October 1915: The Birth of a Rockville Automobile Legacy
Rockville Garage, 1916. The early automobile garage at the intersection of Rockville Pike and Veirs Mill Road, where Lewis Reed and his partners were building the business that would soon become Reed Brothers Dodge.
111 Years Ago This Month, Reed Brothers Dodge Began Its Remarkable Journey
In October 1915, automobiles were still something of a novelty on the roads of Montgomery County. Horses and wagons remained common, many rural roads were unpaved, and owning a motorcar was far from an everyday experience. Yet the automobile was beginning to change how Americans traveled, worked, and connected with the world beyond their own communities.
It was against this backdrop, 111 years ago this month, that the story of Reed Brothers Dodge began.
Only a few months earlier, in July 1915, Lewis Reed had entered the automobile business with Roy and Griffith Warfield in a newly established enterprise known as Rockville Garage. The business operated at the busy intersection of Rockville Pike and Veirs Mill Road, an important crossroads at the edge of Rockville.
The location already had a brief connection to the automobile trade. In 1914, Lee Ricketts and his sons had operated an Overland automobile agency there, one of the earliest automobile sales operations in the area. Lewis Reed was not involved with the Overland agency, but the activity at the site reflected just how quickly the automobile was beginning to find a place in everyday life.
A New Automobile Company Comes to Rockville
The decisive moment came in October 1915, when Rockville Garage secured a franchise to sell Dodge Brothers Motor Cars.
The timing was remarkable.
John and Horace Dodge had introduced their first automobile only the year before, in late 1914. The brothers were already highly respected within the automobile industry, having supplied engines, transmissions, and other components to some of Detroit’s leading manufacturers before placing the Dodge name on a car of their own.
Their new automobile quickly earned a reputation for sturdy construction and reliability.
Far from Detroit, in the small county seat of Rockville, Lewis Reed and his partners recognized an opportunity.
The arrival of the Dodge Brothers franchise gave Rockville Garage an automobile line that would ultimately define the business for nearly a century.
At the time, no one could have known what that decision would become.
There was no sprawling dealership, no large showroom filled with rows of new cars, and certainly no modern service department. Early automobile dealers were often mechanics, salesmen, gasoline merchants, tire repairmen, and problem-solvers all at once. Keeping the early motorist on the road could be as important as selling the automobile itself.
Rockville Garage grew out of that pioneering era.
Original Owners of Rockville Garage, 1915. Lewis Reed with Roy and Griffith Warfield, the original partners in the Rockville automobile business that would become Reed Brothers Dodge.
Building a Business in the Early Automobile Age
Lewis Reed was a skilled mechanic as well as a businessman, an important combination when automobiles still required frequent adjustments and repairs. During the early years, the garage represented several makes in addition to Dodge, a common practice among automobile dealers of the period.
But Dodge gradually became the name most closely associated with the business.
The garage also sold gasoline, tires, accessories, and even farm equipment. Automobile dealerships of the 1910s were rarely limited to the sale of passenger cars. They served a community that was only beginning to discover what motorized transportation could accomplish.
The automobile was changing Montgomery County one road and one family at a time.
Farmers could travel farther to market. Doctors could reach patients more quickly. Businesses could move goods over greater distances. Families could visit relatives and neighboring towns without relying entirely on railroads or horse-drawn transportation.
Rockville Garage became part of that transformation.
From Rockville Garage to Reed Brothers Dodge
In 1916, Lewis Reed purchased a one-third interest in the business. Three years later, in 1919, he bought out the Warfield brothers.
That August, Lewis’s brother Edgar Reed joined him as a partner.
The business then took the name by which generations of Montgomery County residents would come to know it:
Reed Brothers Dodge.
Although the Reed Brothers name arrived in 1919, the foundation had already been laid four years earlier. The Dodge franchise obtained in October 1915 established the relationship with the automobile manufacturer that would endure through extraordinary changes in both the company and the community surrounding it.
The dealership survived the Great Depression, automobile shortages during World War II, changing highways, suburban growth, dealership relocations, corporate changes within Chrysler, and dramatic changes in the automobile itself.
