Montrose School

A one room school was constructed in the vicinity of the Montrose School in 1860. By 1879, due to population growth associated with the opening of the B&O Railroad, the Montrose area had the highest population between Bethesda and Rockville. With an enrollment passing 50, the one room school house could not support students.

The Montgomery County School Board approved Thomas C Groomes to design a new, two room school house. When it was finished, the schoolhouse had classes for those in first to seventh grade. The school remained open through 1960, although it closed in 1918 due to a teacher shortage. There were additions in the rear (north) side of the school, with a major one in 1948 when a third classroom to the north was added along with indoor plumbing. The distinction between the original classrooms and the third classroom can distinctly be seen on aerial maps and in person.

In 1960, the facility was converted into a special education school, then in 1966, it was used as office space for MCPS. In 1970, the schoolhouse was abandoned and left in a state of disrepair. It was described as deplorable and had "a leaky roof, broken windows, peeling paint, and damaged plaster". The land was sold to the State Highway Administration and was going to be demolished, however, the organization Peerless Rockville stepped in and saved the building. The SHA kept the land but sold the building to Peerless Rockville for one dollar. Peerless Rockville raised funds to restore the building and is now successfully once again being used as a school.

Memorandum, "Maryland Historical Trust State Historic Trusts Form, M: 30-2," n.d., accessed January 1, 2021, https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/Montgomery/M;%2030-2.pdf

Montrose School, Peerless Rockville. Accessed January 1st, 2021, https://www.peerlessrockville.org/about/our-historic-properties/montrose-school/.