Overview
Chronology Resources Frequently Asked Questions
- An African-American cemetery was identified by Planning Department staff early in the process for the Westbard Sector Plan. The Planning Department staff invested considerable resources into studying the cemetery and sought to involve Macedonia Baptist Church in the study.
- Planning Department and Parks Department staff made numerous and proactive efforts to reach out to Macedonia Baptist Church in order to involve them in the entire Westbard Sector Plan process and discuss the cemetery.
- In December 2015, Planning Department staff briefed the Planning Board about the cemetery in a public session. Members of the Macedonia Baptist Church participated in the work session and many residents and community members were in the audience listening to the work session. The work session was streamed live on the M-NCPPC website and is archived on the website.
- The Westbard Sector Plan and the Plan Appendix that were transmitted to the County Council include detailed information about the cemetery.
- The minister of the Macedonia Baptist Church testified at the County Council public hearing on the Westbard Sector Plan and all of his requests were incorporated into the Plan and the Plan Appendix.
- After the Westbard Sector Plan was completed and the regulatory application filed, the Planning Department made a good faith effort to involve the leadership of Macedonia Baptist Church in the regular stakeholder meetings and in all issues related to the cemetery.
- From the outset of the regulatory process, Planning Department staff told the applicant that an archaeological study would be needed. Once the church got engaged in the stakeholder meetings, Planning Department staff advocated for the property owner/applicant to hire the archaeological firm preferred by the church and have that firm investigate the parcel where the cemetery was historically located. The Planning Department offered to hire the academic archaeological experts identified by the church as a peer review group. The Planning Department delayed the Planning Board hearing on the regulatory case in an effort to work out an agreement with the church. Ultimately, the regulatory case moved forward but the Planning Department convinced the applicant to amend their proposal to “hatch out” and delay any review/action on the area around the cemetery.
- Planning Department staff worked diligently to come up with an agreement with the academic archaeological experts identified by the church but was not successful in reaching consensus on the proposed scope of work and compensation.
- Montgomery Parks is in the process of assembling the land necessary to implement the vision of the Willett Branch Greenway, as envisioned in the Westbard Sector Plan, through dedications from developers as well as acquisitions using a variety of government funding sources.
- Currently, Montgomery Parks owns one of two parcels comprising the historic Moses Cemetery and expects to receive the other parcel owned by the Housing Opportunities Commission through dedication at the time that property is redeveloped.
- Once the Greenway acquisition phase is complete, the Parks Department will conduct an archeological assessment of both cemetery parcels and then begin the park planning process, which will include engaging stakeholders in the Greenway design as well as the memorialization of the historic cemetery.
- The following chronology lays out all actions related to the cemetery in great detail.
Westbard Cemetery Chronology
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February 7, 2022Parks Director Mike Riley responds to a request from County Executive Elrich for mediation with BACC. For the reasons stated in his January 7 email, Director Riley declines to participate. Director Riley reiterates that the Parks Department will not convey Parcel 177 to another party but plans to memorialize the cemetery as part of the Willett Branch Greenway project once the necessary properties, including Parcel 175, have been acquired through purchase or dedication. View the Willett Branch Greenway Project website.
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January 4, 2022County Executive Elrich requests the Parks Department’s participation in a meeting to be led by a new mediator selected solely by BACC. Director Riley declines to attend unless all the relevant parties, including HOC, are in attendance. In his response, Director Riley reiterates the Parks Department’s commitment to the memorialization of the Moses Cemetery as part of the Willett Branch Greenway project. View the email from Director Riley.
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September 14, 2020
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August 10, 2020The Descendants of the Morningstar Tabernacle Number 88 Lodge of the Order of Moses, which has historical ties with Moses Cemetery, sends a letter to the BACC disagreeing “with the narrative being put forth by the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition (BACC) regarding the Moses Cemetery on River Road in Bethesda,” and stating that MBC has provided no documentation for any church members being buried there. The letter strongly disputes several of the BACC’s assertions concerning the history of the cemetery. View the letter from the Morningstar Tabernacle.
