A glimpse into Olney’s history

New booklet also captures Olney’s sense of community

Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005

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by Terri Hogan

Staff Writer

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Susan Whitney-Wilkerson⁄The Gazette

Thomas Y. Canby, writer of the newly published booklet, ‘‘Olney: From Crossroad to Hometown,” and Joe Buffington, whose family produced the publication, stand in front of the historic Olney House, which is featured on the cover of the booklet.

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‘‘Olney: From Crossroad to Hometown” is available for free at several locations in the greater Olney community.

The Buffington family is hoping its newly published booklet will not only highlight Olney’s history, but also capture the sense of community for which Olney has come to be known.

The 16-page publication, entitled ‘‘Olney: From Crossroad to Hometown,” tells the tale of Olney’s development from the time of tobacco plantations in the 1700s to the thriving community of 40,000 people that it has become today.

‘‘Other histories have been written, but this is just a quick gateway to the community’s past,” Joe Buffington of Ashton said. ‘‘It’s not a complete history, but it gives enough information to create the sense of community that we have here.”

Buffington said the idea of the booklet came up while constructing his family’s office building that sits on land adjacent to the historic Olney House. During the building process, his family preserved the springhouse that sits on the property.

The Buffingtons commissioned local historian Thomas Y. Canby to write the brochure. The cover features the Olney House, which ironically was build by Canby’s great-great-grandfather, Whitson Canby, a Quaker potter who arrived from Pennsylvania to settle here just before the 1800s.

‘‘My great-great-grandfather built the original log house, and then the house was eventually sold to the Farquhar family,” Canby said as he stood in front of it for a photograph. ‘‘I guess we’ve really come full circle.”

Canby, a retired science editor for National Geographic, wrote ‘‘The Sandy Spring Legacy,” a picture book published by the Sandy Spring Museum in 1998.

‘‘Writing that book simplified putting this brochure together,” he said. ‘‘I still had to do a lot of research because I had never really focused on Olney before. By taking a new look at Olney, I learned there is a really neat story behind it.”

Canby said he ‘‘pecked away” at the brochure for a good three months, and that it covers Olney’s history from ‘‘day one up until now.”

He said he enjoyed working on the project, and especially working with the Buffingtons.

‘‘They are an awful nice family and I think they’ve put together a very attractive brochure,” he said.

The Buffington family moved to Olney in 1978. After service in the U.S. Army, Dr. Joseph Buffington established an obstetrics practice at Montgomery General Hospital. His wife Bette opened Olney Properties, which later became Re⁄Max Realty Centre. Joe, their son, is part owner and manager of the real estate business. They also have two other children — Whit Cobb of Sandy Spring and Francie Wright of Annapolis.

The Buffington Building opened on Olney-Sandy Spring Road (Route 108) in 2002, at which time they also restored the long-neglected Olney House Spring House.

The brochures will soon be available for free at the Buffington Building, the Olney Library, the Historic Preservation Commission and the Sandy Spring Museum.

‘‘They are free, but if people would like to contribute, we ask that they make a donation to the Sandy Spring Museum,” Buffington said. ‘‘Most communities don’t have a historic resource like we do, and they made my job of producing this brochure a lot easier.”