Learn how the railroad changed Montgomery County and explore public art with Peerless Rockville in July and August.
Historian Susan C. Soderberg’s illustrated presentation, “From Corn to Commuters: How the Coming of the Railroad Changed the Way of Life and the Future of Montgomery County,” explores how a branch line became the mainstay of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and evolved into our present-day commuter and freight line.
The free presentation, the latest installment of the Glenview Mansion and Peerless Rockville Speaker Series, will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 13 at Glenview Mansion at Rockville Civic Center Park, 603 Edmonston Drive. It features the railroad stations designed by E. Francis Baldwin, extraordinary feats of engineering such as the curving trestle over Little Seneca Creek and the Bollman Truss viaduct over the Monocacy River, and new suburban and agricultural towns spawned by this catapult into the Industrial Age.
Register at peerlessrockville.com or with course #27890 at www.rockvillemd.gov/registration. Seating is limited. Light refreshments will be provided.
In “Speaking Through Tile: Deirdre Saunder’s Art in and Near Rockville,” hear from the artist about the process of creating public art, and where you can find more of her work locally. Saunder joins Peerless Rockville at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, at the site of one her installations, in front of the historic Red Brick Courthouse, 29 Courthouse Square. The presentation will meet outside before moving inside the courthouse.
Saunder’s work can be found at Mary Trumbo Park, Lincoln Park Community Center and elsewhere in and around Rockville. A former Rhodes Scholar and a resident artist in the Carpenter Center at Harvard University, Saunder has lived in Rockville since 1998. She started making public art in 1994 with her first installation at Elwood Smith Park, and is supported in part by funding from the Montgomery County government and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County.
Register at peerlessrockville.com.