Frederick Avenue — Gaithersburg History

These photographs essentially mark the spot where Gaithersburg began. In the mid 1750s, Henry B. Brookes amassed a large plantation of more than 1,000 acres. His son-in-law, Benjamin Gaither, settled on his wife’s dower property near the intersection of present-day Diamond and Frederick Avenues before 1800. Gaither started a blacksmith shop, store, and tavern to serve travelers and locals. His crossroads enterprise became known as Gaithersburg.

    Name
    Date
    Comment
  


    Bob Hartley 
    5/23/09
    The brick building on the right just this side of the church and the trees used to be a Safeway and I remember shopping there for groceries with my father in the early 60's. 
  

    Nancy Zanner Correll 
    7/29/09
    I too remember shopping there in the early '60s. I recall one time when my sister (maybe 3 years old) and I (maybe 5) waited in the car while our mother shopped. (Leaving kids alone in the car was pretty routine back then and was not considered unusual or neglectful.) I was playing with the steering wheel, and the car began to roll backward. A big, strong woman got behind the car and pushed it so we didn't end up rolling into Frederick Ave. 
  

    kathy anderson (nichols ) 
    5/26/10
    I remember Safeway being further down, past the church ( rev. Gunn )and does anyone remember the BIG round "S" made out off some kind of colored hard plastic? I think it was red & white. I always thought that was cool, sure would like to have that. 
  

    Richard Crystal 
    9/2/10
    In the black & white photo, I believe that continuing on the right was The Comet Theater. 
  

    Willamae Waters-Stanfield 
    9/24/10
    yes to the left of esso station was the comet theater and it was pink, then it turned into a ice cream store.up the street was rev.gunns church.to the left was the safeway then they moved it to what is now hudson trail and some sort of printing company. 
  

    Deaner Lawless Jr. 
    2/23/11
    Broschart Esso . . . . I think?? 
  

    Bob Newhouse 
    4/10/11
    The old Safeway building was Scott's Homemart for awhile. Worked there after high school. Next door was the Double B market. Safeway was down the road with the old style curved top building. Still have the Coke and Pepsi signs when they closed the Double B. As I recall they turned it into insurance offices. 
  

    Karen "KT"   Thomas 
    4/15/11
    Interesting picture because the church steeple as it's revealed in the before & now pics gives one a sense of how much road-widening has occurred . . . . 
  

    Andrew Odom 
    5/25/11
    I'm a newcomer (moved here in '06) but it's striking how the trees are all gone on one of the now-uglier strips in the county. It seemed like more of a real town then in the photo, "human-scale," as they say.  
  

    Danny Brodt 
    10/8/11
    It is Broschart's Esso. My wife's mother is one of Dr. Broschart's daughter's.  
  

    Suzanne Cissel Brodt 
    10/8/11
    Yes, this was my Uncle Bill Broschart's Esso station. Could pull in and full up Dad's car for 50 cents and cruise around for hours. Right across the street was Bill Reber's store. He always hung pictures of locals on the walls. Most pictures were taken by Walter "Ace" Hershey. Everyone was afraid of whose picture would be up next. ha. 
  

    F 
    8/11/12
    Okay, now if we could find some pictures of the Record/Headshop "Sights and Sounds", which in the mid 1970s used to be approximately right where that Chevron gas station is. 
  

    Melissa Ricketts 
    8/18/12
    Love these pics, but I am looking for a picture of my old home at 204 north frederick in the 1960's. Would love to see pictures of it and the old nursing home that was on north frederick. 
  

    Jon Bidwell 
    3/24/14
    On the left side of the street, across from the movie theatre, was Waters Motors. My dad bought 3 or 4 cars from them, in the 60's and 70's.   Further up the street on the left, some guy sold Amphicars (amphibious cars, back in the 60's. 
  

    Amy collett 
    5/21/15
    This is so neat, I am a Gaither, Henry Gaither was my great great grandfather. I've been told my whole life of how my family has left there legacy behind, BT never actually SRM what it looked like when I looked at my grandfather's home, I teared up. Thank you so very much. 
  

    Glenn Wallace 
    12/10/17
    Are there any photos of the grave of Benjamin Gaither's gravesite behind 20 Brookes Avenue? I'm trying to pinpoint the actual burial ground for the MoCo Cemetery Inventory.  
  