This area of the town is still called the Sacred Circle even though the Tabernacle no longer exists. The Sacred Circle (otherwise called an irregular polygon) was established for the second ever camp meeting in 1874 with a platform in the center for speakers, tent sites around the perimeter, and six avenues branching out from it. The Tabernacle was built in the center of the circle for the 1877 camp. The change from the first camp meeting in 1873 to the camp meeting in 1874 was, in fact, the Circle. Most of the previous tent sites has been changed in order to create the Circle and the avenues had mostly been changed. Standing here it could be difficult to imagine the summer of 1874; the camp had about 250 campers and around 10,000 visitors from around the area and out of Washington, D. C. that summer. The Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association (WGCMA) had been struggling with proper drainage of the camp area since the previous year and had fluctuating relations with the Metropolitan Branch of the B &amp; O Railroad. Despite these issues, the WGCMA used the Sacred Circle throughout its time as a camp meeting. By 1881, attendance and visitation had grown so much that the WGCMA built the Albany Hotel where the Women’s Club now stands. Around this same time shareholders and attendees began building permanent cottages on their plots. By 1885, the WGCMA had contracted the civil engineer J. C. Lang to undertake a survey to subdivide the unused land of Washington Grove into more tent sites, cottage sites, and, for the first time, specified common areas for recreation. The Circle is still in use by the town today for recreation and social gatherings. You can see the town’s Independence Day Parade making its way through the heart of the sacred circle in 2008. Notice how no cars drive through the circle but drive around the outer edge behind the houses. The trees here have long been protected through the WGCMA’s actions of nature conservation and similar actions by the town of Washington Grove. Images will be added after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and I can resume research.

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Planned out and constructed in 1874, this is Washington Grove’s Sacred Circle. Now it is a place of social gathering and recreation. It had previously been the first gathering place in the camp meetings to worship and listen to the biblical preaching. As you look at this site, walk around or explore on Google images and imagine the efforts that went into preserving a space like this.

The Sacred Circle 

This walking tour is the product of my Masters Thesis and focuses on the town of Washington Grove, Maryland. This town started in 1873 as the Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association and was incorporated as the town of Washington Grove in 1937. Explore the tour to see highlights on the town's history, conservation and preservation practices, and their past relationships with the African American camp meeting of Emory Grove!

The Emory Grove United Methodist Church is the only building left standing from the Emory Grove Community and their camp meeting days. If you look around, you will see apartment buildings and suburban development. You do not see the one of the oldest Black communities in the county. The Emory Grove Camp Meeting and the Emory Grove Community were established between 1864 and 1870 when freed slaves moved from Redland and Goshen and purchased land. The first church and school started in 1876 at the home of John Dorsey; a Civil War veteran who had begun working in the Lord’s service after he won his freedom. An African American public-school system was inaugurated in 1872 and the camp meetings were generally a place for people to gather for song and praise services.Although it is cited as one of the more popular camp meetings in Maryland, in 1876 the people of Emory Grove had lost the right to use the campground that had been in use for two previous years. The newspapers of the time did not report why this happened, but the camp was able to resume in 1879. During the interim time the Christian Advocate called on Washington Grove to open their camp meeting to the people of Emory Grove but not to help them maintain their autonomy. Washington Grove then printed an invitation on July 25, 1877 in the Montgomery County Sentinel for the people from Emory Gove to worship there. If you look at the photographs attached to this site, you can see that African Americans did come to Washington Grove but not if they stayed.The camp meetings of Emory Grove ended in the 1960s and the land was largely rebuilt in the 1970s. The Emory Grove community is now spread out over the state but the congregation is still thriving. Images will be added after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and I can resume research.

Founded in March of 1878, this church is one of the only visible markers left for the community of Emory Grove which is one of the oldest African American communities in Montgomery County, Maryland. The original church was demolished in 1900 and the current building was completed in 1903 to serve the congregation of the Emory Grove United Methodist Church.

