What's the Pump House?

Since I >wrote about the Open Mic at the Pump House, many people have been asking about the building. Here’s an excerpt from my Rockville University project which describes a part of East Rockville’s history including the Pumphouse.

Property around the railroad tracks developed when the B&O Railroad reached Rockville in 1873, so homes in East Rockville date back to the late 1800’s. Last May, Peerless Rockville did its first tour of the historic homes in this neighborhood, featuring Victorian Cottages, American Foursquares, and beautiful gardens.

When the railroad reached Rockville, developers quickly bought up the farmland bordering it to the east in order to subdivide into residential lots. One developer was William Reading who purchased 30 acres from Dr. E. E. Stonestreet in 1884. This is Rockville Park. Charles Maddox who designed the Old Courthouse bought a big piece, built his own house, and lived in East Rockville. As in the West End of Rockville, many people built the houses for summer use away from Washington and the diseases associated with this swampland. By 1900, Rockville began to resemble a suburb of Washington, DC. People could then easily reach Washington DC for work.

The main historic site is the Pump House at 401 South Horners Lane. A plaque on the building dates it to 1879. According to the City of Rockville Community Planning Division, The Rockville Electric Light and Water Works was built under the leadership of Mayor Joseph Reading and it generated electricity for public street lights as well as private homes.

The property became the site of the first municipal water supply. Councilmember Phyllis Marcuccio gave me a tour and explained that there was a typhoid outbreak in 1913. Someone was visiting the house at 308 Baltimore Avenue and when using the outhouse, spread his typhoid into the water supply below and it spread to everyone’s wells. The U.S. Public Health Department designed this solution to protect the City’s water supply and laid pipes to create a water and sanitation system. This was replicated all over the country. A water holding tank and elevated water tank were on the site until just recently and the pumps were in the building until just a few years ago.

The Pump House is an anchor for the community and is now a recreation center. Currently it is the home of The Finest! Dance Troup. In the past, it was the first location for senior activities. Ruth Hanessian’s mother, Estelle Berberian, advocated for a senior meeting place and the Pump House was used before the current Senior Center was built.

In 1936, a school bus and train collided at the Baltimore Road crossing. Fourteen children and adults died and the crossing was closed permanently. This cut the neighborhood off from points west. The B&O built a small one-lane wooden bridge (no more than 5,000 pounds). When a cement truck from Lincoln Park crossed with a full load, it collapsed and was replaced by a pedestrian bridge. When the Metro was built, Park Road was paved and put through the tunnel allowing more access to the community.

In 1981 as the commuter line was being built, Metro authorities kept referring to all the neighborhoods east of the railroad line as “Croydon Park”. This wasn’t appropriate because the area was made up of ten subdivisions. When people didn’t show up for public meetings, Phyllis Marcuccio worked to have the area referred to as “East Rockville” so that people would know they were to be included. The sign installed by the City welcomes people on the corner by the metro.

The East Rockville Civic Association was then chartered with representatives from the following neighborhoods: Croydon Park including England’s 2nd Division; Maryvale; Burgundy including Burgundy Hills, Burgundy Village, Harriet Park, and Brown’s Addition; Rockville Park including Janeta and Rockdale; and Burgundy/Red Gate including Burgundy Knolls and Red Gate Apartments.

East Rockville includes small brick homes, split foyers, ranch houses, and Victorians. The neighborhood is residential, close to the Metro, and perfect as an affordable area with an easy commute to Washington. The same attractive features for which it was originally built.

Photo from the City of Rockville website.

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