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.
Before Reed Brothers: The Crossroads Where Rockville Garage Began
Long before the name Reed Brothers Dodge became synonymous with automobiles in Montgomery County, the triangular piece of land at the intersection of Rockville Pike and Veirs Mill Road was already emerging as an important crossroads in Rockville’s transportation history.
Today, thousands of vehicles pass through what locals know as the “Mixing Bowl,” but more than a century ago this busy intersection was a rural gateway into town. Dirt roads, trolley tracks, horse-drawn wagons, and a handful of early automobiles shared the landscape. It was here that the story of Reed Brothers Dodge would begin.
The August 1908 Sanborn map below shows the junction of Rockville & Georgetown Turnpike and Washington Road before the Rockville Garage existed. (The future site would be the empty “point” of the triangle formed by the intersecting roads). The map reveals three two-story dwellings further back in the triangle. Letters A, B, and C in front of the dwellings are arbitrary identifications supplied by the Sanborn Map Company, as house numbers were not commonly assigned until later in the century. The fairgrounds of the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair Association (a.k.a. “Rockville Fair”) was located directly across the Rockville & Georgetown Turnpike.
This August 1908 Rockville Sanborn Map (zoomed in) shows the junction of Rockville & Georgetown Turnpike and Washington Road before the Rockville Garage existed.
The arrival of the automobile would soon change everything.
Origins of the Rockville Garage from The Montgomery County Sentinel. May 20, 1914:
Mr. Alva Ricketts has purchased the vacant lot opposite the fair grounds, in this town, from Mr. Benjamin Haney and will in the course of a few days erect upon it a garage, in which will be kept his autos for the accommodation of the traveling public.
By 1914, local businessman Alva Ricketts recognized the growing demand for automobile sales and repair services and constructed a small garage at this important junction near the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. The new business became known as Rockville Garage and initially operated as an agency for Overland automobiles. Leonidas “Lee” Ricketts and sons (Raymond, Emory, and Alva) ran the local Overland Agency at the Veirs Mill Road/Rockville Pike location from 1914-1915. The Overland Agency was short-lived: by July of 1915, Lewis Reed and brothers Robert L. and Griffith Warfield established Rockville Garage after acquiring the building from the Ricketts family. An employee of Rockville Garage in 1915, Lewis Reed purchased a one-third interest from the Warfield brothers in January 1916. Three years later, the Warfield’s conveyed the balance of the property and Lewis became the sole owner. In August of 1919, Lewis Reed’s brother Edgar joined the business, and the name of the company was changed to Reed Brothers Dodge.
Original Rockville Garage building at the intersection of Veirs Mill Rd and Rockville Pike, 1916.
Lewis Reed Enters the Picture
In 1915, 25-year-old Lewis Reed joined Robert L. and Griffith Warfield in acquiring Rockville Garage from Lee Ricketts and Sons. Reed had been working as a machinist and saw opportunity in the rapidly expanding automobile industry. The partnership continued under the Rockville Garage name, but the seeds of a much larger enterprise had been planted.
Only three years later, Lewis Reed purchased the Warfields’ interest in the business. Shortly afterward, the operation became known as Reed Brothers Dodge following the arrival of his brother, Edgar Reed. What began as a modest garage at a rural crossroads would grow into one of the oldest continuously operated Dodge dealerships in the United States.
The original owners of Rockville Garage. L-R: Roy Warfield, Lewis Reed, Griffith Warfield, 1916.
The Crossroads That Shaped A Century
Looking at historic photographs taken by Lewis Reed, it is difficult to imagine that the bustling intersection of today was once little more than a dirt road with a single gasoline pump standing in front of a small garage. Yet that humble location provided the foundation for nearly a century of automotive history.
Then & Now Comparison From Quiet Crossroads to “Mixing Bowl”. 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.
Before there was Reed Brothers Dodge, there was Rockville Garage. And before there was Rockville Garage, there was simply a vacant lot at a crossroads where a handful of visionaries saw the future arriving on four wheels.