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July 23, 2020The Planning Board approves a condition for the Westbard Self Storage Site Plan Amendment. The approved language for the condition includes:
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July 23, 2020The Planning Board reviews the Westbard Self Storage Site Plan Amendment. The applicant, Westbard Self Storage, must come back to the Planning Board for an amendment for their approved Site Plan for a technical correction. This is to correct the front and rear setbacks to adhere to the requirements of the zone. There will also be confirmation of the Parcel 1 dedication area to Montgomery Parks as a portion of the Willet Branch Greenway, as approved in the Westbard Sector Plan. View the July 23 Planning Board staff report and attachments, including archeological reports.
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February 11, 2020County Executive Elrich hosts a second meeting with Macedonia Baptist Church (MBC), the Parks Department, and the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC). The meeting was again facilitated by Reverend Hagler. MBC and its attorney demand conveyance of Parcels 177 and 175 to MBC. Parks Director Mike Riley states again that the Parks Department will not convey Parcel 177 to MBC.
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November 20, 2019County Executive Marc Elrich hosts a meeting with representatives from Macedonia Baptist Church, BACC, and the Parks Department. The Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC), which owns Parcel 175, was excluded from this meeting at the last minute at the request of Macedonia Baptist Church, but Parks Director Mike Riley attended. The meeting was facilitated by Reverend Graylan Hagler of the Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ. The Parks Department explained its role in conducting cemetery studies on both Parcels 177 and 175 and memorializing the cemetery as part of the Willett Branch Greenway project. Macedonia Baptist Church and its attorney stated that the parcels must be conveyed to the church. At the meeting, Parks Director Mike Riley explained that Montgomery Parks would not convey the property to another entity both because memorialization of the cemetery is within its mandate and because Parcel 177 is essential to the future Willett Branch Greenway project approved by the County Council as part of the Westbard master plan. He also reiterates that Montgomery Parks will engage all stakeholders, including MBC, in memorialization of the cemetery. Although HOC is not present, in response to questions asked by the County Executive in advance of the meeting, HOC also states that it will not convey Parcel 175 to another party. See the email from Director Riley to the County Executive. View the email from Director Riley and from the Housing Opportunities Commission.
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October 9, 2019Phased Final Forest Conservation Plan approval for Sheeting and Shoring states that the Westbard Self Storage applicant must hire a professional archeologist qualified to recognize human remains and funerary objects to monitor the drilling work associated with the tiebacks in the northwest corner of the building foundation, which is closest to the cemetery. The approval sets forth notification procedures if human remains or funerary objects are found and further requires reporting of their inspections. As of July 2020, the archeologist has filed four reports covering May through July 2020, which indicate that no human remains, funerary artifacts, grave shaft features, or cultural features associated with the River Road Moses Cemetery have been observed during monitoring.
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February 28, 2019Bethesda African Cemetary Coalition (BACC), a group led by Marsha Coleman-Adebayo and Reverend Adebayo, cancels a scheduled March 4, 2019, meeting with the Parks Department.
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September 19, 2018Local historian, David Rotenstein, issues a report including research and documentation necessary to initiate proceedings to list the River Road Moses Cemetery in the Montgomery County Master Plan for Historic Preservation. However, no nomination for historic designation is filed by the community. View the David Rotenstein Moses Cemetery report and MIHP form.
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June 18, 2018Regency submitted a new site plan application on June 18, 2018 and it does not include the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) property nor the land associated with the cemetery. There are no current regulatory applications for changes to Parcel 175 – the HOC parcel that was historically associated with the cemetery.
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May 8, 2018Reverend Segun Adebayo sends an email thanking Director Riley after the April 24, 2018, meeting. View the email from Reverend Adebayo.
