Montgomery County High School 100 Years Ago

Originally known as Montgomery County High School, later as Rockville High School and Richard Montgomery High School. Located at the corner of Monroe Street and East Montgomery Avenue. Photo by Lewis Reed, circa 1906.

High school picture day is a tradition that dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. In honor of this year’s commencement, here is a look back at a collection of group photos of school children from Montgomery County High School that were taken by Lewis Reed in 1910. Most of the photos are labeled with only the year, so if you have corrections to the names or can identify other individuals, please contact me or leave a comment below. Several students have been identified by the Montgomery County Historical Society, which I have included.

A bit of history: Located in the City of Rockville, Richard Montgomery High School is the oldest public high school in Montgomery County. An allocation in 1892 by the then Board of School Commissioners of a $300 addition to the existing elementary school in Rockville brought to fruition the then named “Rockville High School” that served students from grades one to eleven. The first class of twelve seniors graduated in 1897. In 1904, the Board of Education purchased land at the corner of Montgomery Avenue and Monroe Street for the construction of a new school building, to be renamed “Montgomery County High School” at Rockville. Students came to the school by train, trolley, and later by school bus from all corners of the county. In 1935, when the new “Rockville Colored High School” building opened in Lincoln Park, the Board of Education officially renamed the old Rockville High School, “Richard Montgomery High School.”

Step back in time into a much simpler past and get a look at class photos of Montgomery County High School students from over a century ago. As always, click the photos to get a better look. Some of the expressions on these students faces are priceless!

Montgomery County High School class ca. 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed

Back row: Edward Story, Lena Ricketts, Tom Young, Louise Larcombe, Miss Ford, Fred Hays, Lucius Lamar, name unknown, name unknown.
Middle Row: name unknown, name unknown, Jesse Wathen, Jesse Higgins, name unknown, name unknown, Mary Hyatt, name unknown, name unknown.
Front Row: Maude England, Rebecca Lamar, (first name unknown) Garrett, Helen Pumphrey, (first name unknown) Lehman.

Montgomery County High School class, ca. 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed

Back: Harry Beall, Katherine Hughes.
Middle: names unknown
Front: Edith Prettyman, (first name unknown) Darby

Rockville High School’s First Baseball Team

Interschool athletics in Montgomery County began with a meeting, duly noted in the Sentinel of February 18, 1910, of the principals of the high schools at Rockville, Gaithersburg, Kensington, and Sandy Spring to formulate plans for a baseball league. Within a month, the athletic association of Rockville High School was formed with Roger J. Whiteford, principal, as manager of the baseball team, Edward Story, teacher, as assistant manager, and Jesse Higgins student, as captain.

Rockville High School First Baseball Team, 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed

Front: Billy Beck, Tom Young, Edward Storey, Harry Beall, Roy Warfield.
Back: (first name unknown) Hicks, Lucius Lamar, name unknown, name unknown, Jesse Higgins, name unknown, name unknown, Fred Hays, Roger Whiteford
Holding pennant: Griffith Warfield

Montgomery County High School 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed

Montgomery County High School 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed

Montgomery County High School 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed

Montgomery County High School 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed

Times have changed dramatically since Montgomery County High School first opened its doors in 1892. One has only to think of the difference between chalk and slate and the new Promethean ActivBoards to begin to understand the new world in which we live.

Credit to: E. Guy Jewell, “Richard Montgomery High School.” The Montgomery County Story Vol. 24 (1981)