Montgomery History Online Exhibit: Reed Brothers Dodge
Opened September 24, 2024
Curated by Jeanne Gartner and Sarah Hedlund
Montgomery History has unveiled a new online exhibition titled “Reed Brothers Dodge – Montgomery County’s Oldest Dodge Dealership.” Officially launched on September 24, 2024, the exhibition was co-curated by Jeanne Gartner, author of the Reed Brothers Dodge History blog and co-owner of the former dealership, in collaboration with Sarah Hedlund, Montgomery History’s Librarian and Archivist.
This digital exhibition presents a comprehensive narrative of Reed Brothers Dodge, tracing its evolution from its founding in the early twentieth century through its decades of service to the Montgomery County community. Organized into distinct historical periods, the exhibition highlights rare artifacts, photographs, and memorabilia; offering insights into not only the dealership’s operations but also broader cultural contexts such as automotive service, local sports, and mid-century fashion. The full exhibition is available online at https://sites.google.com/view/reedbrothersdodge/home
Jeanne Gartner, granddaughter of Lewis Reed, founder of Reed Brothers Dodge, serves as the curator and historian behind the Reed Brothers Dodge History blog. Honored with the 2016 Arthur M. Wagman Award for Historic Preservation Communication from Peerless Rockville, the blog functions as a living digital archive that preserves the dealership’s enduring legacy and its integral role in Montgomery County’s development. Since its debut in April 2012, the site has garnered more than half a million views, documenting over a century of the family business’s history, community engagement, and contributions to the American automobile industry. Drawing from Lewis Reed’s extensive photographic collection and business records, Gartner’s work offers a richly detailed portrait of local enterprise, early transportation, and the entrepreneurial spirit that helped shape both the region and the broader American story.
Montgomery History Online Exhibit: Montgomery County, Then and Now
Montgomery County, Then and Now: Photography of Lewis Reed and Barry Gartner
Opened December 6, 2023
Curated by Jeanne Gartner and Sarah Hedlund
Montgomery County: Then and Now, offers a captivating visual journey through more than a century of local history, told through rare photographs by Lewis Reed and his grandson Barry Gartner. This site presents side-by-side comparisons of historic scenes photographed by Reed between 1900 and 1930 and contemporary color images recreated from those same vantage points by Gartner in 2023, illustrating the dramatic changes, and sometimes surprising continuities, in the landscape, infrastructure, and community life of Montgomery County, Maryland.
Visitors are invited to explore stories behind each image, discovering the evolving character of familiar places as trees mature, buildings disappear, roads shift, and horse-drawn buggies give way to automobiles. The exhibit also delves into the personal histories of its featured photographers: Lewis Reed, remembered for his pioneering photography before founding Reed Brothers Dodge in 1915, and Barry Gartner, a third-generation owner who honors his grandfather’s legacy through both automotive restoration and modern photography.
A unique feature of the exhibit is the interactive map links accompanying each photo pair, allowing viewers to pinpoint the exact locations where history meets the present moment. Through this dynamic blend of archival and modern visuals, Montgomery County: Then and Now deepens our appreciation for local heritage and the passage of time, connecting generations through the lens of two accomplished photographers dedicated to capturing the changing face of their community.
This online exhibit opened December 6, 2023, and is thoughtfully curated by Jeanne Gartner and Sarah Hedlund, providing rich historical context and insight into the fascinating process of recreating these historical photographs. The full exhibition is available online at https://sites.google.com/view/mocothenandnow/home
Montgomery History Online Exhibit: Montgomery County 1900-1930: Through the Lens of Lewis Reed
Opened January 7, 2020
Curated by Jeanne Gartner and Sarah Hedlund
Discover Montgomery County in the early 20th century through the remarkable photography of Lewis Reed, founder of Reed Brothers Dodge. An avid photographer and pioneering automobile dealer, Reed documented the region during his motorcycle journeys across Maryland, capturing the transformation of transportation, daily life, recreation, and community scenes from 1900 to 1930. His photographs offer an intimate window into the people, places, and moments that defined the county and shaped broader American history.
