Rockville, Maryland
Encyclopedia
Rockville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland
, United States. It is a major incorporated city in the central part of Montgomery County and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
. The 2010 U.S. Census tabulated the city's population at 61,209, making it the third largest incorporated city in Maryland
, behind Baltimore
and Frederick
.
Rockville, along with neighboring Gaithersburg
and Bethesda
, is at the core of the Interstate 270
Technology Corridor which is home to numerous software and biotechnology companies as well as several federal government institutions. The city also has several upscale regional shopping centers and is one of the major retail hubs in Montgomery County.
region and crossed by three creeks (Rock Creek
, Cabin John Creek, and Watts Branch
), Rockville provided an excellent refuge for semi-nomadic Native Americans as early as 8000 BC. By the first millennium BC, a few of these groups had settled down into year-round agricultural communities that exploited the native flora, including sunflower
s and marsh elder. By AD 1200, these early groups (dubbed Montgomery Indians by later archaeologists) were increasingly drawn into conflict with the Senecas and Susquehannock
s who had migrated south from Pennsylvania
and New York
. Within the present-day boundaries of the city, six prehistoric sites have been uncovered and documented, and borne artifacts several thousand years old. By the year 1700, under pressure from Europe
an colonists, the majority of these original inhabitants had been driven away.
The indigenous population carved a path on the high ground, known as Sinequa Trail, which is now downtown Rockville. Later, the Maryland Assembly set the standard of 20 feet for main thoroughfares and designated the Rock Creek Main Road or Great Road to be built to this standard. In the mid-18th century, Lawrence Owen opened a small inn on the road. The place, known as Owen's Ordinary, took on greater prominence when, on April 14, 1755, Major General Edward Braddock
stopped at Owen's Ordinary on a start of a mission from George Town (now Washington, D.C.) to press British claims of the western frontier. The location of the road, near the present Rockville Pike, was strategically located on higher ground making it dry year-round.
The first land patent
s in the Rockville area were obtained by Arthur Nelson between 1717 and 1735. Within three decades, the first permanent buildings in what would become the center of Rockville were established on this land. Still a part of Prince George's County
at this time, the growth of Daniel Dulaney's Frederick Town
prompted the separation of the western portion of the county, including Rockville, into Frederick County
in 1748.
Being a small, unincorporated town, early Rockville was known by a variety of names, including Owen's Ordinary, Hungerford's Tavern, and Daley's Tavern. The first recorded mention of the settlement which would later become known as Rockville dates to the Braddock Expedition
in 1755. On April 14, one of the approximately two thousand men who were accompanying General Braddock through wrote the following: "we marched to larance Owings or Owings Oardianary, a Single House, it being 18 miles and very dirty." Owen's Ordinary was a small rest stop on Rock Creek Main Road (later the Rockville Pike), which stretched from George Town
to Frederick Town, and was then one of the largest thoroughfares in the colony of Maryland.
On September 6, 1776, the Maryland Constitutional Convention
agreed to a proposal introduced by Thomas Sprigg Wootton wherein Frederick County, the largest and most populous county in Maryland, would be divided into three smaller units. The southern portion of the county, of which Rockville was a part, was named Montgomery County. The most populous and prosperous urban center in this new county was George Town, but its location at the far southern edge rendered it worthless as a seat of local government. Rockville, a small, but centrally located and well-travelled town, was chosen as the seat of the county's government. Thereafter, the village was referred to by all as Montgomery Court House.
In 1784, William Prather Williams, a local landowner, hired a surveyor to lay out much of the town. In his honor, many took to calling the town Williamsburgh
. In practice, however, Williamsburgh and Montgomery Court House were used interchangeably. Rockville came to greater prominence when Montgomery county was created and later when George Town was ceded to the create the District of Columbia.
On July 16, 1803, when the area was officially entered into the county land records, however, the name used was "Rockville," believed to be derived from Rock Creek. Nevertheless, the name Montgomery Court House continued to appear on maps and other documents through the 1820s.
By petition of Rockville's citizens, the Maryland General Assembly
incorporated the village on March 10, 1860. During the American Civil War
, General George B. McClellan
stayed at the Beall Dawson house in 1862. In addition, General J.E.B. Stuart
and an army of 8,000 Confederate cavalry
men marched through and occupied Rockville on June 28, 1863 while on their way to Gettysburg
and stayed at the Prettyman house. Jubal Anderson Early
had also crossed through Maryland, on his way to and from his attack on Washington.
In 1873, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
arrived, making Rockville easily accessible from Washington, D.C.
(See Metropolitan Branch.) In July 1891, the Tennallytown and Rockville Railway inaugurated Rockville's first trolley
service connecting to the Georgetown and Tennallytown Railway terminus at Western Avenue and Wisconsin Avenue.
