Germantown

History

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…

Geography

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 .

Largest nearby schools

• Northwest High
  High · Germantown · 2,484 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• Gaithersburg High
  High · Gaithersburg · 2,436 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• Richard Montgomery High
  High · Rockville · 2,390 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Clarksburg High
  High · Clarksburg · 2,251 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• Seneca Valley High
  High · Germantown · 2,239 students · 14.5:1 ratio
• Quince Orchard High
  High · Gaithersburg · 2,154 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Thomas S. Wootton High
  High · Rockville · 1,911 students · 18.4:1 ratio
• Watkins Mill High
  High · Gaithersburg · 1,715 students · 14.9:1 ratio