garrett Park Town Archives.
Excerpt Ordinance #4:
Preservation of Trees and Shrubbery on the Streets, Avenues and Reservations
Passed May 27, 1898
"Section I. Be it enacted, and it is hereby ordained by the Council of Garrett Park, that, if any person shall break, wound, destroy, or in any manner injure any of the trees or shrubbery now planted and set or which may hereafter be planted and set, on any of the streets, avenues, parks, or public reservations in the town of Garrett Park, each and every person so offending shall, on conviction, be liable, for each offense, to a fine of not less than One nor more than Five Dollars and stand committed to the County jail of Montgomery County until said fine and the costs be paid."
Source: Ordinance No. 4. Ordinance Collection, Garrett Park Town Archives.
Excerpt Ordinance #16:
Protection of Song Birds
Passed March 13, 1902
"Section I. Be it enacted and it is hereby ordained by the Council of Garrett Park, Maryland, by virtue of the power and authority vested in it by the Act of 1898, Chapter 453, of the General Assembly of Maryland that, from and after the date of the passage of hereof, it shall not be lawful for any person, or persons, or corporation to kill, destroy, maim, trap or take or to pursue with intent to kill, destroy, maim, trap or take by any device, contrivance or means whatever, any song bird within the corporate limits of the town of Garrett Park, Maryland, and any person or corporation, violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall, upon conviction, forfeit and pay a fine not exceeding the sum of five dollars ($5.00) for each and every such offense and stand committed to the jail of Montgomery County until said find and costs be paid."
Source: Ordinance No. 16. Ordinance Collection, Garrett Park Town Archives.
Photo: John Brighenti from Rockville, MD, United States, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Unfortunately, early Town records do not reveal what role, if any, Garrett Park women had in proposing these early ordinances. As was common at the time, the Town's Mayor and council members were all men. In later years, however, Garrett Park women found other ways to have their voices heard and became leaders in celebrating and preserving the natural resources and beauty of the Town and beyond.
The following pages highlight just some of these women and their contributions.
Source: Background photograph of two men at an intersection, circa 1895. Galloway Collection of Historic Photographs, Garrett Park Town Archives. Photographer unknown.
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