This provided service from Georgetown to Rockville, connecting Rockville to Washington, D.C. by trolley. Trolley service operated for four decades, until, eclipsed by the growing popularity of the automobile
, service was halted in August 1935. The Blue Ridge Transportation Company provided bus service for Rockville and Montgomery County from 1924 through 1955. After 1955, Rockville would not see a concerted effort to develop a public transportation infrastructure until the 1970s, when the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
(WMATA) began work to extend the Washington Metro
into Rockville and extended Metrobus service into Montgomery County. The Rockville station
of Washington Metro began service on July 25, 1984, and the Twinbrook station
began service on December 15, 1984. Metrobus service was supplemented by Montgomery County's own Ride On bus service starting in 1979. MARC
, Maryland's Rail Commuter service, serves Rockville with its Brunswick line. From Rockville MARC provides service to Union Station
in Washington D.C. (southbound) and, Frederick and Martinsburg, West Virginia
(northbound), as well as intermediate points. Amtrak
, the national passenger rail system, provides service from Rockville to Chicago
and Washington D.C.
During the Cold War
, it was considered safer to remain in Rockville than to evacuate during a hypothetical nuclear attack on Washington, D.C. Bomb shelters were built, including the largest one at Glenview Mansion
and 15 other locations. The I-270 highway was designated as an emergency aircraft landing strip. Two Nike missile launcher sites were located on Muddy Branch and Snouffer School Roads until the mid-1970s.
From the 1960s, Rockville's town center, formerly one of the area's commercial centers, suffered from a period of decline. Rockville soon became the first city in Maryland to enter into a government funded urban renewal
program. This resulted in the demolition of most of the original business district. Included in the plan was the unsuccessful Rockville Mall
, which failed to attract either major retailers or customers and was demolished in 1994, various government buildings such as the new Montgomery County Judicial Center, and a reorganization of the road plan near the Courthouse. Unfortunately, the once-promising plan was for the most part a disappointment. Although efforts to restore the town center continue, the majority of the city's economic activity has since relocated along Rockville Pike
(MD Route 355/Wisconsin Avenue). In 2004, Rockville Mayor Larry Giammo
announced plans to renovate the Rockville Town Square, including building new stores and housing and relocating the city's library. In the past year, the new Rockville Town Center has been transformed and includes a number of boutique-like stores, restaurants, condominiums and apartments, as well as stages, fountains and the Rockville Library. The headquarters of the U.S. Public Health Service is on Montrose Road, while the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's headquarters are also in the city.
The city is closely associated with the neighboring towns of Kensington
and the unincorporated census-designated place
, North Bethesda
. The Music Center at Strathmore
, an arts and theater center, opened in February 2005 in the latter of these two areas and is presently the second home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
, and the Fitzgerald Theatre in Rockville Civic Center Park has provided diverse entertainment since 1960. In 1998, Regal Cinemas opened in Town Center..
The city also has a brass band in the British style
.
The REM
song (Don't Go Back To) Rockville
released in 1984 was written by Mike Mills
about not wanting his girlfriend to return to Rockville, Maryland
, the city has a total area of 13.4 square miles (34.7 km²), of which, 13.4 square miles (34.7 km²) of it is land and it contains no major bodies of water.
update, there are 53,710 people in 21,895 households living within the boundaries of the city. These figures are an increase from the earlier 2000 census, which cited a total population of 47,388 people, 17,247 households, and 12,003 families residing in the city.
The population density
is 3524.1 PD/sqmi. There are 17,786 housing units at an average density of 1322.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city is 67.78% White, 9.11% African American, 0.34% Native American, 14.83% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 4.78% from other races, and 3.13% from two or more races. 11.67% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
In addition to North Potomac, MD with a 27.59% Asian population and Potomac, MD with close to 15%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Rockville is home to one of the largest Chinese communities in Maryland. According to the U.S. Census conducted in 2000, 14.5% of North Potomac's residents identified themselves as being of Chinese ancestry, making North Potomac the area with the highest percentage of Chinese ancestry in any place besides California and Hawaii. According to the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) enrollment demographic statistics, the two high schools in Montgomery County with the highest reported Asian ancestry are Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, MD with a 32.1% Asian population and caters to the communities in North Potomac, Rockville, and Potomac, MD, and Winston Churchill High School
in Potomac, MD with a 23.0% Asian population. Although North Potomac and Potomac have the highest concentration of Asian population in Maryland, the areas are largely residential and consist of suburban subdivisions. Thus, the more commercially favorable Rockville has become the center for Chinese/Taiwanese businesses since it is the county seat of Montgomery County and has large economic activity along Rockville Pike/Wisconsin Avenue (MD Route 355) in addition to having its own middle class and upscale residential areas. Rockville is widely considered to be a "Little Taipei" due to the area's high concentration of Taiwanese immigrants.