The story of Reed Brothers Dodge did not begin with a dealership. It began with a garage, a strategic location, and a belief that the automobile was about to change everything.
Rare 1924 Photos Capture the First Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival in Winchester, Virginia
Parade participants circle the racetrack as spectators view the parade from a grandstand. There was no caption on this photo, but I’m guessing it might possibly be the VMI Regimental Band. Photo by Lewis Reed, 1924
On May 3, 1924, a new tradition began in Winchester with the very first Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival– an event that would grow into one of the region’s most celebrated annual traditions.
At the time, however, it was simply a one-day community gathering. Its lasting visual record exists largely because of one person: Lewis Reed.
His photographs captured the festival as it happened, unrehearsed and unrefined. Parade units circle the fairgrounds track, spectators fill wooden grandstands, and marching bands move through the grounds with a mix of ceremony and curiosity. There is a sense of immediacy in these images, reflecting a community participating in something entirely new, without yet knowing its future significance.
The B&O Railroad had a float in the Apple Blossom Parade. Photo by Lewis Reed, 1924
A flower-laden parade float glides past the grandstand at the Winchester fairgrounds during the first Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, captured through the lens of Lewis Reed as spectators look on from the shaded pavilion.
Unlike later years, when the festival would be widely promoted and carefully documented, the 1924 celebration left behind only limited records. Reed’s photographs now stand as one of the few surviving firsthand visual accounts. Parade units circle the fairgrounds track, spectators fill the wooden grandstands, and marching bands move through the space with a sense of purpose that suggests both ceremony and curiosity. There is an immediacy to these images, an unpolished authenticity that reflects a community participating in something entirely new, without yet knowing its future significance.
Taken by Lewis Reed, this image features a grand parade float adorned with white drapery and floral garlands, carrying a court of young women in classic 1920s white gowns and wide-brimmed hats.
This photo is believed to show the inaugural Queen, Elizabeth Steck, atop her floral-draped float. This historic moment during the first Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival set the stage for a century of tradition in Winchester, Virginia.
What gives these photographs their enduring value is not simply their age, but their perspective. Lewis Reed approached photography as both a practical necessity and a form of documentation. While his work often centered on automobiles, business life, and everyday scenes, it also captured moments that would later take on deeper historical meaning.
His images of the 1924 festival preserve a fleeting beginning. They offer context for early 20th century civic celebrations and document the material culture of the time, from clothing and transportation to public gathering spaces. Without these photographs, the first Apple Blossom Festival would exist largely as a written account. With them, it becomes something far more tangible; a moment that can still be seen and experienced.
This photograph highlights the equestrian spirit of the event. A group of riders, dressed in formal white attire and matching caps, parades past the grandstands on horseback. Photo taken by Lewis Reed, 1924
This photograph captures the Pennsylvania Railroad float as it passes the grandstands. The float features a large keystone, the railroad’s iconic symbol, emblazoned with the interlocking “RR” logo. Photo by Lewis Reed.
The same rustic grandstands seen in the other photos are visible, filled with spectators watching the pageant unfold on the dirt track. Photo by Lewis Reed
Through Lewis Reed’s photography, the 1924 festival is immortalized in its most foundational form. These images do more than just record a date; they preserve the material culture of the early 20th century, documenting the precise moment when the motorized elegance of the era began to define community life. By capturing the formal attire, the rustic grandstands, and the civic pride of Winchester’s inaugural celebration, Lewis Reed ensured that the festival’s origins were not lost to the fog of memory.
Today, the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival draws thousands each year, but in 1924, it all began right here.
