Beallsville, Maryland facts for kids
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Beallsville is a small community in Montgomery County, Maryland, in the United States. It's not a city with its own government, but rather an unincorporated community. You can find it just north of Poolesville.
Some interesting facts about Beallsville include its wild chickens and a puppy named "Dixie." This puppy was named after the famous music group, the Dixie Chicks. Also, race car drivers Charlotte and Josephine Mallow are from this area. The ZIP Code for Beallsville is 20839.
The Historic Darby Store
The Darby Store is a very old and important building in Beallsville. It sits right where Beallsville Road and Darnestown Road meet. This spot was once home to a small blacksmith shop in the mid-1800s.
In 1908, a man named Harry C. Darby bought the land. By 1910, he built a two-and-a-half-story building. This became a general store, a place where local people could buy all sorts of supplies. They could also pick up their mail here. The Darby Store served the community until it closed in 1974.
Years later, in the late 1980s, a large truck accidentally damaged the front porch of the old store. In 2004, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission bought the store and the nearby Darby house. They paid $670,000 for these historic buildings. This happened a year after a group called Montgomery Preservation said it was "one of the county’s most endangered historic sites."
In 2009, a team of archaeologists dug up the area around the store. They spent three weeks looking for clues about the past. They found many interesting items. These included oyster shells, pieces of glass, coal, and old nails. They also found ceramic pipe stems, a 1918 "liberty dime," and even a Yoo-hoo bottle! These findings help us learn about the people who lived and worked in Beallsville long ago.
Monocacy Cemetery: A Place of History
The Monocacy Cemetery is a very old and peaceful place. It is located at 19801 W Hunter Road. This cemetery has roots going back to the time of the American Revolution. However, the oldest known burials there are not quite that old.
About 6,000 people from Beallsville, Poolesville, and nearby areas are buried here. It is a quiet, historic spot in the upper western part of Montgomery County. It is also close to Sugarloaf Mountain.
The land where the cemetery is now was once home to a chapel. This chapel, called Monocacy Chapel, was built as early as 1747. During the Revolutionary War, people gathered there to pray for peace.
In 1770, a new church, St. Peter's Episcopal Church, took over the chapel. During the War of 1812, American soldiers used the area as a camping ground.
By 1849, the church moved to a new building in Poolesville. The old chapel eventually fell apart. In 1872, the church gave the old churchyard to a new group. This group was called the Monocacy Cemetery Society of Montgomery County. Soon after, people began to be buried there. You can still see many old gravestones from the original chapel today.
A book called Monocacy Cemetery Beallsville, Montgomery County, Maryland tells the full story of the cemetery. It was written by Elizabeth R. Frain. The book shares information from old records, burial permits, and the tombstones themselves.
Beallsville During the Civil War
Beallsville played a role in the American Civil War. In late 1861, Union soldiers set up camp in the town. At that time, Beallsville was known as Monocacy Church. The old Anglican chapel from 1748 was almost destroyed by the Union soldiers.
Beallsville was an important location because it was a crossroads. It was on the main road from Rockville to the Monocacy River and Nolands ferry. This made it a key spot for the Union army.
In September 1862, during the Maryland Campaign, there was a small battle in Beallsville. Cavalry units from Illinois and Indiana met soldiers from Virginia. The day before, they had fought in Poolesville. In Beallsville, two Virginian soldiers died. Their captain and six other soldiers were captured.
Another cavalry battle happened in Beallsville on October 12, 1862. This was part of General J.E.B. Stuart's second ride around the Army of the Potomac. Stuart was trying to get back to White's Ford. Federal troops based in Beallsville tried to stop him. However, Confederate artillery held off the Federal troops. This allowed Stuart to cross the Potomac.
After the war, a group called the E.V. White Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy rebuilt the Monocacy Church. It was rebuilt in the Monocacy cemetery. For many years, a celebration for Jefferson Davis's birthday was held there every June 3.