Rockville is also the center of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area's Jewish population, containing several synagogues, kosher restaurants, and the largest of the Washington area's three Jewish community centers, part of a complex which includes a Jewish nursing home, day school, theater, and educational facility. There are also high percentages of Jewish population in the surrounding areas of North Potomac and Potomac, which are largely residential and not as commercially suitable as Rockville. The city also has large Korean and Indian populations.
There are 17,247 households, of which 33.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% are married couples
living together, 9.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% are non-families. 23.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.65 and the average family size is 3.13.
In the city the population is spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city as of 2007 is $86,085. As of 2007, the median income for a family was $98,257. Males have a median income of $53,764 versus $38,788 for females. The per capita income
for the city is $30,518. 7.8% of the population and 5.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 8.9% of those under the age of 18 and 7.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
, Human Genome Sciences
and Goodwill Industries
has its headquarters in Rockville.
, whose members, along with the Mayor, serve as the legislative body of the city. The Council members for the 2009 to 2011 session are John B. Britton, Piotr (Peter) Gajewski, Bridget Newton, and Mark Pierzchala.
and is aided by the Montgomery County Police Department as directed by authority.
. Public high schools in Rockville include Thomas S. Wootton High School, Richard Montgomery High School
, Rockville High School
and Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School
.
The Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School
, among other private schools, are located in Rockville.
Institutions of higher education in Rockville include Montgomery College
(Rockville Campus), University of Maryland University College
(main campus is in Adelphi, Maryland
), and Johns Hopkins University
(Montgomery County Campus); main campus is in Baltimore, Maryland). Rockville is also home to the Universities at Shady Grove
, a collaboration of nine Maryland public degree-granting institutions.
of the Washington Metro
rail system services the Rockville station and Twinbrook station. The Rockville station is located at Hungerford Drive near Park Road. The Twinbrook station is located near Rockville Pike and Halpine Road with entrances on Chapman Avenue.
At the same location as the Rockville metro station is Rockville Station on the Brunswick Line
of the MARC commuter rail system, which runs to and from Washington, DC.
Amtrak
, the national passenger rail system, provides intercity train service to Rockville. The city's passenger rail station is located at 251 Hungerford Drive (at Park Road), ZIP code 20850; this is also the location of the MARC station described above.
(Schleswig-Holstein
, Germany
) Jiaxing
(Zhejiang
, People's Republic of China
)
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
, United States. It is a major incorporated city in the central part of Montgomery County and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
The Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area is a combined statistical area consisting of the overlapping labor market region of the cities of Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.. The region includes Central Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Jefferson County in the Eastern Panhandle of West...
. The 2010 U.S. Census tabulated the city's population at 61,209, making it the third largest incorporated city in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, behind Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
and Frederick
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
.
Rockville, along with neighboring Gaithersburg
Gaithersburg, Maryland
Gaithersburg is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The city had a population of 59,933 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest incorporated city in the state, behind Baltimore, Frederick, and Rockville...
and Bethesda
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
, is at the core of the Interstate 270
Interstate 270 (Maryland)
Interstate 270 is a auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Maryland that travels between Interstate 495 just north of Bethesda, Montgomery County and Interstate 70 in the city of Frederick in Frederick County. It consists of the mainline as well as a spur that provides access to and...
Technology Corridor which is home to numerous software and biotechnology companies as well as several federal government institutions. The city also has several upscale regional shopping centers and is one of the major retail hubs in Montgomery County.
History
Situated in PiedmontPiedmont (United States)
The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...
region and crossed by three creeks (Rock Creek
Rock Creek (Potomac River)
Rock Creek is a free-flowing tributary of the Potomac River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the Chesapeake Bay. The creek is long, with a drainage area of about...
, Cabin John Creek, and Watts Branch
Watts Branch (Potomac River)
Watts Branch is a tributary stream of the Potomac River in Montgomery County, Maryland. The headwaters of the stream originate in the city of Rockville, and the branch flows southwest for , under the C&O Canal near Swain's Lock, to the Potomac River, which drains to the Chesapeake Bay...
), Rockville provided an excellent refuge for semi-nomadic Native Americans as early as 8000 BC. By the first millennium BC, a few of these groups had settled down into year-round agricultural communities that exploited the native flora, including sunflower
Sunflower
Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...
s and marsh elder. By AD 1200, these early groups (dubbed Montgomery Indians by later archaeologists) were increasingly drawn into conflict with the Senecas and Susquehannock
Susquehannock
The Susquehannock people were Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay...
s who had migrated south from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Within the present-day boundaries of the city, six prehistoric sites have been uncovered and documented, and borne artifacts several thousand years old. By the year 1700, under pressure from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an colonists, the majority of these original inhabitants had been driven away.
