Have you ever wondered about the stories behind the names of our local high schools? While some origins are widely known, others hold fascinating historical details. We’ve delved into the names of the current MCPS high schools to uncover their fascinating origins.
Originally published in 2018.
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
: Named after two of the vibrant communities the school serves, “Bethesda” draws its name from Jerusalem’s sacred Pool of Bethesda, meaning “House of Mercy” in Aramaic and “House of Kindness” in Hebrew. “Chevy Chase” was adopted from the Chevy Chase Land Company, a real estate development firm founded in 1890, and its name is rooted in the Medieval English Ballad of Chevy Chase, reflecting a touch of historical lore.
Montgomery Blair High School
: This institution honors Montgomery Blair, a prominent Maryland politician and lawyer. Notably, Blair represented Dred Scott in the landmark 1852 Supreme Court case, a decision later nullified by President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Blair also served with distinction as Postmaster-General in the Lincoln Administration cabinet during the crucial years of the Civil War (1861-1864).
James Hubert Blake High School
: Originally intended to be named after Jim Henson, the beloved creator of The Muppet Show and a University of Maryland graduate, the school’s name changed when his estate respectfully declined the honor. Instead, it was named for James Hubert Blake, a celebrated Baltimore ragtime musician of the early and mid-20th century, whose enduring wit is captured in his memorable quote on his 92nd birthday: “If I’d known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.”
Winston Churchill High School
: After spending three initial years known as “Potomac High School,” the school proudly adopted its current name in 1967 to honor Sir Winston Churchill, the formidable Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II. Beyond his wartime leadership, Churchill was also a distinguished writer, earning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his extensive body of work.
Clarksburg High School
: This high school is aptly named for the area it calls home, a community founded by Trader John Clarke. Established at the crossroads of the main road connecting Georgetown and Frederick with an ancient Seneca trail, Clarksburg’s location reflects its historical importance as a trading hub.
Damascus High School
: The school bears the name of the area it serves, which was originally christened “The Pleasant Plains of Damascus,” a nod to the ancient city of Damascus, Syria. Interestingly, Damascus was incorporated for a 34-year period in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, but its townspeople later requested the withdrawal of incorporation to facilitate the paving of Old Quaker Road into a state highway.
The Thomas Edison High School of Technology
: As a vocational/technical high school located in Wheaton, Edison offers a unique educational model where students typically split their day between Edison and their home school. The institution is named after Thomas Alva Edison, widely celebrated as “America’s greatest inventor,” whose groundbreaking inventions include the motion picture camera and the incandescent light bulb, among many others that have profoundly shaped modern life.
Albert Einstein High School
: This school proudly carries the name of German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, whose revolutionary mass-energy equivalence formula, E=mc^2, is widely regarded as the “world’s most famous equation.” Einstein High School is a key part of the Downcounty Consortium, with its Visual and Performing Arts Academy being one of its largest and most vibrant programs.
Gaithersburg High School
: Founded in 1904 as “Gaithersburg School,” offering grades K-12, this school and the city it resides in are named after Benjamin Gaither. Gaither built his home near what is now Summit Hall in 1802, during a time when the area was known as Log Town, before the name was officially changed to Gaithersburg in the 1850s.
Walter Johnson High School
: This school is named in honor of the legendary late Washington Senators pitcher, Walter Johnson, an iconic figure in baseball history. Johnson resided nearby in a Bethesda home that still stands just a few miles from the school on Old Georgetown Road, and he continued to contribute to the community, retiring to Germantown in 1933 and being elected as a Montgomery County commissioner in 1938.
John F. Kennedy High School
: The initial plan for this school was “East Wheaton High School,” but tragically, due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the school was re-named in his honor. John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was a Democratic party member who represented Massachusetts in the House of Representatives and State Senate before his presidency, and his assassination on November 22, 1963, left an indelible mark on the nation.
Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School
: This school is named for Colonel Zadok A. Magruder, a distinguished Revolutionary War patriot and farmer. Magruder moved to Montgomery County as a young man, inherited 600 acres in the Norbeck area, and built a home in Redland in 1750, playing a crucial role in establishing Montgomery County’s government in 1776.
Richard Montgomery High School
: Richard Montgomery is the oldest high school in Montgomery County, established in 1892 and originally known as Rockville High School. To differentiate itself after the opening of Rockville Colored High School in 1927, it was re-named in 1935 after Richard Montgomery, an Irish-born soldier who first served in the British army before fighting for America during the Revolutionary War, and for whom Montgomery County itself is named.
