Scotland, Montgomery County, Maryland
Scotland is a predominantly African American community in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, located along Seven Locks Road.
Consisting of 100 townhomes, Scotland community's roots date back to the late 19th century, when former slaves bought land in Potomac.
Today, these historic African American enclaves include Lincoln Park in Rockville, Ken-Gar in Kensington, Tobytown in Potomac, Stewartown and Emory Grove in Gaithersburg, and Lyttonsville in Silver Spring.
[10][11] In fall 1964, Scotland's future "looked bleak" as the Inverness North townhouse development would pave over the stream that was the community's primary water source.
Onto the scene came Mrs. Joyce Siegel, a housewife from nearby Bethesda, who drove up to deliver a load of toys for Scotland's children.
Families who thought theyowned their land turned out to own but a small fraction of it, with long-gone relatives named in wills still having an interest.
Once a tortuous title search was completed, he found he only owned one-eighty-seventh of the plot.To secure government grants, Scotland Community Development, Inc, formed.
The resulting plan required numerous land actions, federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) financing, and razing the existing homes.
[20] The completed project included 100 townhouses (25 owned and 75 rental) on ten acres finished in the late 1960s and early 1970s to replace the deteriorating existing housing stock.
The new Scotland's main road will be named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. [who had been assassinated on April 4, just 18 days before], with others dedicated to the late David Scull, former County Council president, and Joyce Siegel, the young Bethesda housewife who organized the original Save Our Scotland Committee three years ago.
[15] The Scotland project received national attention, both for the processes that enabled the community to retain control even as the housing stock was revitalized, and for the architecture.
[28][29][30][31] After extensive research and community involvement, in June 2021, the Montgomery County Council voted to rename three streets named for Confederate generals.
Jeb Stuart Road and Jeb Stuart Court will be renamed in honor of Geneva Mason "who died in 1980, (and) was instrumental in the rebuilding of the Scotland neighborhood and its fight against urban renewal efforts in the 1960s" and Jubal Early Court will be renamed for William Dove who "was born into slavery and later became one of the founding members of the Scotland community.