The indigenous population carved a path on the high ground, known as Sinequa Trail, which is now downtown Rockville. Later, the Maryland Assembly set the standard of 20 feet for main thoroughfares and designated the Rock Creek Main Road or Great Road to be built to this standard. In the mid-18th century, Lawrence Owen opened a small inn on the road. The place, known as Owen's Ordinary, took on greater prominence when, on April 14, 1755, Major General Edward Braddock
Edward Braddock
General Edward Braddock was a British soldier and commander-in-chief for the 13 colonies during the actions at the start of the French and Indian War...
stopped at Owen's Ordinary on a start of a mission from George Town (now Washington, D.C.) to press British claims of the western frontier. The location of the road, near the present Rockville Pike, was strategically located on higher ground making it dry year-round.
The first land patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s in the Rockville area were obtained by Arthur Nelson between 1717 and 1735. Within three decades, the first permanent buildings in what would become the center of Rockville were established on this land. Still a part of Prince George's County
Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
at this time, the growth of Daniel Dulaney's Frederick Town
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
prompted the separation of the western portion of the county, including Rockville, into Frederick County
Frederick County, Maryland
Frederick County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 233,385....
in 1748.
Being a small, unincorporated town, early Rockville was known by a variety of names, including Owen's Ordinary, Hungerford's Tavern, and Daley's Tavern. The first recorded mention of the settlement which would later become known as Rockville dates to the Braddock Expedition
Braddock expedition
The Braddock expedition, also called Braddock's campaign or, more commonly, Braddock's Defeat, was a failed British military expedition which attempted to capture the French Fort Duquesne in the summer of 1755 during the French and Indian War. It was defeated at the Battle of the Monongahela on...
in 1755. On April 14, one of the approximately two thousand men who were accompanying General Braddock through wrote the following: "we marched to larance Owings or Owings Oardianary, a Single House, it being 18 miles and very dirty." Owen's Ordinary was a small rest stop on Rock Creek Main Road (later the Rockville Pike), which stretched from George Town
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
to Frederick Town, and was then one of the largest thoroughfares in the colony of Maryland.
On September 6, 1776, the Maryland Constitutional Convention
Maryland Constitution
The current Constitution of the State of Maryland, which was ratified by the people of the state on September 18, 1867, forms the basic law for the U.S. state of Maryland. It replaced the short-lived Maryland Constitution of 1864 and is the fourth constitution under which the state has been...
agreed to a proposal introduced by Thomas Sprigg Wootton wherein Frederick County, the largest and most populous county in Maryland, would be divided into three smaller units. The southern portion of the county, of which Rockville was a part, was named Montgomery County. The most populous and prosperous urban center in this new county was George Town, but its location at the far southern edge rendered it worthless as a seat of local government. Rockville, a small, but centrally located and well-travelled town, was chosen as the seat of the county's government. Thereafter, the village was referred to by all as Montgomery Court House.
Williamsburgh
Williamsburgh is a place name, derived from the name William and the Scots language and Scottish English word burgh:*Williamsburgh, Paisley, a residential area in Paisley, Scotland, originally a separate village outwith the boundary of the ancient Burgh of Paisley*Williamsburg, Brooklyn, originally...
. In practice, however, Williamsburgh and Montgomery Court House were used interchangeably. Rockville came to greater prominence when Montgomery county was created and later when George Town was ceded to the create the District of Columbia.
On July 16, 1803, when the area was officially entered into the county land records, however, the name used was "Rockville," believed to be derived from Rock Creek. Nevertheless, the name Montgomery Court House continued to appear on maps and other documents through the 1820s.
By petition of Rockville's citizens, the Maryland General Assembly
Maryland General Assembly
The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is a bicameral body. The upper chamber, the Maryland State Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber, the Maryland House of Delegates, has 141 representatives...
incorporated the village on March 10, 1860. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, General George B. McClellan
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
stayed at the Beall Dawson house in 1862. In addition, General J.E.B. Stuart
J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...
and an army of 8,000 Confederate cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
men marched through and occupied Rockville on June 28, 1863 while on their way to Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
and stayed at the Prettyman house. Jubal Anderson Early
Jubal Anderson Early
Jubal Anderson Early was a lawyer and Confederate general in the American Civil War. He served under Stonewall Jackson and then Robert E. Lee for almost the entire war, rising from regimental command to lieutenant general and the command of an infantry corps in the Army of Northern Virginia...
had also crossed through Maryland, on his way to and from his attack on Washington.