Northwest High School
: As Germantown’s second high school, Northwest High School was established in 1998 to alleviate crowding at Seneca Valley High School. The school’s name reflects its geographic position, as it is located in the northwest part of the county, serving students from Germantown and portions of Gaithersburg and Darnestown.
Northwood High School
: Established in 1956, Northwood High School was closed in 1985 before reopening in 2004. The school was named after the area then known as Northwood, and after a 2001 Board of Education ban on ethnic and race-based mascots, alumni from the first graduating class and the first class of the new Northwood collectively chose the Gladiators as their new mascot.
Paint Branch High School
: Founded in 1969, Paint Branch High School’s fight song, ‘Hail to the Panthers,’ is notably sung to the tune of ‘Hail to the Redskins.’ The school is named after Paint Branch Creek, a 14-mile long stream that flows through both Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, even inspiring a College Park-based band known as Paint Branch Creek.
Poolesville High School
: The enduring core of the original Poolesville High School building was constructed in 1911 when the school was established. From 1911 until 2002, the school’s mascot was the Indians, but following an initial vote to retain it, students were made to vote again to change the mascot to the Falcons. Both the school and the town are named after brothers John and Joseph Poole, who owned 160 acres of land in the area, and the town itself was legally known as ‘The Commissioners of Poolesville’ until residents voted to change it to ‘The Town of Poolesville’ in 2010.
Quince Orchard High School
: A relatively newer addition, established in 1988, Quince Orchard High School quickly achieved athletic success, winning a 4A Maryland State Football Championship in 1991, just three years after opening. The school is aptly named after a quince orchard that once thrived across from the school’s current location, a quince being a yellow fruit with a resemblance to a pear.
Rockville High School
: Not to be confused with the original Rockville High School, which was later re-named Richard Montgomery, this institution is named after the city it calls home. Before settling on the name Rockville, the area was known by various names including Owen’s Ordinary (a name now carried by a restaurant at Pike & Rose), Hungerford’s Tavern, and Daley’s Tavern, with “Rockville” eventually chosen because the region was traversed by Rock Creek, leading to Rockville Pike being known as “Rock Creek Main Road.”
Seneca Valley High School
: The school’s current location once served as a farm owned by the late Washington Senators pitcher, Walter Johnson, adding a layer of local history to its grounds. The name “Seneca Valley” is a tribute to the Native American tribes of the Great Seneca Nation, who historically inhabited the area, with many early homeowners in surrounding communities still discovering arrowheads in the ground, echoing the region’s indigenous past.
Sherwood High School
: Established in 1906, Sherwood High School holds the distinction of being the third oldest high school in Montgomery County, following Richard Montgomery and Gaithersburg. The school is named after “Sherwood Farm,” which once occupied the land where the school was built, its many trees reminding early settlers of Robin Hood’s legendary Sherwood Forest.
Springbrook High School
: As part of the Northeast Consortium, alongside Blake and Paint Branch High Schools, Springbrook takes its name from the upper Northwest Branch spring-fed tributary that gracefully runs alongside the school’s property, connecting it to the natural landscape.
Watkins Mill High School
: The school is named for one of the historic grist mills in the area, where corn was ground, and which was once owned and operated by the Watkins family, leaving a legacy of early industry and community development.
Wheaton High School
: The area now known as Wheaton was previously called Leesborough until 1826, before being named after Union General Frank Wheaton. An interesting local fact is that C. Francis Jenkins, the inventor of the first home television set, once resided in Wheaton at the intersection of Windham Lane and Georgia Avenue.
Walt Whitman High School
: Established in 1962, Walt Whitman High School underwent a significant transformation 30 years later when its original building was demolished and a new one constructed, opening in 1993. The school is named in honor of the iconic American poet and journalist, Walt Whitman, who is perhaps best known for his groundbreaking poetry collection, Leaves of Grass.
Thomas S. Wootton High School
: This school is named for Thomas Sprigg Wootton, a pivotal figure in the founding of Montgomery County. Wootton played a crucial role by introducing a bill in 1776 that led to the division of Frederick County into three distinct counties: Frederick, Montgomery, and Washington, thereby establishing Montgomery County as a separate entity.
