Damascus
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Black Ankle | Claggettsville | Damascus | Friendship | Razorblade | Holsey Road | Howard Chapel | Moxleyville | Pleasant Grove | Razorblade | Zeiglertown | Racial Violence | References
Big Woods
Dickerson, Md​
Black Ankle
Claggettsville (linked w/Moxleyville, Zeiglertown)
Damascus (connected with Razorblade, Friendship)
Friendship (connected with Razorblade, Damascus) (same as Friendship Heights in Clarke-Powell research?)
Holsey Road
Howard Chapel
King's Valley
Moxleyville (linked with Claggettsville and Zeiglertown) (is this the same as Moxley Rd. on Clarke-Powell doc?)
Pleasant Grove
Purdum
The Pleasant Grove Church was built in 1868.
Razor Blade (connected with Friendship, Damascus)
Zeiglertown (linked with Claggettsville)
Blocktown
Boyds, Md
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If you have more information or a story about this community, please contact us!
Bucklodge
Martinsburg
Dickerson, Md
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Owensville
Dickerson, Md
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Sellman
Barnesville, Md
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Thompson’s Corner
We can't find any information on Thompson's Corner. Please contact us if you have any stories to share!
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References
​Buglass, Ralph. 2026. “Montgomery County, Maryland’s Historic African-American Communities.” MontgomeryHistory.org. Maryland: Montgomery History. January 2026. https://montgomeryhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Montgomery-County-African-American-communities.pdf. Cornell Law School. 2018.
“Eminent Domain.” LII / Legal Information Institute. Cornell Law School. November 13, 2018.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/eminent_domain.Damascus Heritage Society Museum. n.d.
“Holsey Road and Its Families: History of a Road.” Https://Dhsm.org/History/. Damascus, MD. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://dhsm.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Holsey-Road-and-Its-Families.pdf.
Geehrig, Joey. 2020. “ Poolesville BLM March.” Youtube. June 12, 2020. https://youtu.be/jpEv3R84DQw?si=-hMkEpjC-ODkXiEh.
Gehreng, Joey. 2026. “Ten Days in September 1956: School Desegregation in Poolesville, MD.” Youtube. 2026. https://youtu.be/KcVrshfqliY?si=BcKZPkRtNjEqE0VU.
Johnson, Suzanne. 2024. Conversations, 2023-2025 Interview by Neile Whitney. Sugarland Ethnohistory Project.
Kneebone, Prof. John. n.d. “See the Rise of the KKK in the U.S., 1915-1940.” Mapping the Second Ku Klux Klan, 1915-1940. Virginia Commonwealth University. Accessed February 15, 2026. https://labs.library.vcu.edu/klan/.
“Lynching Victims: George W. Peck, John Diggs-Dorsey & Sidney Randolph.” 2023. MoCoLMP.org. 2023. https://www.mocolmp.org/victims-of-racial-terror.
Martenet, Simon J. 1865. “Martenet and Bond’s Map of Montgomery County, Maryland.” LOC.gov. Library of Congress. https://lccn.loc.gov/2002620533.
Martin, Charlie. 2025. “The History of Montgomery County’s Sundown Towns.” The Black and White. The Student News Site of Walt Whitman High School. June 27, 2025. https://theblackandwhite.net/81235/feature/the-history-of-montgomery-countys-sundown-towns/.
McCann, Adam. 2021. “Most Diverse Cities in the U.S.” WalletHub. April 19, 2021. https://wallethub.com/edu/most-diverse-cities/12690.
Melanie Alnwick. 2023. “Racist ‘KKK’ Graffiti Found at Bethesda Elementary School | FOX 5 DC.” YouTube. FOX 5 Washington DC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he4B3I1NEiE.
Montgomery Planning. 2023. “Mapping Segregation Project Racial Restrictive Covenants and Black Homeownership.” Montgomery County Planning. 2023. https://mcplanning.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0d26456118d34a14b2d27aec8d6f2b1a.
Nelson, Robert K. 2025. “Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America,.” Mapping Inequality. University of Richmond. 2025. https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining.
Onley, Dawn. 2020. “Grandson of a Slave, Maryland Centenarian Still Fights for Black History and Civil Rights.” TheGrio. April 17, 2020. https://thegrio.com/2020/04/17/grandson-slave-centenarian-black-history-civil-rights/.
Staff. 2020. “A Collection of Montgomery County Protest Photos.” Bethesda Magazine. June 8, 2020. https://bethesdamagazine.com/2020/06/08/a-collection-of-montgomery-county-protest-photos/.
Vorhees, Jim. 2026. “A Look at the History of Racial Violence in Montgomery County.” MoCoLMP. January 23, 2026. https://www.mocolmp.org/post/racial-violence-in-montgomery-county.