The Devastation of May 2, 1929: Montgomery County’s Deadliest Tornado in Historic Photographs
Spectators view the destruction at the Benson farm, May 1929. Photo by Lewis Reed
Ninety-seven years ago today, one of the worst tornado outbreaks in area history devastated a part of Montgomery County Maryland. At about 9 p.m. on Thursday, May 2, 1929, northeastern Montgomery County was struck by an F3 tornado, part of a large storm system that caused devastation from Florida to Ohio. The weekly Montgomery County Sentinel reported on May 10th that the “wind storm of cyclonic power… was of limited width and serpentine on its course. Everything in its path met with destruction.” These photographs were taken by Lewis Reed “after the tornado of May 2, 1929”.
Among the hardest hit was the farm of J. William Benson, where every structure, including the house, a massive barn, and multiple outbuildings, was completely obliterated. Even the surrounding landscape was reshaped. Trees from the orchard were reportedly lifted into the air and carried miles away, a testament to the storm’s incredible force.
Surveying the wreckage: Local men stand atop the splintered remains of a farmstead, where the 1929 tornado reduced buildings to a tangled mass of lumber. Photo by Lewis Reed
In the days following the disaster, Lewis Reed traveled to the scene to document the devastation. His photographs, now a haunting window into the past, capture the sheer force of a storm that could lift entire orchards into the air and reduce sturdy farmsteads to splinters. For days, thousands of people traveled to the area to witness the devastation firsthand. What they encountered was described as “indescribable wreckage,” a scene that defied easy explanation and lingered in memory long after the debris was cleared.
In the tornado’s aftermath, residents pick their way through a flattened landscape, where shattered timber, uprooted trees, and scattered debris mark the storm’s destructive path across the countryside. Photo by Lewis Reed
Amid this chaos, help arrived quickly. Local fire departments from Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Sandy Spring responded after a farm worker, having freed himself from the wreckage, ran to summon aid. Relief efforts soon followed, including support organized by the local Red Cross to assist those who had lost homes, livelihoods, and stability in a single night.
While Montgomery County was spared the worst loss of life, the broader storm system proved deadly. Reports at the time indicated that 28 people were killed across Maryland and Virginia, with the most tragic losses occurring in Virginia when a school was struck directly.
One particularly meaningful photograph includes Reed’s young daughter, Mary Jane, standing amid the aftermath. Decades later, she would help identify the locations of these images, connecting memory with history in a way few archival collections can. This personal link transforms the photographs from simple documentation into living history.
Seven-year-old Mary Jane Reed surveys the aftermath of the F3 tornado that decimated the J. William Benson farm in Unity, Maryland. Captured by her father, Lewis Reed, this image highlights the complete destruction of the 117-foot barn and the surrounding landscape following the deadliest storm in Montgomery County history.
Originally undated and unlabeled, these images might have remained anonymous fragments of the past. Instead, through family recognition and preservation, they now serve as vital historical evidence, offering a rare glimpse into one of the most destructive storms ever to strike Montgomery County.
The skeletal remains in this photo stand as a silent testament to the F3 twister that devastated northeastern Montgomery County. Photo by Lewis Reed
Today, nearly a century later, the 1929 tornado is remembered not only for its level of destruction, but for the resilience of those who endured it. And for the photographs that ensure their story is never lost.
Sources of Information:
A Fine Collection
The Montgomery County Sentinel, May 10, 1929
Senate Resolution No. 10: A Historic Tribute to Lewis Reed and Reed Brothers Dodge
On February 8, 1967, the Senate of Maryland adopted Senate Resolution No. 10 to honor the life and legacy of Lewis Reed, founder of Reed Brothers Dodge, following his passing at the age of 79. This single-page resolution, recorded in the official proceedings of the Senate, recognized not only his long career in the automobile business, but also his broader contributions to the civic and economic life of Montgomery County.
Senate Resolution No. 10, adopted by the Senate of Maryland on February 8, 1967, honoring the life and achievements of Lewis Reed, founder of Reed Brothers Dodge.
Lewis Reed’s story begins in October 1915, when he opened a new automobile agency in Rockville and chose to represent the then-young Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company. At that moment, Dodge had been producing automobiles for less than a year, yet Reed saw its potential and became the first Dodge dealer in Montgomery County and the earliest in the state of Maryland. This pioneering decision anchored a business that would endure for generations, evolving from the era of dirt roads and hand-cranked engines into the age of modern highways and high-compression engines.