This online exhibition was carefully curated by Jeanne Gartner, granddaughter of Lewis Reed and co-owner of Reed Brothers Dodge, in collaboration with Sarah Hedlund, Archivist and Librarian at Montgomery History. Jeanne’s curatorial vision was instrumental in organizing these photographs into thematic galleries that illuminate Reed’s artistic legacy and documentary purpose, from the evolution of transportation and leisure pursuits to innovative photographic techniques and local economic growth.
Together, these images form a vital portrait of Montgomery County over a century ago, revealing Lewis Reed’s deep appreciation for his community and his enduring commitment to preserving its history for future generations.
View the full exhibition online: https://sites.google.com/view/lewis-reed-photography/home
Reed Photo Collection (1898-1960)
Lewis Reed, founder of Reed Brothers Dodge, was one of the most prolific photographers in Montgomery County at the turn of the 20th century. A self-taught photographer, he used a darkroom set up in his kitchen, sometimes working late at night to develop the negatives.
About This Collection:
Since launching this blog, it has been possible to explore an extraordinary archive: Lewis Reed’s photographs, taken across Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia, and well beyond. The Reed Photo Collection (1898-1960) highlights the images that have been researched and identified, gathered into 200+ blog posts that offer vivid glimpses of everyday life more than a century ago.
Featured subjects range from the Black Rock Grist Mill, Rockville Water Tower, and C&O Canal to the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair, Rockville Fair dirt track races, trolley cars, the Wright Brothers’ airplane, and the Quebec Bridge, once called the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Particularly striking are the images documenting the devastation of the 1936 Gainesville, Georgia tornado, one of the deadliest in U.S. history; many photographs in this collection have never before appeared in print.
Lewis Reed’s legacy
Lewis Reed’s photographs have become an essential visual resource for local historians and have appeared in respected publications as well as historical television programs, including American Pickers, Science Channel’s Impossible Engineering, Maryland Public Television, and the PBS American Experience series.
In Montgomery County, his work is woven into the landscape: if you see a historical marker by the roadside, there is a good chance it features one of his images. His photographs appear on markers such as the Andrew Small Academy and Origins of Darnestown markers, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station marker in Gaithersburg, From Trolley to Trail in Bethesda, the African American Heritage Walking Tour in Rockville, and the 19th Century Crossroads marker in Darnestown, as well as on an interpretive sign along the trail at Watters Smith Memorial State Park in West Virginia.
Early photographic “special effects”
One especially intriguing part of the collection is Lewis Reed’s experimentation with manipulated images. Long before digital cameras and Photoshop, he was creating imaginative “special effects,” a full century ahead of his time. His techniques included hand-tinting, double exposures, applied handwork, and playful compositions that introduce ghostly figures into the frame, all achieved with the limited tools of the early twentieth century. These experiments reveal not only technical skill but also a remarkable sense of creativity and humor.
Preserving historical authenticity
All images presented here are scanned from prints made from Lewis Reed’s original glass plate negatives, which were commonly used from the 1880s through the late 1920s. No digital retouching or alteration has been applied, preserving the photographs as faithfully as possible and maintaining their historical character.
Click here to step back in time and explore the lives, places, and stories captured through Lewis Reed’s camera.
A Field, a Gun, and a Trap
Early 1900s field trap shoot in Darnestown, Maryland, captured by Lewis Reed, showing one man poised with a shotgun while another readies the simple wooden trap amid farmhouses and open pasture.
In this photograph, two men stand in an open field bordered by modest frame houses and fenced pastures, a scene typical of small crossroads communities like Darnestown in the early 1900s. One man holds what appears to be a long gun, while the other sits beside a simple wooden rig that resembles the framework used to cock and release early manually operated target throwers or live‑bird traps
The proximity to grazing livestock suggest that this is not a formal gun club range but an improvised shooting ground on private farmland, which was common before purpose‑built trap clubs spread widely. Rural shooters often practiced in meadows or behind farmhouses, using homemade equipment and relying on a friend to work the trap while the shooter took position in front.