Emory Grove United Methodist Church

This area of the town is still called the Sacred Circle even though the Tabernacle no longer exists. The Sacred Circle (otherwise called an irregular polygon) was established for the second ever camp meeting in 1874 with a platform in the center for speakers, tent sites around the perimeter, and six avenues branching out from it. The Tabernacle was built in the center of the circle for the 1877 camp. The change from the first camp meeting in 1873 to the camp meeting in 1874 was, in fact, the Circle. Most of the previous tent sites has been changed in order to create the Circle and the avenues had mostly been changed. Standing here it could be difficult to imagine the summer of 1874; the camp had about 250 campers and around 10,000 visitors from around the area and out of Washington, D. C. that summer. The Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association (WGCMA) had been struggling with proper drainage of the camp area since the previous year and had fluctuating relations with the Metropolitan Branch of the B &amp; O Railroad. Despite these issues, the WGCMA used the Sacred Circle throughout its time as a camp meeting. By 1881, attendance and visitation had grown so much that the WGCMA built the Albany Hotel where the Women’s Club now stands. Around this same time shareholders and attendees began building permanent cottages on their plots. By 1885, the WGCMA had contracted the civil engineer J. C. Lang to undertake a survey to subdivide the unused land of Washington Grove into more tent sites, cottage sites, and, for the first time, specified common areas for recreation.  The Circle is still in use by the town today for recreation and social gatherings. You can see the town’s Independence Day Parade making its way through the heart of the sacred circle in 2008. Notice how no cars drive through the circle but drive around the outer edge behind the houses. The trees here have long been protected through the WGCMA’s actions of nature conservation and similar actions by the town of Washington Grove. Images will be added after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and I can resume research.

This building has housed many events, had many purposes, and helped a lot of people in Washington Grove. After the original GAA clubhouse burnt down in 1908, the GAA sent a delegation to the President of the Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association (WGCMA), Major Samuel Hamilton Walker, to build a new clubhouse for the GAA which the President’s four daughters happened to be in! The GAA’s main focus was on tennis and track as Washington Grove had clay tennis courts (and still does right around the corner). The women of the GAA competed throughout Montgomery County, in Washington, D. C., and in different Washington Grove meets. During this time, the Ladies Guild of the WGCMA came out of the home church in Washington, D.C. and was very active in Washington Grove during the summers. Within twenty years of its organization, the GAA began to expand their cause and became the Woman’s Club of Washington Grove in 1926. It was the first women’s organization to be solely made out of the desires of full-time Washington Grove Residents. It has its roots in meetings as early as 1910 and still has meetings today! Even before their organization in 1926, the Woman’s Club was very active in the war effort during World War I. During the Great Depression, when camp meeting attendance was dropping significantly, the Woman’s Club raised money to donate to the WGCMA general fund and increased their community outreach to help boost morale. The Woman’s Club planned marionette shows, carnival games, evening parties, rummage sales, road refurbishments, and even invited the Orchestra of Washington to play in order to keep the spirits of the WGCMA and its residents lifted. Today, the Woman’s Club still seeks to promote community engagement and to improve the conditions in Washington Grove. They host many events throughout the year to help the community stay connected. They also have several outreach projects they donate and contribute to. I encourage you to explore the links below to learn more about the Woman’s Club of Washington Grove and the town itself. Images will be added after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and I can resume research.

The current Woman’s Club building originally started as an athletic club built in 1909. Through the years, the Girl’s Athletic Association (GAA), the Ladies Guild, and the Women’s Society became the Woman’s Club. The Woman’s Club had one mission: to promote more community spirit and better feelings. They were able to accomplish this in a variety of ways and still do so today!

The Woman's Club

Renamed McCathran Hall in 1957, after the first mayor of the town Roy McCathran, this building was officially dedicated as the town hall in 1973. After the Auditorium’s demolition in 1963, McCathran Hall became the center of the town’s social activity. The original section of the building is actually an octagonal hall, designed by architect A. L. Harris in 1901, with a square meeting room along the west side. Editions to the building formed a wing from the north side of the meeting room. In 1996, the town elected to build a one-story addition to the building with renovations for office space and for the housing of the municipal archives. Today, McCathran Hall is used for a variety of events. Feel free to watch the video link attached and read the articles as well while walking around the hall! Images will be added after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and I can resume research.

Built in 1902, McCathran Hall was originally constructed as the Assembly Hall to hold the growing camp meeting attendees, hold year-round visitors or residents indoors, accommodate the Chautauqua activities (educational programs and secular entertainment), and function as a chapel. However, in 1905, the Chautauqua meetings grew so much that the Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association built the Auditorium (with a capacity of 1,400) in Woodward Park.

McCathran Hall 

301 First Avenue. Originally from Chicago, Mimi came to Washington Grove in early 1988 because she saw a newspaper advertisement for a listed house in Washington Grove. Although the advertised house did not fit her taste, 301 First Avenue was for sale and it captured her heart. For five years Mimi rented out the house and was able to move in during the mid-1990s. Throughout the early 2000s, Mimi renovated her home to include a new basement, kitchen, porch, roof, and more appropriate siding. Mimi’s goal was to bring the house to its former self and make it more livable for a year-round stay. Today, the house features the iconic double-door entrance, evoking the tent flaps of the earliest summer canvas tents in Washington Grove, and were once a standard of the Carpenter Gothic cottages you see around you. To answer two of Mimi’s most frequently asked questions: yes the openings in the porch floor and roof do need to be enlarged every few years to accommodate the ever-growing tree; and yes the windows in the arched frame above those double doors are operational by means of pulleys! Images will be added after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and I can resume research.

