Forget Valentine’s, Happy Ferris Wheel Day!
Ferris Wheel at Rockville Fair, circa 1920s. Photo by Lewis Reed
Did you know that February 14th is not only Valentine’s Day, but also Ferris Wheel Day? This unofficial national holiday is held on this day to honor the birth of the inventor of the Ferris Wheel, George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. What better way to celebrate Ferris Wheel Day than enjoying this old photograph of the Ferris Wheel taken at the Rockville Fairgrounds, courtesy of Lewis Reed. The fairgrounds were just outside Rockville, about where Richard Montgomery High School is today. The Fair lasted four days, from August 21st to the 24th, and drew visitors from local counties, Washington, and Baltimore.
For the singles and the “enough already with the Valentines”, here is your perfect alternative excuse. Go wish all your friends and family a Happy Ferris Wheel Day!
And They’re Off! Rockville Fair Dirt Track Racing
This special post is a collection of early dirt track race photos that were taken by Lewis Reed at the Rockville Fair in the early 20th century. Held by the Montgomery County Agricultural Society (1846-1932) in Rockville, Maryland, the fair was known simply as the “Rockville Fair.” The fair’s oval dirt track was used for bicycles, harness races and later, cars.
Since the mid-19th century, an annual county fair was held in Montgomery County for four days in the month of August. Families came in wagons and carriages to the Rockville Fairgrounds and stayed for the duration. Like many fairgrounds, the Rockville Fairgrounds included an oval track. Fairground race tracks, typically one-mile or half-mile dirt racing ovals with wide, sweeping curves and grandstands for spectators, were easily adapted for bicycles, harness racing, and the sport of car racing.
Early action shots like these were difficult to take and are fairly rare, however, all of the photographs below were taken by Lewis Reed at the Rockville Fairgrounds in the early 1910-1920s. The fairgrounds were just outside Rockville, about where Richard Montgomery High School is today. The Fair lasted four days, from August 21st to the 24th, and drew visitors from local counties, Washington, and Baltimore. As always, click the photos to get a better look.
Bicycle Racing
This circa 1915 photo of an early bicycle race at the Rockville Fairgrounds gives a sense of just how popular the sport was at the time. Photo by Lewis Reed
Harness Racing
Harness race at the Rockville Fair, circa 1910. All those throngs of people had plenty to see. Photo by Lewis Reed
Harness racers rounding the bend on the racetrack, Rockville Fairground circa 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed
Bend on the harness racetrack, Rockville Fairground circa 1910. Photo by Lewis Reed
Crowds at the racetrack, Rockville Fair. Photo by Lewis Reed
Harness race at the Rockville Fair, circa 1910. Same vantage point as auto race photo below. Photo by Lewis Reed
Harness racing was one of the main attractions, but after the introduction of the automobile in the early 20th century, auto races took over…
Auto Racing
The photos below depict auto races at the Rockville fairgrounds. The photo of a harness race above was taken from approximately the same vantage point as the auto race below, which you don’t see very often in pictures from that era.
Rockville drew huge crowds for auto races. Rockville Fair, August 1923. Photo by Lewis Reed
Dusty Action – 1923 photo of the exciting auto races at Rockville Fair. Five racers are just coming around the bend on this dirt track with their tires spinning up dust in their wake. Photo by Lewis Reed
This race car is a total mystery…what on earth is it? It appears to be a two-man race car. Photo by Lewis Reed
More dirt track action. Photo by Lewis Reed
Below is a 1923 Washington Post ad for an auto race at the Rockville Fair.
Rockville Fair Race Ad
A football field was designed within the oval of the old Fair racetrack in 1946.
Darnestown Presbyterian Church Dedicated On This Day in 1858
Darnestown Presbyterian Church Circa early 1900s. Photo by Lewis Reed
This special post doesn’t have anything to do with Reed Brothers Dodge, but it does have a lot to do with it’s founder, Lewis Reed.
In 1855, the Darnestown Presbyterian Church, which is located at the corner of Turkey Foot and Darnestown Roads, was founded by the generous donation of three acres of land by John Dufief. The church was constructed of stone which was hauled from the local quarry by the men of the congregation. The completed church was dedicated on this day, May 22, 1858. The iron fence along the cemetery at the back of the church was taken from the Rockville Courthouse.
Then, in the late 1860s, Andrew Small, a friend of the Church, granted sums of money to be used to building the parsonage (1868) and to establish and build a private academy (1867). The church was renovated in 1897 and then again in 1953.
Lewis Reed was a well-known photographer in the county and many of his early photographs are now part of the Montgomery County Historical Society photo archives.
Lewis Reed Photo to Appear in PBS Documentary
Rare peak of the inside of an early 1920’s trolley car taken by Lewis Reed, a well-known photographer in Montgomery County, as well as owner and founder of Reed Brothers Dodge of Rockville, Maryland.
The photo will be featured on PBS “American Experience” documentary, “The Great War” a three-night event exploring how World War I transformed America starting Monday, April 10 on PBS. The trolley image is in Episode 3, Wednesday night, between 38-40 minutes into the show. From 1900-1935, the trolley cars – or street cars, as they were also known – went past Reed Brothers Dodge as they traveled up Rockville Pike. Major stops along the line included Georgetown, Alta Vista, Bethesda, Montrose, Halpine, the Fairgrounds, Courthouse Square, and Chestnut Lodge. Panels for advertising line the edge of the ceiling on both sides of the trolley. Instead of AC, the interiors were cooled with wooden ceiling fans. (click on image to enlarge)
The print was originally made from a glass negative, an early photographic technique which was in common use between the 1880s and the late 1920s. The early 1900s were considered by many to be the golden era of early photography, because of its new availability to the public and somewhat simplified production methods. Many of Lewis Reed’s early photographs are now part of the Montgomery County Historical Society photo archives.
Rare peak of the inside of a 1920’s trolley car and passengers featured in PBS documentary “The Great War”. Photo taken by Lewis Reed
Screen shot of credits from The American Experience series, “The Great War” on PBS
Vintage Car Stuffing?
Photo by Lewis Reed
Ever want to see how sausage is made? Well, okay – maybe not… but this interesting photo taken by Lewis Reed some 100 plus years ago allows you to see how 18 men managed to cram themselves into a 1910-1911 Pierce Arrow Model 48 7-Passenger Touring. Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company in Buffalo, New York, produced some of the finest automobiles made and was one of the most popular high-quality cars of the time.
Unfortunately, no other details about the photograph or the location is known, though the architecture looks like textbook Washington, D.C. neoclassical. If anyone can identify the building in the background, please leave me a comment.
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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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