In 1873, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
arrived, making Rockville easily accessible from Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
(See Metropolitan Branch.) In July 1891, the Tennallytown and Rockville Railway inaugurated Rockville's first trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
service connecting to the Georgetown and Tennallytown Railway terminus at Western Avenue and Wisconsin Avenue.
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
, service was halted in August 1935. The Blue Ridge Transportation Company provided bus service for Rockville and Montgomery County from 1924 through 1955. After 1955, Rockville would not see a concerted effort to develop a public transportation infrastructure until the 1970s, when the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including the Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess...
(WMATA) began work to extend the Washington Metro
Washington Metro
The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...
into Rockville and extended Metrobus service into Montgomery County. The Rockville station
Rockville (Washington Metro)
Rockville is an island platformed Washington Metro station in Rockville, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on December 15, 1984, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority . Providing service for the Red Line, the station is located in downtown Rockville at...
of Washington Metro began service on July 25, 1984, and the Twinbrook station
Twinbrook (Washington Metro)
Twinbrook is a rapid transit station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro in Rockville, Maryland. One of a number of stations on the Rockville Pike corridor, it primarily acts as a commuter station.-Location:...
began service on December 15, 1984. Metrobus service was supplemented by Montgomery County's own Ride On bus service starting in 1979. MARC
MARC Train
MARC , known prior to 1984 as Maryland Rail Commuter Service, is a regional rail system comprising three lines in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. MARC is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration , a Maryland Department of Transportation agency, and is operated under contract...
, Maryland's Rail Commuter service, serves Rockville with its Brunswick line. From Rockville MARC provides service to Union Station
Union Station (Washington, D.C.)
Washington Union Station is a train station and leisure destination visited by 32 million people each year in the center of Washington, D.C. The train station is served by Amtrak, MARC and Virginia Railway Express commuter rail services as well as by Washington Metro subway trains and local buses...
in Washington D.C. (southbound) and, Frederick and Martinsburg, West Virginia
Martinsburg, West Virginia
Martinsburg is a city in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia, United States. The city's population was 14,972 at the 2000 census; according to a 2009 Census Bureau estimate, Martinsburg's population was 17,117, making it the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle and the eighth largest...
(northbound), as well as intermediate points. Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
, the national passenger rail system, provides service from Rockville to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Washington D.C.
During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, it was considered safer to remain in Rockville than to evacuate during a hypothetical nuclear attack on Washington, D.C. Bomb shelters were built, including the largest one at Glenview Mansion
Glenview Farm
Glenview Farm is a historic home and surrounding property located at Rockville, Montgomery County, Maryland. The house is a 1926 Neo-Classical Revival style house on of landscaped ground...
and 15 other locations. The I-270 highway was designated as an emergency aircraft landing strip. Two Nike missile launcher sites were located on Muddy Branch and Snouffer School Roads until the mid-1970s.
From the 1960s, Rockville's town center, formerly one of the area's commercial centers, suffered from a period of decline. Rockville soon became the first city in Maryland to enter into a government funded urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
program. This resulted in the demolition of most of the original business district. Included in the plan was the unsuccessful Rockville Mall
Rockville Mall
Rockville Mall was an indoor shopping mall in Rockville, Maryland. Opened in 1972, the mall originated as part of an urban renewal project. Much of it was demolished in 1995, and later replaced with Rockville Town Center.-History:...
, which failed to attract either major retailers or customers and was demolished in 1994, various government buildings such as the new Montgomery County Judicial Center, and a reorganization of the road plan near the Courthouse. Unfortunately, the once-promising plan was for the most part a disappointment. Although efforts to restore the town center continue, the majority of the city's economic activity has since relocated along Rockville Pike
Maryland Route 355
Maryland Route 355 is a north–south road in western central Maryland in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the Washington, D.C. border in Friendship Heights, Montgomery County, where it continues south as Wisconsin Avenue into Washington. The northern terminus is...
(MD Route 355/Wisconsin Avenue). In 2004, Rockville Mayor Larry Giammo
Larry Giammo
Larry Giammo is the former mayor of Rockville, Maryland. He was first elected on November 6, 2001, and was reelected in 2003 and 2005. On March 2, 2007, he announced that he would not be seeking a fourth term as mayor in the November 2007 election...
announced plans to renovate the Rockville Town Square, including building new stores and housing and relocating the city's library. In the past year, the new Rockville Town Center has been transformed and includes a number of boutique-like stores, restaurants, condominiums and apartments, as well as stages, fountains and the Rockville Library. The headquarters of the U.S. Public Health Service is on Montrose Road, while the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's headquarters are also in the city.
The city is closely associated with the neighboring towns of Kensington
Kensington, Maryland
Kensington is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,873 at the 2000 census. Greater Kensington encompasses the entire 20895 zip code and its population is an order of magnitude larger than that of the town at its center....
and the unincorporated census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
, North Bethesda
North Bethesda, Maryland
North Bethesda is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It borders the city of Rockville, and is closely associated with the city.-Geography:...
