Little Bennett is Montgomery County's signature park for natural resources such as wildlife and native vegetation. And the Park's cultural resources are equally compelling due to their historical appeal. There are several historic sites in Little Bennett Park, and key attributes of each are described in this section of our website. In addition, we provide brief historical summaries of the communities that border the park and have contributed in significant ways to its history.

The Influence of Geology and Hydrology on the History of the Area
Since European colonization, the history of the Little Bennett Park area has been heavily influenced by it principal geological and hydrological features: Its hilly Piedmont terrain enclosing a narrow stream valley. Looking downstream and to the northwest into the Little Bennett valley, the Google Earth image below uses a 3X elevation exaggeration to help better illustrate how the these prominent physical features played key roles in the area's historic development and economic evolution (see text continuation below photo).

The Great Road: Transportation and Commerce
Behind the hillside on the left lies MD 355, the former 'Great Road.' This road was strategically positioned along a fairly direct route from the former port city of Georgetown, slightly downstream from the Potomac River fall line, to Frederick, Maryland which is situated at the base of a gap in the lengthy Catoctin Mountain and a natural gateway to the west. For several decades this was the shortest and most efficient route west through Maryland for people, animals, crops and freight traveling to and from the Georgetown tidal water port and our Nation's capital.

Clarksburg and Hyattstown were both founded largely to take advantage of the economic opportunities presented by the 'Great Road.' In the 1800's Clarksburg's positioning along this route west enabled it to become an important merchant center and, for a while, the third largest town in Montgomery County.

The Rolling Hills: Farm Country
As Clarksburg and Hyattstown grew, gradually the rolling hills around the two towns were cleared and farmed. The rich soil on these rolling hills has supported tobacco farming, as well as the growing of wheat, corn and other grains, and dairy farming. Such farming was typically practiced on the historic Browning, Norwood and Day farm sites that all lie on the hills to the right in the photo above. Now all within the Park's boundaries, at one time these farms were part of the historic community of Lewisdale which is now part of Montgomery County's Agriculture Reserve.

The Valley: Early Manufacturing
Farming was less successful in the Little Bennett valley, however, as the wetlands here and steep rocky hillsides were less well-suited to it. However, the valley possessed a resource that the farms on the surrounding hills needed – falling water to power grinding mills for their crops.

Grinding (or grist) mills performed the essential service of removing wheat grains from the chaff enclosing them. Removing the unwanted chaff near the farmer's field enabled the separated grain to be economically transported to markets via the 'Great Road' while the waste residue from grinding was left behind and often used as animal feed.

It seems ironic that over the course of the last 200-plus years the Little Bennett Creek valley has evolved from the site of numerous early manufacturing facilities to its present state as perhaps the largest and best protected natural area in Montgomery County.