This house is the home of Emilia (Mimi) Style’s, one of Washington Grove’s non-native residents. As you can see, the tree growing through the porch makes this house look extremely unique from the outside! It is unique all around because of the love and care Mimi has put into it.

Emilia (Mimi) Styles’ House

The Washington Grove Volunteer Sign Restoration Project is a point of pride for Washington Grove residents. The project has its roots in the time after Susan Van Nostrand noticed how the signs had fallen into disrepair over the years. It really began when Gale Littlefield saved the wooden signs from being auctioned off during a Women’s Club meeting. Eventually, Van Nostrand came forward with the restoration and preservation idea in October of 2017. The group of project volunteers each have different tasks like cleaning the signs, repainting them, and making them reflective. For more information on the restoration process from the volunteer’s themselves, please watch the attached videos on the project! Images will be added after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and I can resume research.

Have you noticed the wooden street signs throughout your tour? You can see the signs all over Washington Grove! They are a product of Washington Grove’s Volunteer Sign Restoration Project and are yet another piece of Washington Grove history. The first volunteer-made signs went up for the first time in 1937 and the project of restoring these signs has been going strong since 2017.

Wooden Street Signs

The Commercial Corner was originally a block of land that was appealing for its open ground (in comparison to the deeply wooded Washington Grove). However, through two subdivision plat plans, the Lang Plan of 1886 and the Maddox Plan of 1897, the corner never made it into the folds of Washington Grove. It was sold to a J. B. Diamond in 1896 for $805, another reason it did not make it on the Maddox Plan in 1897. Since this initial sale, the land has been the site of many commercial endeavors and still is today.           There were not any serious objections to the Commercial Corner until the 1980s when the current post office was built as a 7-11. As Mimi Styles, a current Washington Grove resident, says “can you notice the wonderful 7-11 architecture?” Well, yes, we can, Mimi! This 7-11 eventually got battled out of the Washington Grove limits and now houses the current Post Office. For more reading on the designations of the Commercial Corner over the years, look through the links below! Images will be added after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and I can resume research.

Commercial interest in Washington Grove started in 1873 when the first camp meeting took place; wherever people went, other people seeking commercial gain followed! The modern commercial corner of the town has been in the same southwest corner since the latter half of the 1890s. A lot of change and many battles have been fought over the commercial corner but here it stands and here is its story.

Commercial Corner

This meadow was once a farm owned by Eugene B. Casey and was part of the agricultural border that surrounded Washington Grove in the nineteenth century. It is unknown when the land sold for development however in 2001, the land did not meet the Legacy Open Space Functional Master Plan for a Natural Resource designation and was proposed for development. The town hired a land use attorney and sought to work with two planners in order to protect the land from being developed. The Washington Grove Historic Preservation Group also looked to create a preservation advisory board in order to help retain Washington Grove’s architectural elements as well. The product of all of this work is what you see today, the Washington Grove Conservation Meadow Park. This plan was approved as a Heritage Resource on February 7, 2002. This victory is one in a long line of nature conservation in Washington Grove. Work to protect land in Washington Grove dates back to the Washington Grove Camp Meeting Association (WGCMA) and one particular stockholder, Amelia M. Green. Green was the only female initial stockholder and had been active in a variety of progressive reforms including lobbying for more responsive civic government and nature conservation as early as 1905. Green brought in expert arborists to Washington Grove and started the Arbor Day celebrations as well. She was active in the Civics Committee of the Washington Grove Women’s Guild and sought to improve the drainage issues that had plagued the camp since the start in 1873. Amelia Green laid the groundwork for what would later be years of nature conservation in Washington Grove. Her Progressive Era motivations led to the Conservation Meadow Park being saved. For more information on the Washington Grove Conservation Meadow Park, conservation work, and Progressive Era nature conservation, please look through the links below! Images will be added after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and I can resume research.

This meadow is a site of great importance for the town of Washington Grove. It is one of the many sites where the town’s Historic Preservation Commission fought to maintain the border of the town against developers in the early 2000s. The existence of this park is part of a long line of conservation work that the citizens of Washington Grove have been a part of since the beginning in 1873. As you walk through the park, read through the context of this site and read the links attached.

"A Town Within A Forest": The Walking Tour of Washington Grove, 1873-Present

The Sacred Circle

Introduction

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information