Montrose Schoolhouse - Rockville, Maryland
Posted by: 
flyingmoose
N 39° 03.217 W 077° 06.883
18S E 317012 N 4324853
Located at the intersection of Montrose Boulevard and Josiah Henson Boulevard.
Waymark Code: WM180PH
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 05/04/2023
Views: 2
This old schoolhouse was built in 1909 and has seen multiple students pass through its doors. Today, it stands empty and no current plans for rehabilitation are posted online.
Taken from Peerless Rockville (
visit link)
In 1908, the Montgomery County School Board appointed Thomas C. Groomes to design a two-room school building in the Montrose vicinity. Completed in 1909, Montrose School sported a stylish gabled façade and offered classes for first to seventh grade. It featured the latest in educational architecture, including air vents in the masonry foundation, a hipped roof with improved air circulation, tall windows for maximum indoor illumination and ventilation, and high window placement to help ensure full attention from the students. Other modern amenities included kerosene hurricane lamps affixed to the walls and pot-bellied coal burning stoves in each classroom; an outside hand pump provided well water, and outdoor boys’ and girls’ rest rooms. Increased modernization, including electricity and indoor plumbing were added throughout the early to middle decades of the 20th century.
Montrose School operated until 1960, when it was converted to a facility for special education. The site was abandoned by the school system in the early 1970s and was used for storage by the State Highway Administration (SHA). The building was destined for demolition because of its deplorable condition—a leaky roof, broken windows, peeling paint, and damaged plaster. In the late 1970s, Peerless Rockville made the case to SHA to save Montrose School because of its significance with educational history and the village of Montrose. SHA agreed to sell the building to Peerless for one dollar.
Over the next two years, Peerless raised money for rehabilitation and renovation to remove inappropriate alterations and meet code requirements. Care was taken to retain all original materials and architectural features. Equally important, Peerless found an appropriate adaptive use for Montrose School, which has housed a variety of tenants during the past two decades.
Montrose School continues to serve the local communities as an historic icon and a reminder of the value of local preservation. In 1979, Montrose School was designated historic by Montgomery County and in 1983, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.