Contributor Opinion by Steve Cavallo: Remember Thomas Farm

The following contributor opinion is by Steve J. Cavallo, who blogs at Down By The River. He was kind enough to offer it for publication at Rockville Central. Thanks Steve!

I thought to write you in the hope of bringing to light an issue that a few (certainly not very many it would seem) of your readers may be outraged or at least dismayed over. I am sure you are familiar with the development known as Fallsgrove at old Rt 28 and Shady Grove Road. However, do you know what was there before Fallsgrove? It was a farm -- the last of a dieing breed in Rockville and from what I could gather as a kid roaming around it, rather old. The area now known as Fallsgrove used to be the Thomas Farm. Unlike King Farm where the City has made an attempt to retain some of the historic value, Rockville seems to have forgotten the Thomas Farm. In the City's haste to allow developers to build Fallsgrove, they allowed this important part of Rockville history to be lost. I grew up across 28 from the Thomas Farm. My grandparents still live in that house on Glenora Lane.

In 1999 the City began the process of building Fallsgrove against the wishes of the last owner's will (she died in the mid '90s). There is a 1999 Gazette article about this and the subsequent law suit--this is, by the way, one of only two articles mentioning the Thomas Farm I could find at the MCHS library. That same year I went to college. Upon my return my now wife and I were looking for apartments nearer to work and discovered Post Fallsgrove. This is built on what was the Thomas Farm. My love of history and Rockville sent me on a search for records of the farm and family. Much to my surprise I found next to nothing save the aforementioned article.

It seems that Rockville is willing to let a part of our history slip quietly away. In my opinion, the City has done a great disservice to its residents by allowing this part of Rockville's past to be lost. I'm not saying that Fallsgrove should not have been built. However, to build it and not bother to research and try to preserve some of the Thomas Farm's history is unthinkable. How can Rockville pride itself on its history and the preservation of that history if we pick and choose what to preserve. Peerless Rockville makes mention of King Farm on it's website but not the Thomas Farm. Why? We cannot decide to document and preserve one historical landmark and ignore another. That is not historical preservation.

In closing, for my part, I will continue to research the Thomas Farm in the hopes of digging up enough of the history of it to present to the City Council during a public comment period. At least in that way the City will be made aware of the historical value they allowed to be lost. Also, what's left will be preserved so that future residents of Rockville and Fallsgrove will know what sat at the corner of 28 and Shady Grove Road long before the houses, the apartments, and the shopping center were even thought of.

Steve J. Cavallo

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