Tucked away in Montgomery country, Maryland, Gaithersburg is a quaint town with a nostalgic, colonial feel to it. With a population of just over sixty thousand today, Gaithersburg is Maryland's fourth largest city, behind Baltimore, Rockville, and Frederick.In 1765, a small agricultural district was started by settlers who named the area Log Town. Originally densely wooded, there was one large, iconic oak tree in the town. In 1802, a resident by the name of Benjamin Gaither, who the towns' modern name is derived from, built a house on the property in which the famous oak tree stood. By 1850, the post office in town took the name of Forest Oak, and construction of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad was finishing up. The completion of the railroad put Gaithersburg on the map, as it allowed residents of DC to get away during the oppressive summer months. Additionally, it also expanded local farming, as trains allowed for further distribution with a minimal spoilage of crops. Ultimately, the railroad led to the area's first growth boom, thus leading to Gaithersburg becoming incorporated in April of 1878.
In 1899, scientists built the Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory, constructed to measure and study the Earth's wobble on its axis. This marked the start of Gaithersburg's transformation from a farming region to technical center. However, with the advent of computers, the Observatory became obsolete and was closed in 1982. Today, the Gaithersburg, MD business directory in the Gaithersburg, MD yellow pages are full of scientific firms who call the area home. It is mostly a technical center, with the wheat fields and corn farms being replaced by roads and housing development. The technological era of Gaithersburg started in 1961, when the National Bureau of Standards, today known as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, was first built. This business is known for providing the standard for weights and measures, to which all other scientific companies are compared for accuracy. Gaithersburg has since experienced a second growth boom, with multiple other scientific firms breaking ground there. Today, the city is unofficially recognized as the Scientific Capital of the United States. While not necessarily a time capsule like Williamsburg, Va., or some settlements in the New England area, Gaithersburg has restored some of its colonial roots to attract tourists. Sadly, the iconic oak tree which stood on Benjamin Gaither's property in the early 19th century fell in 1997 due to a storm. The landmark was tested for its age, resulting with an approximation of 300 years.
Written by Lyndsey Morgan