. The Music Center at Strathmore
Strathmore (Maryland)
Strathmore is a cultural and artistic venue and institution in North Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Strathmore was founded in 1981 and consists of two venues: the Mansion and the Music Center....
, an arts and theater center, opened in February 2005 in the latter of these two areas and is presently the second home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a professional American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland.In September 2007, Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.The BSO Board...
, and the Fitzgerald Theatre in Rockville Civic Center Park has provided diverse entertainment since 1960. In 1998, Regal Cinemas opened in Town Center..
The city also has a brass band in the British style
Brass band (British style)
A British-style brass band is a musical ensemble comprising a standardised range of brass and percussion instruments. The modern form of the brass band in the United Kingdom dates back to the 19th century, with a vibrant tradition of competition based around local industry and communities...
.
The REM
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
song (Don't Go Back To) Rockville
(Don't Go Back To) Rockville
" Rockville" was the second and final single released by R.E.M. from their second studio album Reckoning. The song failed to chart on either the Billboard Hot 100 or the UK Singles Charts....
released in 1984 was written by Mike Mills
Mike Mills
Michael Edward "Mike" Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments...
about not wanting his girlfriend to return to Rockville, Maryland
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 13.4 square miles (34.7 km²), of which, 13.4 square miles (34.7 km²) of it is land and it contains no major bodies of water.
Demographics
As of the 2005 censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
update, there are 53,710 people in 21,895 households living within the boundaries of the city. These figures are an increase from the earlier 2000 census, which cited a total population of 47,388 people, 17,247 households, and 12,003 families residing in the city.
The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
is 3524.1 PD/sqmi. There are 17,786 housing units at an average density of 1322.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city is 67.78% White, 9.11% African American, 0.34% Native American, 14.83% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 4.78% from other races, and 3.13% from two or more races. 11.67% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
In addition to North Potomac, MD with a 27.59% Asian population and Potomac, MD with close to 15%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Rockville is home to one of the largest Chinese communities in Maryland. According to the U.S. Census conducted in 2000, 14.5% of North Potomac's residents identified themselves as being of Chinese ancestry, making North Potomac the area with the highest percentage of Chinese ancestry in any place besides California and Hawaii. According to the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) enrollment demographic statistics, the two high schools in Montgomery County with the highest reported Asian ancestry are Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, MD with a 32.1% Asian population and caters to the communities in North Potomac, Rockville, and Potomac, MD, and Winston Churchill High School
Winston Churchill High School (Montgomery County, Maryland)
Winston Churchill High School, often referred to as WCHS or Churchill, is a high school in Potomac, an unincorporated section of Montgomery County, Maryland....
in Potomac, MD with a 23.0% Asian population. Although North Potomac and Potomac have the highest concentration of Asian population in Maryland, the areas are largely residential and consist of suburban subdivisions. Thus, the more commercially favorable Rockville has become the center for Chinese/Taiwanese businesses since it is the county seat of Montgomery County and has large economic activity along Rockville Pike/Wisconsin Avenue (MD Route 355) in addition to having its own middle class and upscale residential areas. Rockville is widely considered to be a "Little Taipei" due to the area's high concentration of Taiwanese immigrants.
Rockville is also the center of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area's Jewish population, containing several synagogues, kosher restaurants, and the largest of the Washington area's three Jewish community centers, part of a complex which includes a Jewish nursing home, day school, theater, and educational facility. There are also high percentages of Jewish population in the surrounding areas of North Potomac and Potomac, which are largely residential and not as commercially suitable as Rockville. The city also has large Korean and Indian populations.
There are 17,247 households, of which 33.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% are married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 9.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% are non-families. 23.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.65 and the average family size is 3.13.
In the city the population is spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city as of 2007 is $86,085. As of 2007, the median income for a family was $98,257. Males have a median income of $53,764 versus $38,788 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city is $30,518. 7.8% of the population and 5.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 8.9% of those under the age of 18 and 7.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Economy
Emergent BioSolutionsEmergent BioSolutions
Emergent BioSolutions is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. Emergent develops vaccines and therapeutics targeting infectious diseases, oncology and autoimmune disorders. Founded as BioPort Corporation in 1998, the company was named Emergent...
, Human Genome Sciences
Human Genome Sciences
Human Genome Sciences is a biopharmaceutical corporation founded in 1992. It uses the human DNA sequence to develop protein and antibody drugs. As of 2008, it has drugs under development to treat such diseases as hepatitis C, systemic lupus erythmatosis, anthrax disease, cancer, rheumatoid...
and Goodwill Industries
Goodwill Industries
Goodwill Industries International is a not-for-profit organization that provides job training, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who have a disability, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges...
has its headquarters in Rockville.
