One Year, 43 Posts & Thank You
Today marks the one-year anniversary of this blog. Thank you for your patronage, support, and comments over the past year. It’s been an honor to share the history of Reed Brothers Dodge – whether you’ve read our blog, followed us on Twitter, or “liked” us on Facebook. I would like to also thank those mentioned below, and many others, for their kind words and the visibility they have provided.
To help review the past year I thought I’d search around on the Internet and see what others have been saying about us.
Included among the posts on our Facebook page:
National Capital Trolley Museum shared a photo from Lewis Reed’s collection. August 6, 2012. “We’re delighted to see Reed Brothers Dodge History has become a fan of ours on Facebook. Here’s an image of the Reed Brothers themselves riding the trolley to Rockville, about the time the business was founded. Image in collection of, and hosted by, Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation Ltd.”
The Hermitage “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to see a photo of the Pigeon Bridge on Veirs Mill! My dad used to give his parents a heart attack by walking atop the span when he was a kid (he always loved heights). Thank you so much for posting! Keep ’em coming!”
Other mentions online and in print:
- Blog Search Engine posted the following review:
“Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012 is a blog dedicated to the family who founded and continue to run the Reed Brothers Dodge, a car dealership in Rockville, Maryland.
This family-run business has been in operation for almost a century, a feat that certainly is not common in the world of business today. More than talking about cars, dealership, and business, this blog also brings history alive. The blog is run by Jeanne Gartner, the granddaughter of Lewis Reed, the founder of the business.
She continues to keep the memory of her predecessors alive by documenting the past. Reading the blog is like taking a walk down history. Not only do you get to learn about firsts in the business, but you also get to take a peek into the lives of those who have gone before us.
It’s a family memoir of sorts, but you also see a story that is worth to be read by everyone.”
- The Montgomery County Historical Society (Maryland) listed our blog under the History & Resources section of their website, entitled “Other Local History on the Web“.
- Joanna Church, Director of Collections and author of “A Fine Collection”, the official blog of the Montgomery County Historical Society (Maryland), credited an historic photo by Lewis Reed on her post Railroad “Quarterly Commutation Ticket,” 1915
- At the Beall-Dawson House February 2 – May 5, 2013, The Montgomery County Historical Society presented an exhibit, “History, Memory, Artifact, Art: Photographs of Everyday Life” which included many of Lewis Reed’s photos and original negatives.
- Maryland Automobile Dealers Association: A photograph of Lewis Reed and his Rockville Garage has been printed on page 4 of the FALL 2010 edition of MADAs “In Gear“ publication. The photo was taken in 1916 showing two of the original owners of the Rockville Garage — Lewis Reed and Griffith Warfield. The full photograph is shown again at the top of page 14 with all three of the original owners. The photo is also displayed at the top of Maryland Automobile Dealers Association’s home page.
- The website Gaithersburg: Then & Now authored by local historian Shaun Curtis placed a link to “Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915-2012″ blog under the Local Historic Sites & Information section of their website.
- Peerless Rockville has placed a link to “Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915-2012” blog under the Resources section of their website.
- Blog Catalog Review: “Interesting blog with wonderful historic photos and a well-written chronicle of a successful automotive franchise that began in Maryland in the early 20th-century and continues today. Even if you’ve never been to Rockville or Maryland, you can appreciate the photos and history, a snapshot of America.”
- The following is an excerpt taken from the Summer 2011 edition, page 6 of the Montgomery County Historical Society Newsletter. “The Sween Library was recently given a collection of 280 glass plate negatives, showing Montgomery County in the early 20th century. Lewis Reed was a well-known photographer in the county as well as owner (along with his brother Edgar) of Reed Brothers, the Rockville automobile dealership. The collection was donated to the Society by Mr. Reed’s daughter, Mary Jane Reed Gartner. There are scenes of different areas of the county, buildings, events such as the county fair, and local people. These are a welcomed addition to our growing graphics collection.”
And then there’s Twitter…
Reed Brothers received numerous re-tweets and mentions on Twitter, the most notable from the official Twitter feed of the Montgomery County Police Department on a photo of the first known picture of the entire MCPD at a Celebration on July 4, 1922 in front of Reed Brothers Dodge.