Through it all, the Reed family remained connected to the business.
Three generations would ultimately guide the dealership.
An October Decision That Lasted Nearly a Century
What began at a modest roadside garage in 1915 eventually became one of Maryland’s oldest Dodge dealerships under continuous family ownership.
Reed Brothers Dodge in its later years on Frederick Road. From the modest Rockville Garage of 1915 to a modern automobile dealership, the family business grew and changed with Rockville while remaining under continuous Reed family ownership until its closing in 2012.
Reed Brothers Dodge remained in business until May 1, 2012, nearly ninety-seven years after Rockville Garage first began selling Dodge Brothers automobiles.
By then, the world surrounding the dealership bore little resemblance to the one Lewis Reed had known in October 1915.
The dirt and gravel roads had become highways. Rockville had grown from a small county seat into a major suburban community. The simple open touring cars of the early automobile age had evolved into vehicles filled with technology that the first motorists could scarcely have imagined.
Yet the thread connecting those two eras remained remarkably intact.
It began with a small garage, an emerging automobile company from Detroit, and a young businessman willing to place his future in a machine that was changing America.
One hundred eleven years ago this month, in October 1915, Rockville Garage became a Dodge Brothers dealer.
That moment marked the beginning of a relationship that would span nearly a century and become the foundation of Reed Brothers Dodge.
What may have seemed at the time like a promising new business opportunity became something much larger: a family legacy, a Rockville institution, and an enduring chapter in Montgomery County’s automotive history.
Remembering My Mother on Her Birthday
Every year when September 24 arrives, my thoughts turn to my mother, Mary Jane (Reed) Gartner. This year, rather than simply remembering her birthday, I find myself thinking about something that has become increasingly meaningful to me: how much of the history I have spent years preserving grew out of the many conversations we shared and the memories she passed along to me.
Mary Jane (Reed) Gartner (1922–2019).
My mother was the daughter of Lewis Reed, founder of Reed Brothers Dodge, and she grew up surrounded by a family business that became part of Rockville history. Long before I understood how valuable her memories would become, she was my connection to an earlier generation of the Reed family. During countless afternoon visits, we would sit together and go through boxes and albums filled with old photographs. Many had no names, dates, or locations written on them. I would hold up a photograph and ask, “Who is this?” or “Where was this taken?”
More often than not, she knew.
A face that meant nothing to me would bring back a name. A house, automobile, storefront, or familiar stretch of road would trigger a story. Sometimes one photograph led to another memory, and before long I was hearing about people and places that otherwise might have disappeared from our family history.
At the time, I don’t think either of us realized just how important those afternoons would become.
Years later, as I began researching and writing the history of Reed Brothers Dodge and organizing my grandfather’s enormous photographic collection, I repeatedly returned to the information my mother had shared with me. Her memories helped put names to faces, places to photographs, and stories into context. They became part of the foundation for this blog, my books, and the historical exhibits that followed.
In many ways, she became one of my most important historical sources.
A special Christmas memory with my mother, Mary Jane (Reed) Gartner, in 2004.
But what I inherited from my mother went far beyond family history.
She taught me to approach life with determination and curiosity. One of her favorite sayings was, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” She also refused to accept the word “can’t”. If there was a problem, her instinct was to look for a way around it rather than a reason to give up.
That philosophy stayed with me throughout my life.
Perhaps that is also why she never allowed age to dictate what she could learn. At 90, she joined Facebook. She learned to Skype and text, used an iPhone and a Windows PC, and approached new technology with the same curiosity she brought to so many other things. Instead of saying something was too complicated or that she was too old to learn it, she simply learned it.
She was also my greatest supporter.
One memory I especially treasure is seeing her in the audience at Glenview Mansion in 2016 when I received the Arthur M. Wagman Award for Historic Preservation Communication from Peerless Rockville. I was being recognized for documenting and sharing Rockville history, but so much of that work had been made possible by the woman sitting in the audience.
When I saw the pride on her face, I knew the moment belonged to both of us.