Largest employers
According to the city's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Westat Westat Westat is an employee-owned corporation providing research services to agencies of the U.S. Government, as well as businesses, foundations, and state and local governments.... |
1,900 |
| 2 | Human Genome Sciences Human Genome Sciences Human Genome Sciences is a biopharmaceutical corporation founded in 1992. It uses the human DNA sequence to develop protein and antibody drugs. As of 2008, it has drugs under development to treat such diseases as hepatitis C, systemic lupus erythmatosis, anthrax disease, cancer, rheumatoid... |
850 |
| 3 | Wolpoff & Abramson | 650 |
| 4 | Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children | 545 |
| 5 | Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. , or more commonly Booz Allen, is an American public consulting firm headquartered in McLean, Fairfax County, Virginia, with 80 other offices throughout the United States. Ralph Shrader is its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The firm was founded by Edwin Booz in... |
500 |
| 6 | Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area.... Information Systems |
500 |
| 7 | United States Pharmacopeia United States Pharmacopeia The United States Pharmacopeia is the official pharmacopeia of the United States, published dually with the National Formulary as the USP-NF. The United States Pharmacopeial Convention is the nonprofit organization that owns the trademark and copyright to the USP-NF and publishes it every year... |
500 |
| 8 | J. Craig Venter Institute J. Craig Venter Institute The J. Craig Venter Institute is a non-profit genomics research institute founded by J. Craig Venter, Ph.D. in October 2006. The Institute was the result of consolidating four organizations: the Center for the Advancement of Genomics, The Institute for Genomic Research, the Institute for... |
450 |
| 9 | BioReliance | 425 |
| 10 | Banner Life Legal & General Legal & General Group Plc , commonly known as Legal & General, is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its products include life insurance, general insurance, pensions and investments. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Egypt, France, Germany,... |
400 |
Sports
- Maryland NighthawksMaryland NighthawksThe Washington GreenHawks were a team of the Atlantic Coast Professional Basketball League based in Washington, D.C.. As the Maryland Nighthawks they were formerly part of the American Basketball Association and a founding member of the Premier Basketball League , in which they later played as...
, a Premier Basketball LeaguePremier Basketball LeagueThe Premier Basketball League, often abbreviated to the PBL, is a men's professional basketball minor league in the United States that began play in January 2008. The league had ten teams for the 2008 season and thirteen teams for the 2009 season. Nine teams from Canada and the United States...
franchise (Now defunct) - Rockville ExpressRockville ExpressThe Rockville Express is a collegiate summer baseball team based in Rockville, Maryland. Most of its players are drawn from the college ranks. The team is a member of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League . The Express plays its home games at Knights Field on the campus of Montgomery...
, a Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball LeagueCal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball LeagueThe Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League is a collegiate summer baseball league located in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan areas. All players are from NCAA-sanctioned colleges and universities and have at least one year of NCAA eligibility remaining.-History:The CRCBL...
team, 2007 CRSCBL League Champions - Real Maryland MonarchsReal Maryland MonarchsReal Maryland F.C., commonly known as the Real Maryland Monarchs, is an American soccer team based in Rockville, Maryland, United States...
, a USL Second DivisionUSL Second DivisionThe United Soccer Leagues Second Division was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, part of the United Soccer Leagues league pyramid...
team.
Mayor
The current Mayor of Rockville is Phyllis Marcuccio. She took office on November 22, 2009. Previous mayors include:- Susan Hoffmann (2007–2009)
- Larry Giammo (2001–2007)
- Rose Krasnow (1995–2001)
- James Coyle (1993–1995)
- Douglas M. DuncanDoug DuncanDouglas M. Duncan is a Democratic politician from Maryland who served as County Executive of Montgomery County from 1994 to 2006. At three terms, Duncan held the office longer than any other County Executive in Montgomery County's history...
(1987–1993) - Steven Van Grack (1985–1987)
Representative body
Rockville has a four-member City CouncilCity council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
, whose members, along with the Mayor, serve as the legislative body of the city. The Council members for the 2009 to 2011 session are John B. Britton, Piotr (Peter) Gajewski, Bridget Newton, and Mark Pierzchala.
Departments and offices
The city manager oversees the following departments:- Community Planning and Development Services
- Finance
- Human Resources
- Information and Technology
- Police
- Public Works
- Recreation and Parks
Law enforcement
The city is serviced by the Rockville City Police DepartmentRockville City Police Department (Maryland)
The Rockville City Police Department, in cooperation with the Montgomery County Police, is responsible for patrolling Rockville, the third largest city in the state of Maryland. The agency serves 55,213 people within of the municipality of Rockville, Maryland.-Organization:The current chief of...
and is aided by the Montgomery County Police Department as directed by authority.
