From Poolesville, participants are invited to cycle 30 miles with stops at five historic landmarks, including schools and a C&O Canal lock, before returning to Poolesville
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is sponsoring a 30-mile bike ride on Sunday, June 24 that starts at 9 a.m. at Dillingham Park (19701 Wooten Avenue, Poolesville, MD) and ends at that location around 12 noon. The bike tour is part of Heritage Days 2018, a free festival sponsored by Heritage Montgomery, and will take place on local roads with opportunities for shorter biking segments than the 30-mile loop.
The majority of the loop is a low-stress route, but some sections consist of hilly terrain and two-lane roads lacking shoulders, and are unsuitable for young children.
Please RSVP online to reserve your spot.
All participants will need to sign a waiver as part of the bike ride.
The group ride includes stops at the following historic structures:
- Seneca Schoolhouse: This one-room, stone school building in Poolesville opened in 1867 for students drawn from local farms, settlements and barge families.
- Riley’s Lock: Completed in 1832, this hybrid structure on the C&O Canal combines an aqueduct used to cross Seneca Creek and a lift-lock for raising and lowering boats.
- Button Farm: This living history center in Germantown recreates an authentic plantation-era landscape by replicating aspects of an 1850s farm, including a slave quarter.
- Boyds Negro School: This one-room wooden building served as the only public school for African American students in the Boyds area from 1895 to 1936.
- John Poole House: This log cabin is the oldest building in Poolesville. The one-room trading post was built in 1793, enlarged several times and served as the area’s first post office.
Staff from the Planning Department’s Historic Preservation Office will be at each stop to present a history of the structure and answer questions from the tour group.
About Heritage Days
Sponsored by the nonprofit organization Heritage Montgomery, the free festival in upper Montgomery County, called Heritage Days, is held from Saturday, June 23 through Sunday, 24 from 12 noon to 4 p.m. each day. It highlights historic, cultural and outdoor recreation sites offering special programs including exhibits and demonstrations, live music, activities for children and much more. Heritage Days provides the opportunity to visit many small historic sites that are not regularly open to the public.
About Heritage Montgomery
The Heritage Tourism Alliance of Montgomery County (Heritage Montgomery) was established by state legislation in 2003 as part of the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority and became a Certified Heritage Area in 2004. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Heritage Montgomery was created to raise the profile of the county’s rich cultural and historical resources, ensuring that residents and visitors understand and value the county’s past. As the area’s population has exploded, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of heritage programs and a higher profile for the history and heritage resources of the county. Heritage Montgomery encourages visitors to explore the county – to stay longer and return more often.