ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY

The Montgomery County Historical Review Committee was established by the County Council on June 12, 1973 to ensure the successful completion of the History Project. This project was initiated by County Executive James Gleason in conjunction with the Montgomery County Historical Society upon the approach of the bicentennial celebrating the founding of the County on September 6, 1776. Its goals were to produce a comprehensive written history of the County and to locate, inventory, and reproduce its basic historical records.

Mr. Gleason delegated responsibility to the Department of Public Libraries for devising a preliminary work plan, scope, and general procedures. Geraldine Wooldridge, head librarian of Rockville Library, which housed the municipal and local history collection, was selected for this task. She met with representatives of local historical organizations, and then recommended that funds be provided by the County for locating, inventorying, and reproducing local records; for an oral history project initiated by the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County; and for support for the collection of the Montgomery County Historical Society. She also recommended that the author of the projected history should be chosen by a Board of Review of scholars to avoid any appearance of bias or political influence.

In June, Dr. Richard K. MacMaster was selected to direct the project and write the history. He was an archivist and research director from Virginia, and the author of a history of the George Mason family. Aided by research assistants, he submitted outlines, drafts, progress reports, and work plans to the Historical Review Committee, which was chaired by Mrs. Wooldridge, and composed of Professor William Fox, Montgomery College; Dr. Edward Papenfuse, American Historical Association; Dr. Walter Rundell, Chairman, History Department, University of Maryland; and Thomas Anderson, President, Montgomery County Historical Society. Dr. MacMaster and his assistants surveyed newspaper sources and collections of primary material, advertised in publications, and conducted interviews with local historians and citizens.

In 1975, after Dr. MacMaster's contract expired, Dr. Ray E. Hiebert was hired as editor to provide a central theme and to revise the text as necessary to produce an organized and unified work. A Grateful Remembrance: The Story of Montgomery County, Maryland by Richard K. MacMaster and Ray Eldon Hiebert was published in 1976 by the Montgomery County Historical Society and Montgomery County Government.

PROCESSING PROCEDURES

General processing procedures consisted of discarding duplicates, unnecessary binders, and routine transmittals. Oversized documents and photographs were removed from the original location in their assigned series and placed in separate containers. Separation sheets were inserted in the original location within the folder to indicate the new location of any records placed elsewhere.

Preservation copying of newspaper clippings was performed whenever feasible. Records in folders were arranged, unless otherwise indicated, in forward chronological order, with undated records appearing at the end of the folder.

PROVENANCE

Not applicable.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The records of the Historical Review Committee comprise 0.67 cubic feet of materials from 1973 to 1976, and consist of memoranda, correspondence, resumes, reports, press releases, clippings, resolutions, agendas, contracts, notes and outlines. Some of these appear to be personal files maintained by Dr. Richard K. MacMaster, and include historical essays, items relating to a Conference on Pacifism which he helped to organize in 1974, and records relating to the Bicentennial Consortium for Local History, of which he was chairman of the executive committee. Of special significance among the research notes and outlines are those relating to the history of the County's African-American population. The correspondence folders document research methods, the compilation of sources, and access and preservation projects undertaken during the project.

These files are arranged in alphabetical order.

Box 1

Administrative File, 1973-1975

Bicentennial Consortium Proposal, 1974

Black History, 1974-1975

Conference on Pacifism, 1974

Contracts, 1973-1975

Correspondence, 1972-1973

Correspondence, 1974-1975

Correspondence: Civic Organizations, 1974

Correspondence: Genealogy, 1973-1975

Box 2

Critical Comments and Suggestions, 1974-1975

Fairfax History Outline, 1974

MacMaster's Personal File, 1974-1975

NEH Proposal, 1973-1974

Ongoing Research, 1975-1976

Outlines: Chapters I-XI, 1973

Outlines: Chapter XI (Ken), n.d.

Outlines: Incomplete, n.d.

Post-World War II: Ken's Notes and Outline; Ann Bledsoe's Comments, n.d.

Project Description, Plans and Progress Reports, 1973-1975

Quarterly Reports, 1973-1974

Walter Reid's File: Outline and Notes, 1974