Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-08-25

Ue IlGlu dI d convenient place TO
be chosen by the justices. The
first county court was held
May 20, TIT, at the house of
Leonard Davis.
AS in the case of Suffers
Tavern in Georgetown, the loca-
ton of these three taverns
which have played such an i'm
portant part in Montgomery
County's history has never
been definitely fixed. What in
formation have we on which to
base an opinion?
Our chief undocumented
source of information is paper
prepared in connection with
Montgomery County's Centen-
NAL in 1876. 1t was written by
Mr.. Thomas Anderson and
said:
when Montgomery County
was created, September 6, 1776,
the town (Rockville) was a
little hamlet, consisting of
Charles Hungerford's tavern
(kept subsequently by Leonard
Davis, which is still standing,
anu occupied by Mrs. Susan
Russell, whose grandfather, Jo-
seph Wilson, built and owned
it; the Anderson house, in
which Miss Julia Anderson
lives, and one or two others.
The hamlet had no name until
the erection of the county,
when it was designated as
Montgomery Courthouse.
1.-THE first court was held at
the house of Leonard Davis, the
famous old Hungerford Tavern,
on the goth of May, 1777. !.
The old Hungerford or Russell
house is not only the oldest
building in the place, but also
from its associations the object
of greatest interest to the an
tiquary. Mrs. Richard Woot-
ton, a sister-in-law of Thomas
Sprigg Wootton, who moved
the erection of the county,
danced in it at a ball given
more than ITO years ago."
This statement has been ac-
cepted as authentic by the
many historians who have
covered the subject. 1t deserves
serious consideration since Mr..
Anderson was an able lawyer
of high principles who had ac-
ce' to the legal documents on
record in Rockville where he
and his ancestors had lived for
a hundred years within
stones throw of the Russell
house. A picture of the Russell
house accompanies this article.
Labeled "Hungerford Tavern"
it had wide circulation as post
card for many years. Many
older residents of Rockville re-
member the Russell house well.
1t was formerly located on
South Washington ST., where
the Baptist parsonage now
stands.
OAR Sparks Restoration
In the early 1905, the Janet
Montgomery Chapter, Daugh-
tiers of the American Revolu-
ton, accepting Mr.. Anderson's
Identification of the Russell
House as Hungerford Tavern,
started a movement to have the
place bought and restored. But
when they searched the records
for proof that Hungerford
Tavern and the Russell House
were the same, some came to
the conclusion that they we're
not the same and the restora-
ton project was dropped.
Whether or not it was Hun
gerford Tavern, it is obvious
that the Russell House was
very old, almost certainly built
before the Revolution. The
man who RACED the old house
said that the logs of which it
was built were "chinked and
dobed." The wood was hand
hewed, mortised and put to-
gether with handmade nails.
The chimney and dormers fur
Their identify it as being pre-
Revolutionary and the huge
fireplace with pothook In it
and the dirt floor of the back
room further testify to its great
age. 1t should have been pre-
served on its own merits.