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Boyds is a community established by the railroad. In 1860, Col. James A. Boyd, an orphaned immigrant from Scotland who was raised by his grandmother, won the bid to build the Metropolitan Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from Washington, D.C., through Montgomery County to Point of Rocks. On May 25, 1873, a steam engine made its first journey along the tracks stopping at stations along the way, including the new Boyds station opened to serve the area Col. Boyd had made his home. He purchased 1,200 acres and built a homestead he called Bonnie Brae.

The county government estimates there are about 352 people who live in Boyds proper, but according to the United States 2000 Census, the Boyds ZIP Code area covers 27.54 miles and has a population of 2,025, though there has been significant residential development in the southern area of the 20841 ZIP Code in recent years.

Still largely a rural expanse, Black Hill Regional Park with its Little Seneca Lake is part of Boyds, as is the Hoyles Mill Conservation Park. Hoyles Mill provides permanent protection of 800 acres of forest habitat and rural land. It is the largest single land preservation acquisition in Montgomery County and is located at the center of a green corridor that stretches between the Potomac and Patuxent rivers, linking more than 5,000 acres of protected land.

Boyds is a community at a crossroads, working to protect and maintain its rural character as development continues to emerge across the upcounty, especially in the neighboring communities of Germantown and Clarksburg.

Civic organizations
Boyds Civic Association
P.O. Box 285
Boyds, MD 20841
301-972-3722
boydscivicassociation@hotmail.com
Meets quarterly starting in January at 7:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month at Boyds Presbyterian Church, 19001 White Ground Road.

Boyds Historical Society
P.O. Box 161
Boyds, MD 20841
301-461-4646
www.boydshistory.org

For A Rural Montgomery
P.O. Box 455
Poolesville, MD 20837
301-916-3510

Sugarloaf Citizens Association
20900 Martinsburg Road
Dickerson, MD 20842
301-349-4889
www.sugarloafcitizens.org
Annual meeting in the spring.

Upcounty Citizens Advisory Board
12900 Middlebrook Road
Germantown, MD 20874
240-777-8000
Meets at 7 p.m. once a month, except July and August.

Upcounty Regional Services Center
12900 Middlebrook Road
Germantown, MD 20874
240-777-8000
www.montgomerycountymd.gov

WUMCO Help Inc.
P.O. Box 247
Poolesville, MD 20837
301-972-8481
Annual meeting in the spring.

Local schools
Boyds is served by the Poolesville and Northwest cluster schools. For a full list of schools, see page 30.

Police
Boyds is served by the Germantown District. For a full list of stations, see page 11.

Fire services
Boyds is served by the Upper Montgomery County Volunteer Fire Department and the Germantown Volunteer Fire Department. For a full list of stations, see page 20.

Libraries
Boyds is served by the Poolesville and Germantown libraries. See page 22.