My mother died on September 10, 2019, just two weeks before her 97th birthday. Yet in a very real sense, she remains present in the work I continue to do. Every time I identify another photograph, uncover another piece of family history, or share another story from the Reed Brothers Dodge archives, I am building upon something she helped preserve.
Historical preservation is often thought of in terms of photographs, documents, newspapers, and artifacts. But some of our most valuable history lives only in people’s memories. If we are fortunate enough to ask the questions while those people are still with us, their memories can become part of the permanent record.
I was fortunate.
I asked the questions.
And my mother told me the stories.
Today, on what would have been her 104th birthday, I remember my mom not only as Lewis Reed’s daughter or as part of the Reed Brothers Dodge story, but as my mother, my greatest supporter, and the person who helped me understand that preserving history often begins with simply sitting down, listening, and remembering.
Happy Heavenly Birthday, Mom.
The stories you shared with me are still being told.
Manipulated Photography: The Artful Illusions of Lewis Reed
Long before modern editing tools existed, Lewis Reed was already experimenting with ways to reshape a photograph. He layered exposures to place the same person in two places at once, coaxed ghostly figures to appear in broad daylight, sketched new landscapes directly onto his negatives, and teamed up with his daughter Mary Jane to bring soft color to black-and-white scenes.
His collection of manipulated photographs showcases his extraordinary creativity and versatility, employing methods such as hand-tinting, double exposure, applied handwork, and surreal ghost-like effects.
This special spotlight explores the imaginative world of Lewis Reed’s manipulated photography, a body of work that reveals his curiosity, sense of humor, and remarkable skill with the photographic tools of the early 1900s.
The Art of Double Exposure: Two Worlds on One Plate
Lewis Reed and the same two ladies with bundles of flowers appear in this photo twice: standing on a bridge over Seneca Creek at Black Rock Mill, and again on the left at the foot of the bridge. The photo was taken in 1905.
Among his most striking techniques was double exposure. With precision and careful planning, Reed could layer two images onto a single glass plate.
A favorite example is a photograph where the same person appears twice in the same scene–once on a bridge, and again at the foot of it. The slight vertical seam where the exposures meet is still visible today, a reminder of the handmade magic behind the picture.
Without the benefit of modern editing tools, Reed achieved what we would now call a “clone effect”–over a century before Photoshop.
Ghosts in the Frame: Early Special Effects
Surrealistic, ghost-like effect of Lewis Reed (right) standing next to a tree in the middle of train track.
Reed also created what he called “ghost photographs.” To produce them, he pre-exposed a faint figure onto a glass plate and then photographed a second subject over it. The result: an incompletely exposed ghostly image as well as a ‘sitter’ looking perfectly unaware.
Hand-Drawn Fantasies: Adding Scenery by Pencil
Lewis Reed himself drew on the glass negative, using a hard graphite pencil, to create the illusion of a couple gazing out on a mountain range, which was not part of the original photograph.
One of Lewis Reed’s most artistic manipulations involved hand-drawn backgrounds. He sometimes sketched new landscapes directly onto the negative–mountains, cliffs, or textured skies–before printing the final photograph. The finished piece blends photography and illustration in a way that feels surprisingly modern, reminiscent of today’s mixed-media art.
A Collaboration in Color: Hand-Tinting by Mary Jane Reed
Amanda Reed after hand-tinting by Mary Jane (Reed) Gartner. Pastel was apparently a good choice for coloration.
Color film did not exist in the early 1900s, but Reed’s daughter, Mary Jane Reed, added life to his images with delicate watercolor hand-tinting. She brushed pale blues into skies, warm tones into skin, and soft greens into landscapes, giving Reed’s photographs an entirely new dimension. This father-daughter collaboration bridges technical skill and artistic intuition, two generations creating together.
Lewis Reed’s masterful use of hand-tinting, double exposure, and detailed handwork reveals not only his artistic creativity but also his technical skill in an era long before digital editing tools. These techniques allowed him to transform ordinary photographs into captivating visual stories full of playfulness and surreal charm. His work stands as a testament to the time, patience, and imagination required to manipulate photos by hand. For those intrigued by Lewis Reed’s fascinating photo manipulations and the art of early 20th-century photographic editing, the full series is available for exploration on this blog under the “manipulated photography” category.
