Джермантаун, Мэриленд: История и современность

Germantown is an urbanized census designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland. With a population of 91,249 as of the 2020 census, it is the third most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore and Columbia. Germantown is located approximately 28 mile (45 km) outside the U. S. capital of Washington, D. C., and is an important part of the Washington metropolitan area. Germantown was founded in the early 19th century by European immigrants, though much of the area's development did not take place until the mid 20th century. The original plan for Germantown divided the area into a downtown and six town villages: Gunners Lake Village, Kingsview Village, Churchill Village, Middlebrook Village, The Churchill Town Sector at the corner of Maryland Route 118 and Middlebrook Road most closely resembles the center of Germantown because of the location of the Upcounty Regional Services Center, the Germantown Public Library, the Black Rock Arts Center, and pedestrian shopping that features an array of restaurants. Three exits to Interstate 270 [I 270] are less than one mile away, the Maryland Area Regional Commuter train is within walking distance, and the Germantown Transit Center that provides Ride On shuttle service to the Shady Grove station of the Washington Metro's Red Line. Germantown has the assigned ZIP codes of 20874 and 20876 for delivery and 20875 for post office boxes. It is the only "Germantown, Maryland" recognized by the United States Postal Service, though three other Maryland counties have unincorporated communities with the same name.

In the 1830s and 1840s, the central business area was focused around the intersection of Liberty Mill Road and Clopper Road. Several German immigrants set up shop at the intersection and the town became known as "German Town", even though most residents of the town were of English or Scottish descent.

Although it avoided much of the physical destruction that ravaged other cities in the region, the Civil War was still a cause of resentment and division among residents of Germantown. Many Germantown residents were against slavery and had sons fighting for the Union Army. In contrast, other residents of Germantown owned slaves, and even those who were not slave owners had sons fighting for the Confederate Army. As a result, many people in Germantown, who had been on friendly terms with each other, made an effort not to interact with each other, such as switching churches, or frequenting a store or mill miles away from the ones they would normally do business with. Late in the summer and fall of 1861, there were more than twenty thousand Union soldiers camped to the west of Germantown, in neighboring Darnestown and Poolesville. Occasionally, these soldiers would come to Germantown and frequent the stores there. In September 1862 and in June 1863, several regiments of Union Army soldiers marched north on Maryland Route 355, on their way to the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg, respectively. In July 1864, General Jubal Early led his army of Confederate soldiers down Maryland Route 355 to attack the Union capital of Washington, D. C. Throughout the course of the war, Confederate raiders would often pass through the Germantown area. Local farmers in the Germantown area lost horses and other livestock to both Union and Confederate armies.

In 1865, George Atzerodt, a co conspirator in the assassination of U. S. President Abraham Lincoln, was captured in Germantown. Atzerodt had come to the town with his family from Prussia when he was about nine years old. About five years later, his father moved the family to Virginia, but Atzerodt still had many friends and relatives in Germantown.

Germantown did not have a public school until after the end of the American Civil War. During that time, education was handled at home. In 1868, a one room schoolhouse was built on Maryland Route 118, near Black Rock Road, which hosted children from both Germantown and neighboring Darnestown. The wooden structure of the Bowman Brothers Mill fell victim to a fire in 1914. Four years later, the owners were back in business again, selling the mill to the Liberty Milling Company, a brand new corporation. Augustus Selby was the first owner and manager of the new Liberty Mill, which opened in 1918. Electricity was brought into Liberty Mill and also served the homes and businesses nearby, making Germantown the first area in the northern portion of Montgomery County to receive electricity. In 1935, professional baseball player Walter Perry Johnson, who played as a pitcher for the Washington Senators (now the Minnesota Twins), purchased a farm on what is now the site of Seneca Valley High School. Used as a dairy farm, Johnson lived there with his five children and his mother (his wife had died), until his death in 1946. A road near the school was named after him. "Feed the Liberty Way" was used as a slogan for Liberty Mill which, with eight silos, became the second largest mill in all of Maryland, supplying flour to the United States Army during World War II. Cornmeal and animal feed were also manufactured at Liberty Mill, and a store at the mill sold specialty mixes, such as pancake and muffin mix. Following the end of World War II, the Liberty Mill went into disrepair. For over 25 years, the mill continued to deteriorate until it was destroyed by an arsonist on May 30, 1972. The cement silos were removed by the county in 1986 to make way for the MARC Germantown train station commuter parking lot.

