Belward Farm, located at the intersection of Darnestown and Muddy Branch Roads, is one of the last remaining pieces of undeveloped farmland left in the Gaithersburg/Rockville area. Developers have been drooling over these 138 rolling acres for years, but owner Elizabeth Beall Banks spent most of her life fighting to protect the land. According to an article in the Washington Post, "Banks once scared county planning officials off her land with a shotgun. Another time she stood in front of bulldozers, hugging trees to stop development around her. She turned down numerous lucrative offers to turn the grassy fields into a housing development." Banks, who died on January 17, 2005, eventually sold her land for $5 million (when at the time it was worth $40 million+) to Johns Hopkins University. The old house located on this property was built by Ignatius Ward in 1891 to replace an earlier structure that burned down. This house is a great example of a 19th-century farmhouse with Victorian features.
| Name | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Frank Emerson | 9/17/09 | Ms. Banks was also a great teacher with Montgomery County schools. |
| Wash Woods | 5/11/10 | Now that a mammoth 17.5 million square foot Science Center has been approved for Belward Farm (boo!), do you know if this house will remain? |
| Bob Shreffler | 5/19/10 | I worked with a Beulah Banks who lived there when we worked at Montgomery Co. Gov't in Rockville. A lovely lady.At the time I worked for engineering and then assessments. Any feed-back? |
| Save Belward Farm | 6/7/12 | For those interested in the future of the Farm property, follow the family's lawsuit against Johns Hopkins on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/SaveBelwardFarm or on Twitter here @SaveBelwardFarm. |
| Val B | 7/23/12 | Shameful, what JHU is trying to do with regard to this property and the blatant disregard for retaining the integrity of the terms of sale made between John Hopkins University and Ms. Banks! They got the property at a COMPLETE "steal" and are now trying to change the terms to benefit the BILLIONS that JHU is looking to profit from--following the BARGAIN-BASEMENT acquisition! Ms.Banks sold her property, which she lived in since her teen years, with the understanding that her terms would be respected and upheld. Again, JHU....shameful! |
| Germaine Moore (Moone) | 2/9/13 | It is wonderful to see so many old buildings being kept in their original condition and restored for historic purposes, and they are beautiful. |
| Jack Selby | 12/3/18 | Ignatius Ward was my Great Grandfather. Was a Major Builder in Gaithersburg at that time, Walker Ave Homes, Grace Methodist Church next to Walker Ave etc. |