An illustrated reference guide to the history of modern architecture in Montgomery County, Maryland, from 1930 to 1979, with an inventory of key buildings and communities, and biographical sketches of practitioners including architects, landscape architects, planners and developers.

Nicknamed the “Gateway to the Nation's Capital,” Montgomery County is home to a number of federal agencies and a highly educated and affluent population that has grown increasingly diverse in recent years. Established in 1776, Montgomery County now consists of urban centers like Bethesda and Silver Spring; suburban neighborhoods like Wheaton, Germantown, and Potomac; and scenic rolling farmland interspersed with historic villages, like Brookeville and Barnesville. An additional 50,000 acres of federal, state, and county parkland provide numerous recreational opportunities for its residents. Nicknamed the “Gateway to the Nation's Capital,” Montgomery County is home to a number of federal agencies and a highly educated and affluent population that has grown increasingly diverse in recent years. Established in 1776, Montgomery County now consists of urban centers like Bethesda and Silver Spring; suburban neighborhoods like Wheaton, Germantown, and Potomac; and scenic rolling farmland interspersed with historic villages, like Brookeville and Barnesville. An additional 50,000 acres of federal, state, and county parkland provide numerous recreational opportunities for its residents.

Montgomery County's Agricultural Reserve, created in 1980, was a history-making decision that is a model for land preservation. Montgomery County's earliest residents, Native Americans, developed agricultural communities and used the shores of the Potomac as a trading spot. European settlers farmed tobacco, eventually collapsing the County's economy until the Quaker community returned fertility to the land. The C&O Canal was the nation's first significant infrastructure project and helped create links to national and international markets. In the 20th century, the Marriott chain developed contemporary, industrialized food that signaled a changing world. The Agricultural Reserve was intended to preserve the county's rural past in the face of rapid change. Along with farming, it also preserved history and foodways. Claudia Kousoulas and Ellen Letourneau tell this agricultural history through food and recipes.