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Rockville is a diverse community with quiet neighborhoods, a bustling retail corridor along Rockville Pike, new and continuing commercial and residential development in its downtown core, and residents of all walks of life. Its early history can be traced to pre-Revolutionary War days, when the first inhabitants were Piscataway Indians and white trappers.

When Montgomery County was founded, the area was first called Montgomery Courthouse. It was also known as Williamsburgh, after prominent landowner William Prather Williams, who hired a surveyor in 1784 to lay out much of the town. But when the city's area was officially entered into county land records in 1803, the town was called Rockville, perhaps taking its name from Rock Creek, some historians say. The city's crest calls it the city "built upon a rock."

The arrival of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1873 further enhanced growth. At the turn of the 20th century, more than 1,000 people lived in Rockville. A large post-World War II housing boom brought thousands of people to Rockville. Two large mixed-use communities, King Farm and Fallsgrove, have added thousands more in the past decade. As of July 1, 2006, 59,114 people live in the city, according to Rockville officials.

Local Officials
Mayor: Susan Hoffmann
301-340-0919
City Council
John Britton
202-419-4218
Piotr Gajewski
240-314-8294
Phyllis R. Marcuccio
301-762-3588
Anne M. Robbins
301-340-2659
Officials are elected to two-year terms. The next city election is set for November 2009.

Local services
Rockville City Hall
111 Maryland Ave.
Rockville, MD 20850
240-314-5000
www.rockvillemd.gov
City Manager: Scott Ullery
240-314-8100
City Clerk: Claire Funkhouser
240-314-8280

Police
240-314-8900/8910

Community Planning and Development
240-314-8200

Neighborhood & Community Services
240-314-8300

Public Works
240-314-8500/8565

Recreation & Parks
240-314-8600/8620

Redgate Golf Course
240-314-8730

Refuse & Recycling
240-314-8568

Senior Center
240-314-8800

Swim Center
240-314-8750

Water, Sewer & Streets
240-314-8566

Youth & Family Services
240-314-8310

Service clubs
American Legion Post 86
2013 Veirs Mill Road
P.O. Box 5363
Rockville, MD 20848
301-424-4486
Commander: Lavelle C. Ferrell

Community Ministries of Rockville
Executive Director: Mark J. Poletunow
(CMR hopes to move into new headquarters on Grandin Avenue by summer.)
301-738-7802

Kiwanis Club of Rockville
President: Barbara Leurig
P.O. Box 1401
Rockville, MD 20849-1401
www.kiwanis.org/club/rockville
Meets at 7:30 a.m. every Thursday in the faculty dining room of Montgomery College.

Lions Club of Rockville
P.O. Box 4050
Rockville, MD 20850
301-762-6315
Meets at 7 p.m. the first and third Wednesday at Rockville United Methodist Church, 112 W. Montgomery Ave.

Masonic Temple/Montgomery Lodge 195
612 Great Falls Road

Rockville Optimist Club of Rockville
President: Barbara Grewe
301-340-1506 or BGREWE@verizon.net
Meets first Tuesday of each month at a member's house, third Tuesday for dinner at a local restaurant.
www.rockvilleoptimist.org

Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation
29 Courthouse Square
Rockville, MD 20850
Director: Mary A. van Balgooy
301-762-0096
www.peerlessrockville.org

Rockville Consortium for Science
www.rocknet.org/community/science

Rotary Club of Rockville
P.O. Box 4100
Rockville, MD 20849-4100
Meets at 12:15 p.m. Thursdays at Glenview Mansion, 603 Edmonston Drive.

Washington-Rockville B.P.O.E. Lodge 15
5 Taft Court, Rockville
301-424-2202

Rockville Economic Development, Inc.
95 Monroe Street
Rockville, MD 20850
301-315-8096
www.RockvilleREDI.org

Local schools
Rockville is served by the Magruder, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Walter Johnson, Wheaton and Wootton clusters. There also are many private schools in the community. For a full list of schools, see page 30.

Police
Rockville is served by a city police department and the county police department's First District. The county's only Maryland State Police barrack also is located in Rockville. For a full list of stations, see page 11.

Fire services
Rockville is served primarily by the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department. For a full list of stations, see page 20.

Libraries
The Rockville and Twinbrook libraries are part of the county system. For a full list of libraries, see page 22.

Business
The city is served by the Rockville Chamber of Commerce and Rockville Economic Development Inc., a public-private entity that works to attract new business to Rockville. For a full list of chambers, see page 14.