Education
Rockville is served by Montgomery County Public SchoolsMontgomery County Public Schools
Montgomery County Public Schools ' is a school district that serves Montgomery County, Maryland, USA. It is the largest school district in Maryland. As of the 2009–2010 school year, the district had 11,500 FTE teachers serving 141,777 students at 200 schools.Students in the district score among the...
. Public high schools in Rockville include Thomas S. Wootton High School, Richard Montgomery High School
Richard Montgomery High School
Richard Montgomery High School is a secondary public school located in Rockville, Maryland.Richard Montgomery High School is named for Richard Montgomery, an American General who died while attempting to capture the British-held city of Quebec...
, Rockville High School
Rockville High School (Maryland)
Rockville High School is a comprehensive, four-year high school in Rockville, Maryland, United States. The school was founded in 1968 and its current building was completed in August, 2004. As of 2009, enrollment was 1,243 students. Earle B...
and Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School
Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School
Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School is a secondary public school located in Rockville , Maryland.Magruder is named for Colonel Zadok Magruder, a Revolutionary War patriot and farmer. He was colonel in command of part of the Maryland militia and helped establish Montgomery County's government in...
.
The Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School
Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School
The Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, often referred to as CESJDS or JDS, is a private, pluralistic Jewish K-12 school in Rockville, Maryland....
, among other private schools, are located in Rockville.
Institutions of higher education in Rockville include Montgomery College
Montgomery College
Montgomery College is a public, open access community college located in Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. in the United States. The college has three campuses, the largest of which is in Rockville; the other campuses are in Takoma Park/Silver Spring and Germantown...
(Rockville Campus), University of Maryland University College
University of Maryland University College
The University of Maryland University College is located in the unincorporated community of Adelphi in Prince George's County, Maryland in the United States. Serving over 90,000 students worldwide, UMUC is the largest 4-year public university in Maryland and one of the largest distance learning...
(main campus is in Adelphi, Maryland
Adelphi, Maryland
Adelphi is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 14,998 at the 2000 census...
), and Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
(Montgomery County Campus); main campus is in Baltimore, Maryland). Rockville is also home to the Universities at Shady Grove
Universities at Shady Grove
Established in fall 2000, the Universities at Shady Grove is a facility located in Rockville, Maryland, United States, that offers career-oriented higher education courses to residents of Montgomery County, Maryland and its surrounding region...
, a collaboration of nine Maryland public degree-granting institutions.
Railways
The Red LineRed Line (Washington Metro)
The Red Line of the Washington Metro is a rail rapid transit service operating between 27 stations in Montgomery County, Maryland and the District of Columbia, United States. It is a primary line through downtown Washington, and the oldest and busiest line in the system...
of the Washington Metro
Washington Metro
The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...
rail system services the Rockville station and Twinbrook station. The Rockville station is located at Hungerford Drive near Park Road. The Twinbrook station is located near Rockville Pike and Halpine Road with entrances on Chapman Avenue.
At the same location as the Rockville metro station is Rockville Station on the Brunswick Line
Brunswick Line
The Brunswick Line is a MARC commuter rail line consisting of a main line running from Washington D.C. to Martinsburg, West Virginia and a branch line from just south of Point-of-Rocks station to Frederick, Maryland. The service is operated under contract by CSX Transportation, but is administered...
of the MARC commuter rail system, which runs to and from Washington, DC.
Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
, the national passenger rail system, provides intercity train service to Rockville. The city's passenger rail station is located at 251 Hungerford Drive (at Park Road), ZIP code 20850; this is also the location of the MARC station described above.
- Amtrak Train 29, the westbound Capitol LimitedCapitol Limited (Amtrak)Amtrak's Capitol Limited is one of the railroad's two routes connecting Washington, D.C. to Chicago, running via Cleveland, Ohio . Service began in 1981 and was named after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Capitol Limited which ended in 1971 upon the formation of Amtrak...
, is scheduled to depart Rockville daily with service to Pittsburgh and overnight service to Chicago. - Amtrak Train 30, the eastbound Capitol Limited, is scheduled to depart Rockville at 12:30pm on its return to Washington Union Station.
Sister cities
Rockville has two sister cities: PinnebergPinneberg
Pinneberg is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, capital of the district Pinneberg in Germany. The town has 42,301 inhabitants. Pinneberg is located 18 km northwest of Hamburg....
(Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) Jiaxing
Jiaxing
Jiaxing is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province of Eastern China. Lying on the Grand Canal of China, Jiaxing borders Hangzhou to the southwest, Huzhou to the west, Shanghai to the northeast, and the province of Jiangsu to the north....
(Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
, People's Republic of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
)