In January 1958, the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission was relocated from its location in downtown Washington, D. C., to Germantown, which was considered far enough from the city to withstand a Soviet nuclear attack. The facility now operates as an administration complex for the U. S. Department of Energy and headquarters for its Office of Biological and Environmental Research. After I 270 divided his farm in two, Davis decided to sell the last of his land to the International Development Corporation for about $1,300 per acre in 1955. The plan for the 17 square miles (44 km2) area included a dense central downtown area and less dense development surrounding it. In 1967, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, in its planning of the Washington metro, considered having Germantown be the western terminus for the Red Line. Ultimately, Shady Grove was selected instead. In 1974, the Montgomery County Council approved an amended plan written by the Montgomery County Planning Board. During the 1970s, Wernher von Braun, a German rocket scientist during World War II, worked for the aerospace company Fairchild Industries, which had offices in Germantown, as its vice president for Engineering and Development. Von Braun worked at Fairchild Industries from July 1, 1972, until his death on June 16, 1977. The A 10 Thunderbolt and the landing gear of the Space Shuttle were both designed at these offices. The Germantown Campus of Montgomery College opened on October 21, 1978. At the time, it consisted of two buildings, 24 employees, and 1,200 students. Enrollment had increased to five thousand students by 2003, with eighty employees across four buildings. A steel water tower modeled after the Earth can be seen from orbiting satellites in outer space. As of 2008, a forty acre bio technology laboratory was nearing completion.

Since the early 1980s, Germantown has experienced rapid economic and population growth, both in the form of townhouses and single family dwellings, and an urbanized "town center" has been built. Germantown was the fastest growing zip code in the Washington metropolitan area and Maryland in 1986, and the 1980s saw a population growth of 323.3% for Germantown. In 2000, the Upcounty Regional Services Center opened in Germantown, and a 16,000 square feet section of the first floor was home to the Germantown Public Library for several years until it moved to a new, 19 million dollar complex in 2007. On September 29, 2013, it was renamed as the Sidney Kramer Upcounty Regional Services Center after Sidney Kramer, Montgomery County executive from 1986 to 1990. The sports complex includes nineteen natural grass fields, three artificial fields, a 5,200 seat soccer stadium with lighting and press box, eight indoor convertible basketball/volleyball courts. The soccerplex was the home of the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League from 2013 to 2019. In 2003, one of Germantown's trailer parks, the Cider Barrel Mobile Home Park, closed after decades of operation, having been in business since at least the 1970s. Despite this closure, the Barrel building itself was preserved, with a cluster of garden apartments erected near it. Holy Cross Health opened a hospital on the campus of Montgomery College in October 2014, becoming the first hospital in the U. S. to be built on a community college campus. The opening of the new 93 bed hospital strengthened the college's medical program by giving students the opportunity for hands on work and access to more advanced medical technology. In August 2017, Brandi Edinger initiated efforts to crowdfund the repurposing of the historic Cider Barrel as a bakery via Kickstarter, but failed to meet the $80,000 goal set. On January 1, 2020, it was reported that plans are underway to reopen the Barrel in the spring of that year after it was closed for nearly two decades. However, due to the COVID 19 pandemic it had been delayed indefinitely.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 10.9 sq mi (28.0 km), of which all but (0.46%) is land.

Germantown lies within the humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen Cfa), with hot, humid summers, cool winters, and generous precipitation year round. Winters are cool but variable, with sporadic snowfall and lighter rain showers of longer duration. January is the coldest month, with an average temperature of .