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April 24, 2018At the request of Macedonia Baptist Church (MBC) Pastor Reverend Segun Adebayo, Parks Director Mike Riley hosts Reverend Adebayo and Marsha Coleman Adebayo and representatives from Showing Up for Racial Justice MoCo (SURJ), at the Parks Department Headquarters in Silver Spring. During the meeting, MBC expressed its belief that the church should be given both cemetery parcels (Parcel 175 owned by the Housing Opportunities Commission, and Parcel 177 owned by Montgomery Parks). Montgomery Parks describes its plans for creation of the Willett Branch Greenway, as envisioned in the Westbard Sector Plan, and how Parcels 177 and 175 would be memorialized as a part of that project in collaboration with the descendant community after appropriate cemetery studies are completed. View the letter from Reverend Adebayo.
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January 31, 2018Regency Centers hosts a community meeting to discuss its new plans for the Westwood Shopping Center in Westbard.
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January 18, 2018The Planning Department sends a letter to the attorney for Regency Centers acknowledging the receipt of the request to withdraw the previously submitted sketch plan.
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January 16, 2018Property owner Regency Centers notifies the Planning Department in a letter that they have decided to abandon the sketch plan accepted on July 11, 2016. The sketch plan showed the construction of a mixed-use development following the vision of the approved and adopted Westbard Sector Plan.
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January 12, 2018The Planning Board concurrently approved Westbard Self-Storage Site Plan No. 820170110 (MCPB No. 17-123) by resolution dated January 12, 2018 for a 50-foot-tall Self-Storage building. The Site Plan approval included the development standards and addressed details of the building architecture, landscaping, and other amenities such as the Sector-Planned Outlet Road shared-use path along the northern edge of the Site (which includes native landscape species, benches, historical display boards and lighting). The building is situated on the Site to preserve the Stream Buffer and future Willett Branch Greenway to the west and the Outlet Road shared-use path to the north.
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September 20, 2017The mediator from the Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County sends an email to the Planning Department, notifying staff that an agreement about the date and time of the next mediation session has not been reached and the mediation has been canceled.
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June 12, 2017The second mediation session is held at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center.
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May 30, 2017Representatives of the Planning Department and other stakeholders attend the first mediation session, which is held at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center.
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May 9, 2017The attorney for Regency Centers responds to Mr. Leggett’s letter and agrees to delay the archeological study and participate in mediation as long as the mediation proceeds expeditiously.
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May 2, 2017County Executive Isiah Leggett sends a letter to the property owners (Regency Centers) asking them to delay commencement of the archaeological study so that all stakeholders can meet and mediate. View the letter.
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April 26, 2017A development application for a self-storage facility located at 5204 River Road is submitted, and the Planning Board approves the application on December 14, 2017. As a part of this application, the applicant is required to convey Parcel 177 – one of the two cemetery parcels – to Montgomery Parks. The applicant conveys the property by deed on February 27, 2019.
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April 6, 2017Division Chief, Robert Kronenberg, who oversaw the Westbard Sector Plan, provides a scheduled update to the Planning Board on the progress of the cemetery delineation. Watch video.
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March 24, 2017Gwen Wright responds to Mr. Leggett and Mr. Berliner’s letter. Wright’s letter makes it clear that the Planning Board cannot take part in mediation because of the need to maintain its impartiality in deciding the Westbard regulatory case, but states that Planning staff would be available to participate. View the letter.
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March 16, 2017Casey Anderson receives a letter from County Executive Ike Leggett and County Council President Roger Berliner. The letter expresses confidence in the Planning Department, but proposes a mediation session to bring the parties together. View the letter.
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March 8, 2017Gwen Wright receives the following email from Dr. Rachel Watkins after seeking to confirm the meeting on March 9. View email.
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March 8, 2017Gwen Wright sends the following email to the property owner. Wright also sent a copy of this message to Dr. Watkins, Dr. Blakey and Ms. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo. View email.
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February 27, 2017Gwen Wright responds to Dr. Watkins’ third scope of work and proposed dates for meetings to discuss the proposal further on March 2 or March 6, 2017.
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February 23, 2017The Planning Board holds a public hearing on Equity One’s Sketch Plan for the Westbard Shopping Center project. At the request of the Planning Department, the applicant “hatched out” the parcels around the presumed cemetery parcel so that this area would not be considered for action. Significant public testimony focuses on the need to delineate and protect the cemetery as soon as possible. The Board states that they want to get the archaeological work done within two months and that the applicant should come back to the Board with this information. View the Staff Report from the Planning Board’s February 23 Public Hearing. View the staff report.