Darnestown in Reed’s era was a small but important crossroads in western Montgomery County with farms, mills, and the Andrew Small Academy serving the surrounding countryside. Later roadside historical markers that use Lewis Reed’s images emphasize how thoroughly he documented the community’s buildings and daily activities, making it likely that he also recorded local recreations such as shooting, fishing, or horse‑related events.
Clay target shooting gained popularity in the United States after the introduction of standardized targets and simple spring‑powered traps in the late 19th century, and Maryland farm communities were no exception. Scenes like this one, with neighbors gathering in an open field to test their marksmanship, reflect how shooting sports blended workday skills with weekend socializing in a largely agricultural landscape.
This image captures a rare glimpse of informal trap shooting at the moment when traditional rural life was beginning to intersect with modern leisure and sport. The combination of farmhouses, fence lines, cattle, and improvised equipment tells a layered story: of a county still rooted in agriculture, of residents embracing new pastimes, and of a photographer committed to preserving unscripted moments as carefully as grand events.
For historians, collectors, and local families, the photograph is more than a quaint scene; it is a visual document that anchors memories of people, place, and pastime in a specific landscape. As additional Reed negatives are identified and researched, images like this may help flesh out the early history of shooting sports in Montgomery County and deepen understanding of how communities like Darnestown spent their rare hours of leisure.
Then & Now: Reed Brothers Dodge and the Changing Face of Rockville
The story of Reed Brothers Dodge is also the story of how Rockville and Montgomery County grew up around the automobile. Through the lens of founder Lewis Reed, we can watch that transformation unfold one frame at a time.
THEN: A Corner Garage on a Dirt Road
In the early 1900s, Rockville was still very much a rural crossroads. When Lewis Reed opened his original Rockville Garage in 1915 at the intersection of Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike, the scene looked nothing like the busy corridor we know today.
THEN: 1917 Rockville Garage, later expanded with a two-story addition. A Texaco Filling Station sign is visible alongside a Texaco petroleum fuel truck servicing the single pump out front.
In the historic photograph, you can see:
- An unpaved Rockville Pike, more dirt than road, stretching into the distance.
- Trolley tracks running past the garage, part of the transit line that connected Rockville to Washington, D.C. from 1900 to 1935.
- A simple building front with “Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicles” signage, more workshop than showroom.
It was a modest operation by modern standards, but it represented something new: a dedicated place in town for motorists to buy, fuel, and service their automobiles. At a time when horse‑drawn wagons still shared the road, Reed Brothers Dodge stood at the frontier of a new way of moving through the world.
NOW: From Quiet Crossroads to “Mixing Bowl”
Stand in the same spot today and it is almost hard to believe it is the same place. The once‑quiet junction has evolved into what locals now refer to as “the mixing bowl,” a complex web of roads, traffic signals, and near‑constant traffic.
NOW: Veterans Park occupies the former Reed Brothers Dodge corner at Rockville’s “mixing bowl,” a small green refuge with flags and pathways set against the backdrop of constant traffic and busy highways.
Where the original Reed Brothers building once stood, the landscape has cycled through multiple lives:
- In the decades that followed, the busy crossroads gave way to highway progress, as road‑widening projects in the 1960s and 1970s carved away much of the original Reed Brothers property.
- The once‑bustling dealership site was gradually transformed into what is now Veterans Park.
- With the demolition of the dealership building in 1970, nearly half a century of automotive history at that corner came to a close, leaving only photographs and memories to mark its presence.
Today, the same view is dominated by multi‑lane roads, turning lanes, and signage, where there were once dirt streets, trolleys, and the old Rockville Fairgrounds just across the Pike.
