Potomac
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The Potomac area...
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Bells Mill
Poolesville, Md
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Big Pines
Photo by Doga Dogan on Unsplash
Brickyard (linked with Cropley)
Potomac, MD​
Lawton Garner, William Gibbs, and Joseph Toney were the founders of the historic Black community of Brickyard, buying three acres of land in 1884 with the intention of using ½-acre to build a schoolhouse. The community predated the “Brickyard” name and company by ten years, and in 1900, half of the men in the community worked on the Washington Aqueduct.
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Most of the men worked on the railroad, or on the Aqueduct, which also began being built in 1884. National Park Service research and checking censuses suggests that the men did not work at the Brickyard, though they lived near it.
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​The Brickyard Colored School can be seen on this 1920 Baist map near the Potomac Brick Company to the west of what are now Brickyard Rd. and MacArthur Blvd. The neighborhood is now full of luxury homes.
Brickyard HBC, 1879 Hopkins map
Cropley (linked with Brickyard)
Potomac, MD
From the same 1918 Baist map, Black owner Mr. C. Frye, who owns five acres of land, lives in what is presumably Cropley, about a mile from the Brickyard community and school.
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By 1930, Joe and his wife, Carestion Toney are able to support a home worth $2,000 doing odd jobs in the area. Few of the Black residents had consistent, named work–most were scattered among the white community doing odd jobs or living-in as domestic servants. There is one Black man nearby who works as a laborer in the post office.
Cropley (linked with Brickyard).
1904 Baist map
Glen Echo
Glen Echo, MD
MacArthur Blvd.
Potomac, MD
Oaklyn Drive
Potomac, MD
​Oaklyn Drive is now a luxury development off of MacArthur Blvd.
Over Cross the Creek
Potomac, MD
​If anyone has any information on this community, please let us know.
Piney Meeting House
Potomac, MD
Pleasant View / Quince Orchard Colored School
North Potomac, MD
Quince Orchard Colored School 2025.
Photo by Neile Whitney
Poplar Grove
North Potomac, MD
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Archival photo courtesy of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC)
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Photo at top of page is of Poplar Grove today (2025), by Neile Whitney
Scotland / Snakes Den
Potomac, MD
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Seven Locks
Potomac, MD
“It was believed that Mr. Moore created the first subdivision in Cabin John in 1885 by selling plots on Seven Locks Road (Conroy Road) to ten African American families worked for him on his farm." (Armstrong 1947, Offutt 1995).
Although Mr. Moore offered five acres of land many did not purchase up to five acres because each plot varied in size and price. For example, Lloyd Jackson bought his two-and-a-quarter acres for $56 (MCCC 1885: a) and George and
Sarilla Scott bought four-and-half acres for $114 (MCCC 1885: b). All of the African American families‟ properties bordered Seven Locks Road (Conroy Road).
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Another family, Charles and Christina Brown, purchased their property from J.D.W. Moore on Dec 21 of 1885 for the $101 (MCCC 1885). Charles and Christina lived on their property along with their adopted daughter Lena Brown. (Jones 2010, 13)
The Flats
Potomac, MD
Quince Orchard Colored School 2025.
Photo by Neile Whitney
The Pines
Potomac, MD
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Archival photo courtesy of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC)
Tobytown
North Potomac, MD
Tobytown residents worked on the C&O Canal and on neighboring farms. When the canal came through, part of their land was seized by the county via eminent domain.
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Tobytown lobbied the county for improved bus access. Residents of Tobytown didn’t have access to public buses until 2016. Until then, the nearest bus was in Potomac, over 5 miles away.
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Archival photo courtesy of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC)
Travilah
North Potomac, MD
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References
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