Then & Now: The Leesburg, VA Passenger Station
The story of the Leesburg Passenger Station becomes even more vivid when viewed through the lens of Lewis Reed, the prolific early 20th-century photographer from Montgomery County, Maryland, whose work documented key moments and locations throughout the region. Reed’s images are renowned for their ability to capture everyday details of local life, including transportation scenes and important sites in Virginia and the greater Washington area.
Leesburg Passenger Station (THEN): When the Alexandria, Loudoun, & Hampshire Railroad (later W&OD) arrived on May 17, 1860, Leesburg realized a dream. A local newspaper praised the railroad, which “throws us within an hour or two’s ride of the cities of the seaboard, and opens up a new avenue of commerce and trade.” At first a single depot, located 0.2 mile east of here, served passengers and freight. In 1887 the railroad opened a separate passenger station here at King Street. It remained in use until passenger service ended in 1951.
Even as the passenger station itself vanished, Reed’s visual archives ensure its memory stays alive. His photographs remain a valuable bridge for comparing “then & now,” letting viewers step back in time and appreciate the evolution of Leesburg, one carefully developed print at a time. The continuing presence of Reed’s work in books and exhibits means the Leesburg Passenger Station is still seen and experienced today, long after trains have passed and the site has become part of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail.
A historic photograph of the Leesburg Passenger Station captured by Lewis Reed showing the depot in its early 20th-century setting.
Leesburg Passenger Station Marker seen from King Street today.
The Leesburg Passenger Station remains a rare survivor of Loudoun’s rail era, an enduring symbol of how a small wooden depot could once shape the rhythm of a town. Its transformation from active rail stop to preserved trail-side icon connects past and present, reminding us that even as technology changes, the places that ground a community can still hold meaning.
Introducing the Second Edition of The Lewis Reed Photograph Collection (1898-1960)
Some photographs simply capture a moment. Others capture an entire world.
New Cover – Second Edition. An expanded 384-page volume featuring more than 2,500 historic photographs preserved by Lewis Reed, many published for the first time. A remarkable visual record of the early 20th century.
I am pleased to announce the release of the Second Edition of the Lewis Reed Photograph Collection (1898–1960), an expanded and refined visual archive documenting over six decades of life, landscape, and community in Montgomery County, Maryland and the surrounding Mid-Atlantic region.
More than a century ago, Lewis Reed began photographing the towns, farms, roads, and people around him with a camera and a deep curiosity about a world in rapid transition. What began as the hobby of a young motorcycle enthusiast traveling the back roads of Maryland soon grew into one of the most remarkable visual records of the region’s history.
Many of the photographs in this collection were created from glass-plate negatives and early prints; preserving rural crossroads, bustling town centers, early automobiles sharing roads with horse-drawn wagons, and landscapes that look entirely different today. These are images that might otherwise have been lost to time.
What’s New in the Second Edition
This expanded edition presents Lewis Reed’s photographs in thematic sections that highlight the full breadth of his work; from Maryland towns and landscapes to family portraits, travel scenes, and the early history of Reed Brothers Dodge, which Lewis founded in Rockville in 1915. The collection draws from more than 2,500 digitized photographs, each carefully researched to identify the places and people they depict.
Many images were identified through long conversations with Lewis Reed’s daughter, Mary Jane Reed Gartner, whose recollections helped bring these photographs back to life and restore the stories behind them.
Lewis Reed is remembered locally as the founder of Reed Brothers Dodge, but photography was a lifelong passion alongside his business career. His images document everything from the C&O Canal in operation to small-town parades, churches, farms, and early roadways. Taken together, they form one of the most extensive visual archives of Montgomery County during the period when rural communities were giving way to the modern suburban landscape we know today.
A Note on Pricing
This is a photo-intensive volume, approaching four hundred pages, and is printed on demand through Blurb.com, meaning each copy is produced individually rather than in large commercial print runs. The pricing reflects the actual cost of producing such a large photographic archive. This project was created primarily to preserve and share Lewis Reed’s historic photographs, not as a commercial publication.
Get Your Copy
The Lewis Reed Photograph Collection (1898–1960), Second Edition is available now through Blurb.com’s print-on-demand bookstore.
Or visit the collection page for more information: reedbrothersdodgehistory.com
To stay up to date with new posts and historical discoveries, subscribe to the Reed Brothers Dodge History blog and follow along as the story of Lewis Reed and Montgomery County’s past continues to unfold.
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.
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.
“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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