@mcpnews – We love this photo! Thank You for sharing!
@Tri-Auto – Big shoutout to @reedbrothers for posting so many cool historical things.
@BoundaryStones, WETA’s Local History Blog – Nice snippet of early auto history in #MoCo, . Like many dealerships, @reedbrothers grew out of existing garage.
@BoundaryStones, WETA’s Local History Blog – @reedbrothers Nice local history blog!
A heartfelt note to all those who have stopped in for a look and a read.
Rockville Garage
1916 Rockville Garage
Many early car dealers grew out of existing garages. Lewis Reed became a partner in Rockville Garage with Robert L. and Griffith Warfield. The Warfield Brothers had purchased this building in July 1915, from Lee Ricketts and Sons who had the Overland Agency. The business continued to operate under the old name until it was changed at the suggestion of the late Judge Edward Peter shortly after Edgar Reed joined his brother.
The first shop force of Rockville Garage consisted of Lewis Reed, Philip Reed and (first name unknown) Long. A third brother, Philip Reed, came to work for them in 1916 as a mechanic until 1944. A mechanical aptitude was necessary to be a dealer in the early 1900’s. When the cars were shipped to the dealer from the manufacturer they were only partially complete and they needed final assembly, so the new dealer quickly became skilled at repair.
Lewis Reed, Philip Reed and (first name unknown) Long.
Lewis Reed received his training at the Pierce Arrow factory at Buffalo, New York, the Dodge and Hudson factories at Detroit and the Washington Auto College. Pierce-Arrow was once one of the most recognized and respected names in the automobile industry. For 38 years, the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company in Buffalo, New York, produced some of the finest automobiles made.
1916 – The original owners of Rockville Garage. From left: Roy Warfield – Lewis Reed – Griffith Warfield
In 1918, Lewis Reed bought out Rockville Garage from the Warfield’s and changed the name to Reed Brothers Dodge. Reed Brothers Dodge was the first to sell Dodge cars in Montgomery County, Maryland. Initially, Reed Brothers sold Oldsmobile and Hudson, along with Dodge. Later they became Dodge Plymouth dealers.
1917 Rockville Garage
1918 Two Story Addition to Original Shop. View From Rear
1918 Two Story Addition to Original Shop. View From Side
Reed Brothers Can Now Be Found On “Peerless Rockville”
Peerless Rockville has placed a link to “Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915-2012” blog under the Resources section of their website. Our thanks and gratitude to Peerless Rockville for sharing the link to our blog so our local historical information can be preserved and shared with future generations.
Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation, Ltd. is an award-winning nonprofit, community-based organization founded in 1974 to preserve buildings, objects, and information important to Rockville’s heritage. Please take some time to explore their official website here.
Final Chapter in Reed Brothers Dodge History
When Lewis Reed opened his car dealership in 1915, he never knew he was starting a family tradition that would be carried out for 97 years and three generations.
After almost a century of serving Rockville – and two and a half years after Chrysler terminated the Reed Brothers Dodge franchise – the dealership property went to settlement on August 30, 2012. The dealership site was sold to a developer whose future plans include constructing a $90M project to include a 6-story residential building with 417 multi-family units and a 517 space parking structure.
Lewis Reed’s legacy, however, lives on in the business ventures that his family grew and continues to grow. In Lewis Reed’s spirit of entrepreneurship, the family has formed RBI Properties, LLC, the private holding company of Reed Brothers, Inc – and the legacy continues.
1920 Newspaper Ads
The following advertisements, distributed by the Lambert Automobile Company in the July & August 1920 editions of the Washington Post are among the earliest advertisements in which the Rockville Garage appeared. Initially, Reed Brothers sold Oldsmobile and Hudson, along with Dodge.
Dealers are listed in fine print at the bottom: note Rockville Garage, Rockville, Md, which I have highlighted in yellow.
Rockville Garage – Washington Post, The – Sunday, July 11, 1920, Washington, District Of Columbia
Rockville Garage – Washington Post – Sunday, August 08, 1920, Washington, District Of Columbia
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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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