For more on manipulated photography, visit the series: https://reedbrothersdodgehistory.com/category/manipulated-photography/.
From Rockville to Gaithersburg: The Montgomery County Fair Through the Lens of Lewis Reed
Special Feature for Montgomery County Agricultural Fair Week
August 14–22, 2026
A look back at the fair’s early years through the lens of Lewis Reed.
Every August, hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair to enjoy livestock exhibitions, agricultural displays, carnival rides, competitions, concerts, and family traditions that have endured for generations. While today’s fairgrounds in Gaithersburg are familiar to many, the fair itself began long before the current site existed.
Organized in 1846 by the Montgomery County Agricultural Society, the annual fair was established to promote agriculture, encourage innovation, and strengthen the county’s farming community. For decades, it brought together farmers, merchants, craftsmen, and families from across Montgomery County to exchange ideas, exhibit their finest livestock and crops, and celebrate the region’s agricultural heritage.
By the time Lewis Reed began photographing Montgomery County around the turn of the twentieth century, the fair had become one of the county’s largest and most anticipated annual events. Carrying his camera throughout the fairgrounds, Reed documented not only the exhibits and attractions but also the people who made the fair an enduring community tradition.
Fairgoers stroll along the midway in their Sunday best, ca. 1910. Broad-brimmed hats, long flowing dresses, and tailored suits reflected the fashion of the era, when dressing for the county fair was as much a social occasion as the event itself.
Reed’s photographs reveal a fair that was both educational and entertaining. Agriculture remained its foundation, but visitors also came to enjoy the excitement of the midway, where amusement rides, games, and food vendors transformed the fairgrounds into a festive gathering place for young and old alike.
Ferris Wheel at the Montgomery County Fair, Rockville, ca. 1910. One of the fair’s most popular attractions towered above the fairgrounds, symbolizing how the annual exhibition combined agricultural traditions with modern entertainment.
Behind the excitement of the midway was the fair’s original purpose. Exhibition halls displayed the county’s finest produce, flowers, baked goods, preserves, and handcrafted items, while nearby barns housed prize-winning livestock representing the best of Montgomery County’s farms. Manufacturers exhibited the latest farm machinery and equipment, giving visitors an opportunity to see how new technology was steadily transforming rural life.
Agriculture remained the heart of the fair. Manufacturers displayed the latest farm machinery, giving local farmers an opportunity to compare new equipment and modern farming methods.
Visitors explored displays celebrating Montgomery County’s agricultural achievements, local craftsmanship, and community pride.
An exhibitor captures the attention of fairgoers.
One of Lewis Reed’s most compelling photographs captures hundreds of automobiles parked throughout the fairgrounds. As a lifelong automobile enthusiast and future founder of Reed Brothers Dodge, Reed recognized that the motorcar was transforming Montgomery County. His photograph preserves that moment when the automobile had become an integral part of daily life and community gatherings.
Hundreds of cars in the parking lot.
The grandstand and one-third-mile dirt race track were among the fair’s most popular attractions. Horse racing remained a favorite event, while bicycle races, motorcycle exhibitions, and eventually automobile competitions reflected America’s growing fascination with speed and mechanical innovation. Reed’s photographs preserve these moments at a time when transportation itself was rapidly changing.
Bicycle races became very popular throughout the country and were a novel event at the Rockville Fairgrounds as early as 1915. The track was a half-mile dirt racing oval with wide, sweeping curves and a grandstand for spectators, which made for clear views. Notice the riders are in shirts and ties.
Harness racing was one of the main attractions at the race track before the introduction of the automobile and the subsequent popularity of racing cars.
Spectators pack the grandstand for the automobile races at the Rockville Fair, August 25, 1923. Racing events drew visitors from across the region and showcased the excitement of the new motor age.
The Rockville fairgrounds continued to host the Montgomery County Fair until 1932, when financial hardships brought on by the Great Depression forced the Agricultural Society to sell the property. The site would later become the home of Richard Montgomery High School. In 1949, hundreds of volunteers joined together to establish the Montgomery County Agricultural Center in Gaithersburg, where the fair continues today.