Over the next five decades, Reed Brothers Dodge weathered profound change: two world wars, the Great Depression, postwar expansion, and the transformation of Rockville from a small town into a busy suburban center. Through these shifts, the dealership gained a reputation for fair dealing, continuity of family ownership, and steadfast adherence to the Dodge ideal of “𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺.” Customers often returned across decades and generations, treating Reed Brothers as a trusted local institution rather than just a place to buy and service automobiles.
Yet Lewis Reed’s influence extended beyond the showroom floor. He was also one of Montgomery County’s earliest and most devoted photographers, documenting streetscapes, parades, farms, people, and everyday scenes that might otherwise have vanished without a trace. His images, many taken in and around Rockville, now serve as a visual time capsule, preserving a detailed record of the county’s transformation across the first half of the 20th century. In recognizing Lewis Reed, the Senate was, in effect, honoring both a businessman and an unofficial historian of the community.
Senate Resolution No. 10 is significant because it places Lewis Reed and Reed Brothers Dodge within the formal historical record of the State of Maryland. It acknowledges that a local automobile dealer, by virtue of long service, integrity, and civic commitment, could shape the character and memory of a place just as surely as a public official or institution. For those interested in local history, early motoring, or the story of Rockville’s growth, the resolution provides a brief but powerful summation of why Lewis Reed’s name still matters. He remains the only automobile dealer in Maryland to receive such recognition by a Senate resolution.
Spring of ’40: When Reed Brothers Turned Easter into an Auto Show
Montgomery County Sentinel, March 21, 1940
In March of 1940, as winter gave way to spring in Rockville, Maryland, Reed Brothers Dodge was preparing something far more ambitious than a typical seasonal promotion. According to The Montgomery County Sentinel, the dealership announced plans for a full-fledged “Easter Style Parade”; a vibrant showcase designed to celebrate both the arrival of spring and the latest in automotive design.
This was not a parade in the traditional sense, but rather an immersive showroom experience. Reed Brothers promised a “sparkling array” of brand-new 1940 Dodge automobiles, many arriving as part of special factory shipments. These cars, finished in fresh springtime colors and featuring the latest styling updates, were meant to dazzle visitors and highlight the evolution of the American automobile at the start of a new decade.
The language of the advertisement reflects an era when automobiles were marketed not just as transportation, but as expressions of beauty, comfort, and modern living. The display was crafted for the entire “motoring family,” underscoring how central the car had become to everyday life by 1940. Visiting a dealership was an event; something to experience, not just a transaction.
Edgar Reed himself captured the spirit of the occasion, noting:
I am sure we shall offer our Easter season visitors one of the most interesting automobile shows in this town.
Events like this helped define Reed Brothers Dodge as more than just a place to buy a car; they were a cornerstone of the Rockville community. Their showroom became a gathering place where residents could see the latest innovations, socialize, and share in the excitement of a rapidly changing world.
Looking back, this Easter promotion offers a fascinating snapshot of small-town America at a pivotal moment in history. The country was emerging from the Great Depression, industry was gaining momentum, and the automobile stood at the center of that progress. Yet within a year, the United States would be drawn into World War II, and the production of civilian automobiles would soon give way to the demands of the war effort.
That makes this 1940 “Easter Style Parade” all the more meaningful. It represents a brief window of optimism and growth; a time when the promise of new technology, fresh design, and a bright spring season could bring an entire community together under one roof.
Today, more than eight decades later, the story of Reed Brothers Dodge continues to resonate. This single advertisement is more than a promotion, it documents how a local dealership engaged its community, how automobiles were presented to the public, and how seasonal traditions were woven into the commercial life of a small but growing town.
Wishing all our readers and visitors to this blog a very Happy Easter!
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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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