Since development began in the late 20th century, Germantown has experienced economies of agglomeration, with many high tech companies opening headquarters and other offices in Germantown and other areas along the I 270 corridor. Qiagen North America, Earth Network Systems Inc., Digital Receiver Technology Inc., Mid Atlantic Federal Credit Union, and Hughes Network Systems all have their headquarters in Germantown. In addition to the companies headquartered in Germantown, many have offices in the area, including Wabtec, Viasat, RADA USA, Mars Symbioscience, Xerox, General Electric Aviation, Earth Networks, WeatherBug, and Proxy Aviation Systems.

Despite its size, Germantown has never been incorporated formally as a town or a city. It has no mayor or city council and is thus governed by Montgomery County. It is now represented by Democrat Marilyn Balcombe in the Montgomery County Council, after being represented by Craig L. Rice from 2010 through 2022. Germantown is part of two districts for the Maryland General Assembly, 15 (ZIP code 20874), and 39 (ZIP code 20876). For the US Congress, it is part of Maryland's 6th district. The U. S. Department of Energy has its headquarters for the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in Germantown. The U. S. Atomic Energy Commission was moved from its location in downtown Washington, D. C., to the present day U. S. Department of Energy building in Germantown because of fears of a Soviet nuclear attack on the U. S. capital. At the time, Germantown was believed to be far enough from Washington, D. C., to avoid the worst effects of a nuclear strike on the city.

All the public schools in Germantown are part of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) system. Additionally, the Longview School, which provides special education services, is located in Germantown. Montgomery College, the largest higher education institution in Montgomery County, has its largest campus in Germantown. It is located on Observation Drive not far from the downtown area. The Harmony Express Men's Chorus is a 4 part a cappella men's chorus based in Germantown. The band Clutch is also from Germantown. Members of the group attended Seneca Valley High School together, with several members graduating with the Class of 1989. Two years later, in 1991, the band was formed. The SoccerPlex formerly hosted the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League. The Germantown Swim Center is also located within the SoccerPlex. The swim center has hosted many major swimming events including Metros and the 2022 Landmark Conference Swimming & Diving Championship.

The Germantown Historical Society (GHS) was formed in 1990 as a non profit organization with a mission to educate the public about local history and preserve local historic sites.

Germantown is served by a news and information website known as the Germantown Pulse. The Germantown Pulse covers a wide range of topics, including sports, schools, crime, music, and other events of note in the area.

Germantown veterans are served by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, American Legion Post 295. American Legion Post 295 sponsors Cub Scout Pack 436, a Venturing Crew and is establishing a Sea Scout Ship. American Legion Boys State and American Legion Baseball have been longtime programs supported by the Post. I 270 has three exits in Germantown. The modern station building was rebuilt after it was destroyed by arson in 1978. The Montgomery County public transit bus system, Ride On, serving Montgomery County with over 100 bus routes, operates a major transit hub in Germantown known as the Germantown Transit Center. The transit center serves approximately 20 routes, making it one of the largest transit centers in the county.

Germantown is featured in the video game Fallout 3 (2008). After the town has been destroyed by a nuclear war, 'Germantown Police HQ' subsequently becomes a mutant run prison camp. While the in game location name 'Germantown Police HQ' is actually a misnomer. The location is most likely based on the single real life police station in the town, which is a County Police Station. Sam Fisher, the protagonist of the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell video game series, lives on a farm in rural Germantown, according to the novelizations of the series. Germantown is featured in several episodes of the U. S. television series The X Files, notably as a hotbed for biomedical engineering and research, as in reality. There are indeed a handful of biomedical research facilities in the area. The show's creator, Chris Carter, stated that he decided to set several episodes in Germantown as his brother used to live in the town. In one or more episodes, Germantown is depicted as being near a wharf or harbor; this is not accurate to the actual area.