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February 17, 2017Gwen Wright receives Dr. Watkins’ third scope of work.
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February 12, 2017Macedonia Baptist Church holds its first protest at the cemetery site.
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February 10, 2017Gwen Wright responds to Dr. Watkins’ second scope of work.
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February 10, 2017Gwen Wright receives Dr. Watkins’ second scope of work.
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February 3, 2017Gwen Wright responds to Dr. Watkins’ first scope of work.
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January 25, 2017Gwen Wright is contacted by The Washington Post because the church had reached out to Bill Turque about their concerns over the cemetery.
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January 24, 2017Gwen Wright receives a first scope of work from Dr. Rachel Watkins that was broader than expected and did not include an upper limit on compensation.
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January 23, 2017The property owner forwards a proposal from the Ottery Group to the Planning Department.
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January 11, 2017Fourth Willett Branch Stakeholders Meeting is held. Gwen Wright and the Westbard team meets two anthropologists, Dr. Rachel Watkins of American University and Dr. Michael Blakey of the College of William and Mary at a stakeholders meeting arranged by the Planning Department. At this meeting, Gwen Wright proposes the idea of hiring Dr. Watkins and Dr. Blakey as a Peer Review group. This idea is agreed upon by the church representatives and the property owner. The Planning Department says it will pay the cost of the Peer Review, while the property owner would pay for the archaeological work. The church representatives express a preference for the Ottery Group of Kensington, MD as the firm to do the archaeological work. The property owner agrees to reach out to the Ottery Group, if the church representatives could assist with discussing the timing of the study with the Ottery Group.
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December 7, 2016Third Willett Branch Stakeholders Meeting is held. This is the first meeting attended by representatives of the Macedonia Baptist Church. The property owner submits the first proposal for an archaeological investigation of the cemetery site. It is from the cultural resources management firm Gray & Pape and dated December 6, 2016. At this stakeholders meeting arranged by the Planning Department, the church representatives first express concern about the archaeological process.
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September 12, 2016Second Willett Branch Stakeholders Meeting is held.
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August 31, 2016Sandra Youla and Parks Department Cultural Resources staff make multiple efforts to reach out to representatives of the Macedonia Baptist Church to get them involved in the stakeholder meetings. This continues through December 2016. View document.
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August 2, 2016First Willett Branch Stakeholders Meeting is held and attended by representatives from Little Falls Watershed Alliance, Coordinating Committee for Friendship Heights, Save Westbard, the property owner and other interested residents and civic groups.
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July 11, 2016Westwood Shopping Center Sketch Plan is filed by property owner Equity One (now Regency Centers). (
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May 3, 2016County Council unanimously approves the Westbard Sector Plan and accompanying resolution.
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February 2, 2016The County Council holds public hearings on the Westbard Sector Plan. Reverend Dr. Sterling King, testifying shortly before his retirement and replacement by Reverend Segun Adebayo, mentions the cemetery fifth in a list of five requests but does not express opposition to the Planning Board’s recommendations for the site. The letter notes that the church never owned the cemetery but says that if the property is redeveloped or disturbed in the future an archeological study should be performed and appropriate action taken to memorialize the burials and protect any remains. See the letter.
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December 21, 2015Planning Board Draft of the Westbard Sector Plan and a transmittal letter with a link to the Plan Appendix are sent to the County Council. The plan has an expanded historic chapter, historic sidebars throughout and references to the cemetery. The Plan Appendix includes a detailed section on the cemetery and archaeological protocols, and ideas for future interpretation and stewardship.
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December 3, 2015Planning Board work session is conducted on the restoration of the Willett Branch, the cemetery and related recommendations. Reverend Dr. Sterling King attends this work session and comes forward to offer comments – primarily about names of roads in the community that are historically linked to African-American families and about avoiding negative impacts to the church building. Go to 10:53:18 on the video to see the work session presentation.