A Dealership That Grew with Its Community
Reed Brothers Dodge did not stand still while the roads changed. Founded in 1915, the family business survived World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, recessions, and Chrysler’s financial crises of the 1970s and 1980s.
Key milestones include:
- Expansion from a small corner garage into a full Dodge dealership as automobile ownership grew.
- Construction of a new showroom and service building at East Montgomery Avenue and what would later be named Dodge Street in the 1940s.
- A major relocation in 1970 to a modern facility at 15955 Frederick Road in front of the Shady Grove Metro, complete with contemporary showroom and full service complex.
By the time the dealership closed in 2012, Reed Brothers Dodge had operated in Rockville for more than 97 years, making it the longest‑running Dodge dealership in Montgomery County history.
This single pair of images is just one chapter in a much larger visual record. Lewis Reed’s photographs capture everyday life across Maryland and beyond from 1898 through 1960. Many of these scenes can still be recognized today if you know where to look, even as roads have widened, buildings have vanished, and new neighborhoods have emerged. You can explore the entire “Then & Now” series with Lewis Reed’s photographs here: https://reedbrothersdodgehistory.com/category/then-now/.
Ethelene Rachel Thomas Reed: The Woman Behind the Reed Legacy
Ethelene Rachel Thomas Reed (Sept 16, 1894-Mar 15, 1977)
Before the name Reed became associated with automobiles, innovation, and customer service in Rockville, Maryland, there was a young farm girl growing up in rural Frederick County. Ethelene Rachel Thomas, born September 16, 1894, spent her childhood on her family’s farm on Butterfly Lane in Buckeystown, Maryland; a quiet countryside that helped shape the woman who would later stand beside Lewis Reed, founder of Reed Brothers Dodge.
Ethelene was the daughter of Clinton Clay Thomas (1856–1940) and Mary Elizabeth Thomas, lifelong farmers whose roots ran deep in Frederick County soil. Their farm, located along Butterfly Lane, was part of a long-established agricultural corridor of small family homesteads, fields, and barns that fed nearby towns for generations.
Growing Up on the Thomas Family Farm
Life on the Thomas farm followed the steady rhythms of the seasons. Long days were filled with planting, harvesting, tending animals, and preserving food for winter. Like many rural children at the turn of the 20th century, Ethelene learned responsibility early, helping with household work and farm chores while growing up in a close-knit, hardworking family.
Butterfly Lane, once little more than a farm road, connected families like the Thomases to Buckeystown and the larger Frederick County community. Though modest, the farm represented stability, perseverance, and a deep connection to the land; values that Ethelene carried with her throughout her life.
Ethelene Reed was the matriarch of a family that became synonymous with the automotive industry in Maryland. In this photo, her poise and fashionable attire reflect the burgeoning middle-class elegance of the early 1920s.
From Farm to Classroom
Before her marriage to Lewis Reed, Ethelene was a teacher in the Maryland public school system; a role that reflected her commitment to service, learning, and community. Teaching offered young women of her generation one of the few professional paths available, and Ethelene embraced it with the same dedication she had learned on the family farm.
A New Chapter in Rockville
Ethelene Rachel Thomas seen in the passenger seat, joined by her sister, Celeste Thomas, with their father, Clinton Clay Thomas, in the back. Photographed by Lewis Reed, circa 1918.
As the country changed, so did Ethelene’s life. She eventually left the farmland of Frederick County and married Lewis Reed, a gifted photographer and entrepreneur who would go on to found Reed Brothers Dodge in Rockville. While Lewis built a business that helped introduce the automobile age to Montgomery County, Ethelene became an essential partner in that journey.
Ethelene Rachel Thomas and her sister, Celeste Thomas Brown, in a 1918 Oldsmobile Club Roadster. Photo taken by Lewis Reed at the Clinton Clay Thomas family farm, located on Butterfly Lane in Buckeystown, Maryland, circa 1918.
Not a great deal has been published about Lewis Reed’s wife, Ethelene Rachel Thomas, despite her central role in the family and in this story. This post is offered as a tribute to her life, her quiet strength, and the rural values she carried from Butterfly Lane into the heart of the Reed legacy.
