Norbeck, Maryland
Encyclopedia
Norbeck is the area of Montgomery County
, Maryland
around Norbeck Road (Maryland Route 28
) east of Georgia Avenue to Layhill Road.
A museum in Sandy Spring, Maryland
provides the information that Norbeck is the:
The Norbeck Citizens Association, established by the African American
community that existed along Norbeck Road in the mid 1970s, described in 2002:
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
around Norbeck Road (Maryland Route 28
Maryland Route 28
Maryland Route 28 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 15 in Point of Rocks east to MD 182 in Norwood. The western portion of MD 28 is a rural highway connecting several villages in southern Frederick County and western Montgomery County...
) east of Georgia Avenue to Layhill Road.
A museum in Sandy Spring, Maryland
Sandy Spring, Maryland
Sandy Spring, Maryland is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland.The community was founded by Quakers who arrived in the early 18th century searching for land where they could grow tobacco and corn. One of the very early land owners in the Sandy Spring area was Richard Snowden,...
provides the information that Norbeck is the:
Southwestern outpost of the greater Sandy Spring neighborhood [and] put down roots as a free-black community shortly before the Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. With emancipation it grew, with the largest population concentrated in a community known as Mt. Pleasant between present Georgia Avenue and Muncaster Mill Road. In Mt. Pleasant were a church, schoolSchoolA school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
, and meeting hall, along with a store run by whites. WhiteWhite peopleWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
familiesFamilyIn human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
, too, settled along the area's intersecting roads. Unlike most Sandy Spring crossroads, Norbeck was slow to sprout the usual general storeGeneral storeA general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
and blacksmithBlacksmithA blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
/wheelwrightWheelwrightA wheelwright is a person who builds or repairs wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the archaic word "wright", which comes from the Old English word "wryhta", meaning a worker or maker...
shops. Not until the 1880s did a store and post officePost officeA post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
open, and another decade elapsed before a smith set up shop. By 1900 A.E. Stonestreet was operating his large store and the postal service, Walter H. White owned the blacksmith shop—and Norbeck's commercial course was set.
The Norbeck Citizens Association, established by the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
community that existed along Norbeck Road in the mid 1970s, described in 2002:
This area of Montgomery County is one of small streets with a ruralRuralRural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
atmosphere. The side streets were developed some time ago, prior to the massive spread of the Washington suburbSuburbThe word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s. As such, there are many areas of woodsWoodlandEcologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
and mature treeTreeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s, and no commercial development. It is also very convenient to many Washington DC areas, with Rockville Pike's commercial corridor being a quick drive west on Route 28, the District being south on Georgia Avenue, and Baltimore and other parts of Maryland to the east. Being on the outer edge of the densest part of suburban Washington DC, it is also now an area under intense pressure for change.