Garrett Park

History

Garrett Park was an early planned community, originally promoted by businessman Henry W. Copp, who purchased the land in 1886. Copp wanted to build a suburban development reminiscent of an English village, and even went so far as to name the streets after locations in the novels of the English author Walter Scott, such as Kenilworth and Strathmore. Copp worked in conjunction with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which in 1893 built a train station. Builders were given reduced rates to transport workers and materials to the town site, and new residents were given free trips to move in. The town lies along the former B&O railway corridor (now used by CSX, Amtrak, and MARC). It was named for John Work Garrett, who had led the B&O for nearly three decades, including during the American Civil War. Copp limited commercial development in the community. Today the town has a four-star restaurant, post office, and farmer's market. Garrett Park incorporated as a town in 1898, at which time it had thirty buildings and approximately 100 residents. However, rail suburbs did not catch on, and the community stagnated as automobiles replaced commuter trains and streetcars. In the 1920s, another company built approximately 50 more houses, now including garages. Sections of the town are included in the Garrett Park Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. For example, Garrett Park's first school house, designed in 1928 by prominent local architect Howard Wright Cutler and now preserved as part of a residential home, is a designated historic site by the Maryland Historical Trust. In 1977, the town became a declared arboretum, maintaining a tree inventory of all town trees and a scheduled tree planting schedule. In May 1982 the townspeople of Garrett…

Geography

Garrett Park is located in southern Montgomery County at 39°2' North, 77°6' West. It is just west of Kensington, due north of Bethesda, northwest of Silver Spring, and southeast of Rockville. It is approximately halfway between Rockville and Silver Spring. Rock Creek Stream Valley Park, operated by Montgomery County, is located along the town's southeast borders. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Montgomery Blair High
  High · Silver Spring · 3,204 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• Walter Johnson High
  High · Bethesda · 2,942 students · 18.6:1 ratio
• Wheaton High
  High · Silver Spring · 2,599 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Gaithersburg High
  High · Gaithersburg · 2,436 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• Richard Montgomery High
  High · Rockville · 2,390 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Bethesda-Chevy Chase High
  High · Bethesda · 2,335 students · 18:1 ratio
• Winston Churchill High
  High · Potomac · 2,234 students · 18.6:1 ratio
• Paint Branch High
  High · Burtonsville · 2,135 students · 16.4:1 ratio