Ethelene Rachel Thomas Reed was also my maternal grandmother, making this story deeply personal. Preserving and sharing her history is part of honoring not only her life, but the generations that followed and the legacy she helped create.
Lewis and Ethelene Reed at their daughter’s wedding reception–founders of a family legacy.
Ethelene Rachel Thomas Reed passed away on March 15, 1977, but her life remains an important link between the rural roots of Maryland and the modern legacy of Reed Brothers Dodge. From the fields of Butterfly Lane to the streets of Rockville, her story reminds us that our dealership’s history is not only about cars; it’s about people, family, and the values passed from one generation to the next.
Former Employee Spotlight for Black History Month: Vincent Ricks
Vincent M. Ricks, Sr. – Transmission Specialist, ca. early 1970s
For more than a century, Reed Brothers Dodge has been part of the fabric of Montgomery County. Its story is not only about cars, buildings, or advertisements… it is about people. As Black History Month continues, I would like to pause and recognize one of those people whose skill, dedication, and hard work helped shape Reed Brothers Dodge behind the scenes.
One such employee was Vincent Ricks, who worked at Reed Brothers Dodge in the 1970s as a Transmission Specialist and Auto Mechanic. While his work often went unseen by customers, Vince played a critical role in keeping the dealership running smoothly.
Vince was Master Certified in automatic transmissions, a distinction that reflected both his technical skill and the trust placed in him. Day after day, his work ensured that vehicles left the shop safe, reliable, and ready for the road; an essential part of what made Reed Brothers Dodge a trusted name in the community.
Vince Ricks beneath a vehicle on the shop lift, performing transmission work, an essential part of the service department at Reed Brothers Dodge, 1970s.
Those who knew him, remember Vince as calm and soft-spoken, with a subtle, friendly wit. But behind that calm presence was someone the dealership could always count on. Even after retiring, Vince never really left Reed Brothers Dodge. On weekends, he continued working for Reed Brothers part time, and often made trips to car auctions with the owner to help bring pre-owned inventory back for the lot. Vince would drive vehicles back to the dealership, sometimes making more than one run in a single trip. It was just another example of how dependable he was, and how much the dealership still relied on him long after his full-time days in the shop were over. Vince wasn’t just a former employee; he remained a valued part of the Reed Brothers Dodge family.
Vincent Ricks visiting the showroom after retirement, still part of the Reed Brothers Dodge family.
This Black History Month, we honor Vincent Ricks, whose expertise, dedication, and steady presence behind the scenes were a vital part of keeping Reed Brothers Dodge running smoothly for decades.
“The Boardwalk” Along the Waterfront at Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, Early 1900s
In the early 1900s, the Chesapeake Beach Railway Company offered Washingtonians more than transportation, it promised escape. At the rail line’s eastern terminus, a bustling boardwalk emerged along the Chesapeake Bay, carefully designed to attract crowds with hotels, amusements, and sweeping waterfront views. This was a new kind of destination, where leisure was planned, marketed, and delivered by rail.
Lewis Reed recognized the historical significance of this scene and turned his camera toward it. His photographs of the Chesapeake Beach boardwalk capture the rhythms of a day spent seaside: visitors strolling between attractions, pausing to take in the view, or gathering near the latest amusements. Among the highlights of his images is the Griffith Patent Scenic Railway, an early roller coaster whose curves and speed symbolized the era’s fascination with innovation and thrill. (click on thumbnails to view gallery)
Reed’s photographs preserve more than a popular resort, they document a moment when railroads shaped recreation and when leisure itself became part of the modern experience. Through his lens, the Chesapeake Beach boardwalk is frozen in time, offering a vivid glimpse into how Americans relaxed, traveled, and found excitement at the dawn of the 20th century.
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Copyright Notice
Reed Brothers Dodge History (1915-2012) by Jeanne Gartner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012 
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