Winter at the Rockville Fairgrounds, 1910. Lewis Reed’s photograph captures a rare, tranquil view of the fairgrounds between seasons, preserving a landscape that would eventually disappear from Montgomery County.
Much has changed since Lewis Reed walked the fairgrounds with his camera. The original race track has disappeared, the Rockville fairgrounds exist only in photographs, and Montgomery County has grown from a rural farming community into one of Maryland’s most populous counties. Yet the fair’s mission has remained remarkably consistent: celebrating agriculture, education, community, and innovation.
As visitors gather for this year’s Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, Lewis Reed’s photographs offer a rare opportunity to look back at the fair’s early years and experience a tradition that has united generations of Montgomery County residents for nearly 180 years.
Two New Books Featuring Lewis Reed’s Historic Montgomery County Photographs
More than 125 years ago, a young boy named Lewis Reed picked up a camera and began photographing the world around him. What started as a youthful fascination with photography grew into one of the most important visual records of Montgomery County’s history.
From the late 1890s through the mid-twentieth century, Lewis Reed documented a county in transition. His photographs preserve everyday life during an era when dirt roads gradually gave way to paved highways, horse-drawn wagons shared the road with the first automobiles, and small rural communities evolved into the suburban landscape we know today. Today, the Lewis Reed Photograph Collection contains more than 2,500 photographs and continues to serve as an invaluable resource for historians, educators, museums, and local preservation projects.
For a little more than a decade, I have been privileged to preserve, research, and share this remarkable collection through books, online exhibits, presentations, historical markers, and hundreds of articles published here on Reed Brothers Dodge History. It has been my goal to ensure that Lewis Reed’s photographs remain accessible to everyone interested in Montgomery County’s rich heritage.
I am pleased to announce the completion of two new softcover companion books inspired by the Montgomery History online exhibits that celebrate Lewis Reed’s photographic legacy and introduce these remarkable images to an even wider audience.
Montgomery County: Through the Lens of Lewis Reed
Created as a companion volume to Montgomery History’s online exhibit of the same name, this compact book presents a carefully selected collection of Lewis Reed’s finest photographs. Inspired by the online exhibit, it preserves a remarkable visual record of a Montgomery County that has largely disappeared.
Taken during the first decades of the twentieth century, these photographs capture a county undergoing profound change while demonstrating Lewis Reed’s remarkable gift for documenting history as it unfolded. Today, they stand among the most significant visual records of Montgomery County’s early history.
Montgomery County: Then and Now – Photography of Lewis Reed and Barry Gartner
Also created as a companion volume to Montgomery History’s online exhibit of the same name, this full-color book pairs Lewis Reed’s historic photographs with modern images recreated from the same locations by his grandson, Barry Gartner. Together, the photographic pairs reveal more than a century of change while preserving a visual connection between Montgomery County’s past and present.
The result is a unique comparison of familiar landscapes, demonstrating how photography can bridge generations and deepen our understanding of the communities that continue to evolve.
Now Available
I’m excited to share that Montgomery County: Then and Now – Photography of Lewis Reed and Barry Gartner is now available to preview or purchase through Blurb’s print-on-demand bookstore.
Readers can browse the entire book online before ordering, making it easy to explore this unique photographic journey through Montgomery County’s past and present.
Preview or order your copy here:
Montgomery County: Then and Now – Photography of Lewis Reed and Barry Gartner
The companion volume, Montgomery County: Through the Lens of Lewis Reed, will also be available soon.
Continuing the Legacy
Every publication built around the Lewis Reed Photograph Collection helps preserve a remarkable visual record of Montgomery County’s history. More than historic images, these photographs connect us with the people, places, and landscapes that shaped our communities and remind us how much can be learned from a single photograph.
Thank you to everyone who has encouraged and supported this work over the years. Your interest in Lewis Reed’s photography has helped ensure that this extraordinary collection continues to educate, inspire, and preserve Montgomery County’s history for future generations.
To explore these and my other publications, please visit the Featured Publications page here on Reed Brothers Dodge History.
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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.
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