History Lectures
A century ago, the area in and around Cabin John Village and the Cabin John Regional Park, spanning hundreds of acres, was a vibrant Black community that came to be known as Scotland. Across Montgomery County, more than 40 other Black communities were also settled as centers of Black culture and worship. Local volunteers and historians will retell those stories in words, pictures, videos, and artifacts for a day-long examination of a history that can never be forgotten.
Location: Bette Thompson Community Center, 7700 Scotland Drive, Potomac, MD 20854
Time: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
10:00 AM
When the Eagles Soared
To celebrate Negro League baseball merging with Major League Baseball in the record books at last, this presentation will feature local hero Eddie Dove, the starting third baseman of the Scotland Eagles, talking about the significance of the game in Black culture. With local baseball historians Bruce Adams of Big Train Base Ball Inc. and Billy Gordon.
11:00 AM
The Untold Story of the Underground Railroad
Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Scott Shane offers details from his new book on the former DC slave, Thomas Smallwood, who started the escape route that Harriett Tubman made famous. Mr. Shane will sign first-edition copies of Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery’s Borderland.
Sponsored by AARP
12:30 PM
Juneteenth: The Real History of the Holiday
As the most prominent, yet misunderstood date on the Black calendar, the existence of Juneteenth as federal holiday has been a long time in the making. We are honored to have Jane Campbell, the fourth president of the United States Capitol Historical Society explain the origins and significance of the day both locally and nationally.
1:30 PM
The Church that Named a City
The Bethesda Meeting House (circa 1820) existed before Bethesda came into existence as a town, then a city. A group of historians, including our presenter Hank Levine, are launching a movement to revitalize the property with a most fascinating past.
2:30 PM
Photographs and Memories of Scotland
When Joyce Siegel helped save Scotland in the 1960s, it was her husband, Alan, who followed her around with a camera. This event will reunite the Siegel family with the children of Scotland in those remarkable photographs to tell the stories of the Scotland of a bygone era. This will be a special moment 60 years in the making!