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September 26, 2015Planning and Parks Departments conduct additional research and reach out to the minister of the Macedonia Baptist Church, Reverend Dr. Sterling King and other members of the church. Staff actively work to draw church representatives into the planning process. Discussions include the history of the church and information on the cemetery. The Research concludes in December 2015.
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September 24, 2015Planning Board holds public hearing on the Public Hearing Draft of the Westbard Sector Plan. No testimony was received about the cemetery.
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September 17, 2015Planning Board tours the Westbard area in preparation for the upcoming public hearing on the draft of the Westbard Sector Plan.
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September 15, 2015Sandra Youla provides the Westbard team and Gwen Wright with a detailed update on her research and investigation about the cemetery. She reported that the cemetery had been located in Tenleytown, was not directly associated with Macedonia Baptist Church and there were no records about the number of burials at the site.
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September 13, 2015Sandra Youla provides the Westbard team and Gwen Wright with a detailed update on her research and investigation about the cemetery. She reported that the cemetery had been located in Tenleytown, was not directly associated with Macedonia Baptist Church and there were no records about the number of burials at the site.
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July 1, 2015The Westbard Sector Plan Working Draft is presented to Planning Board. The cemetery is not mentioned. The Working Draft is approved for publication as the Public Hearing Draft.
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February 16, 2015Youla briefs Planning Director Gwen Wright about the possibility that a cemetery was once located in the vicinity of the Willett Branch behind what is now Westwood Towers. A local business owner had mentioned the cemetery at a community meeting on the master plan organized by the Planning Department, and preliminary follow-up research by Planning staff seemed to confirm the business owner’s report, but many unanswered questions remained. Youla reached out to the Macedonia Baptist Church in March and April of 2015 to engage its representatives in discussions about the plan and to ask whether they were aware of a cemetery in the area but got no response.
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January 15, 2015Planner Sandra Youla of the Planning Department’s Historic Preservation Office is assigned to the Westbard Sector Plan team so that a comprehensive history section can be written and included in the plan.
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November 10, 2014Westbard Sector Plan Charrette – four days of intensive meetings with the community and public agencies are held at a site in Westbard with extensive opportunities for residents to offer comments on all aspects of the proposed plan. the Charrette ends on November 14, 2014.
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October 30, 2014Westbard Sector Plan Scope of Work reviewed by Planning Board.
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July 1, 2014Planning Department staff work on the Westbard Sector Plan begins.
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May 1, 2014The Montgomery County Council adds the Westbard Sector Plan to the Planning Department’s FY 15 work program. The original plan for Westbard was the oldest in the county and had not been updated since 1982.
Resources
Approved and Adopted Westbard Sector Plan: go to page 75 (in the PDF viewer, not the actual numbers on the pages of the document).
Westbard Sector Plan Appendix: go to page 74 and pages 111-114 (in the PDF viewer, not the actual numbers on the pages of the document).
Frequently Asked Questions about the African-American Cemetery in Westbard
In 2015, Planning Department staff determined that an African American cemetery (the River Road Moses Cemetery) historically was located behind the Westwood Towers apartment building and near the Willett Branch stream, on Parcels 175 and 177. However, currently, there is no definitive information about whether burials still exist in this location. The Planning Department had required the previous developer of the property on Parcel 175, Equity One, to conduct an archeological investigation, including the use of ground-penetrating radar, to determine whether burials remain and, if so, the boundaries of the cemetery site. However, at this time, Equity One has been replaced by a new developer, Regency Centers, and the Westwood Towers apartment building has been sold to the Housing Opportunities Commission. There is currently no pending development application for the Westwood Towers site and no current requirement to undertake archeological investigations.
Parcel 177 was dedicated to the Montgomery Parks Department as a condition of the development application for a self-storage facility to be located at 5204 River Road. The property was transferred to Parks on February 27, 2019.
