[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 117 (Thursday, August 18, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 18, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 TRIBUTE TO BROOKEVILLE'S BICENTENNIAL

                                 ______


                       HON. CONSTANCE A. MORELLA

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, August 18, 1994

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in recognition of the 200th 
birthday of Brookeville, MD, a lovingly preserved link with our early 
American past. Once a Quaker mill town serving the farms of northeast 
Montgomery County, Brookeville a picture-perfect backdrop in the 
autumn, for pumpkins and falling leaves. With its fieldstone and 
clapboard houses, period street lamps, and strict building 
restrictions, the 45-household, 4-block village invokes the past.
  Brookeville played a significant role in the events surrounding the 
War of 1812. On August 26, 1814. President James Madison fled burning 
Washington, DC, and was given refuge by Henrietta Bentley, wife of the 
town's postmaster. With the President came his military attache, 
General Mason, and the Secretary of the Treasury, and the assets--gold 
bars--from the National Treasury. For 2 days, our Federal Government 
was located at the Bentley farm. Later, the Bentley farm was renamed 
the Madison House in honor of the presidential visit. The town of 
Brookeville had been laid out in September 1794 by Richard Thomas, who 
married Deborah Brooke--one of four Brooke sisters, on whose land the 
town was built. The Maryland State Assembly officially recognized the 
town of Brookeville in 1808; 5 years later, the town of Brookeville was 
authorized by the State Assembly to appoint its first constable. By 
1890, Brookeville made clear to all visitors who passed through its 
boundaries that it had an agricultural identity. Many of the town's 
laws dealt with the conduct of Brookeville's animals. One regulation 
stated that ``no hogs or hog pen or pens or slaughter house'' were 
allowed within town limits, nor were barking dogs.
  The population of the town of Brookeville at the time was 250, making 
it the third largest town in Montgomery County. The town was 
incorporated by the State Assembly in 1890. Today, Brookeville has a 
population of 150, and retains its rural, small-town flavor.
  In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I want to offer my congratulations to the 
town of Brookeville and its citizens on its 200th birthday.

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