White’s Tabernacle Number 39, a local chapter of the Ancient United Order of Sons and Daughters, Brothers and Sisters of Moses (AUOSDBSM), owned the land that was later subdivided into Parcels 175 and 177 from 1911 until 1958, when it was sold to Dr. Leo Furr. During Furr’s ownership, WSSC moved and channelized the Willett Branch, bisecting the former White’s Tabernacle tract. In 1967, Dr. Furr entered into a six-year lease agreement with Dr. Laszlo Tauber, a surgeon and real estate developer, for the use of the former White’s Tabernacle property during the construction of “Westwood House,” later known as Westwood Tower Apartments located at 5401 Westbard Avenue. The property was later sold again and by 1968 had been subdivided into Parcels 175 and 177.
The parcels changed ownership several times until Parcel 175 was acquired by the Housing Opportunities Commission in 2017, and Parcel 177 was dedicated to Montgomery Parks in 2019.
We don’t know the exact date the cemetery was established, but on January 20, 1911, James H. Loughborough, a prominent landowner and Confederate veteran, submitted a petition to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners to block the installation of “a cemetery on the River Road near Bethesda, for the colored persons from the District of Columbia,” ten days after White’s Tabernacle acquired the land in Bethesda. Also, the 1911 tax assessment for Parcels 175 and 177 records the following entry: “used as grave yard.”
Macedonia Baptist Church moved to the River Road community in 1937, when the church purchased land that abutted the River Road Moses Cemetery then owned by White’s Tabernacle since 1911. By 1945, MBC relocated to its current location at 5119 River Road. The exact number and identities of all those buried at this location is unknown at this time.
As part of its mission as an African American benevolent society, AUOSDBSM provided both medical assistance during time of illness and bore the cost of funeral expenses at the time of death. Its various chapters dispensed aid on a local level. In Montgomery County, there were two chapters – the White’s Tabernacle Number 39 and the Morningstar Tabernacle Number 88 (serving the community of Gibson Grove in Cabin John).
During the planning process for Westbard, Planning Department preservation staff researched the local history and discovered the possible presence of an historic African-American burial site within the Westbard Sector Plan area. Planning Department and Department of Parks staff briefed the Planning Board on December 3, 2015 about their findings and recommendations. Briefings with the then-pastor of the Macedonia Baptist Church on River Road, Planning Board members and community groups happened during this same time frame to determine the best way to approach this issue with the utmost sensitivity and compliance with Maryland laws.
Regency Centers, which took over the project from the original property owner, Equity One, in spring 2017, notified the Planning Department in a letter dated January 16, 2018 that they were abandoning the sketch plan accepted on July 11, 2016 – which had included the Westwood Towers property. In addition, at the end of 2017, the Housing Opportunities Commission purchased the Westwood Towers site. Currently, there is no regulatory application that has been resubmitted to the Planning Department on this property.
Once the Parks Department has acquired the land needed for the Willett Branch Greenway project, including Parcel 175, it will engage a qualified cultural resources management firm to conduct an archaeological investigation on both Parcels 175 and 177 to determine whether any burials remain on the property.
A sketch plan shows the basic concepts for development, including building massing and height, and locations of public uses and their relationship to existing and proposed properties. A sketch plan shows circulation patterns and describes the public benefits proposed and incentive densities requested, as well as the phasing of the development. A sketch plan does not definitively set any building footprints or give the property owner the right to begin construction. The Planning Board approves the sketch plan prior to its review of the preliminary and site plans.
Currently, there is no regulatory application that has been resubmitted to the Planning Department on this project – either the Westwood Towers property or the larger Regency Centers property. However, we anticipate an application on the larger Regency Centers property. A pre-application meeting with the community was held by Regency Centers on January 31, 2018.
Montgomery Parks manages 14 known cemeteries, including the interpretation and memorialization of the cemetery at Darnestown Heritage Park and interpretation at Mount Pleasant, as part of the Norbeck Rosenwald School/Recreation Building, and several other interpretive signage projects are currently underway in collaboration with various descendant communities.
Yes, there is a county burial sites inventory managed by the Historic Preservation Office in the Montgomery County Planning Department. It includes #327 River Road Moses Cemetery (alternate names including White’s Tabernacle No. 39, Friendship Moses Cemetery, and Macedonia Baptist Cemetery).