Button Farm Living History Center

2026 Blackrock Road Community Picnic

WHERE: 16820 Black Rock Road, Germantown, MD
WHEN: Saturday August 15, 2026: 3 - 8 PM
RAIN DATE: Sunday, August 16, 2026: 3 - 8 PM
ADMISSION: FREE-bring a dish to share. NOTE: $10 adults, $8 kids- without a dish to share
PHONE: Deborah Beckwith 301.674.7028 for potluck sign-up list

CELEBRATE OUR COMMUNITY

Join the descendants, family and friends of the Brownstown Community and residents of Black Rock Road for an evening of food and fun at the Button Farm Living History Center.

Signs

Bank Barn

Barn

Our barn is built of post-and-beam construction and dates to around the late 19th century. It had been used as a dairy barn during the 20th century. The structure features both hand- and machine-milled lumber with some hewing marks indicating timbers that possibly date to the Revolutionary War era.

Bee Hives

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Bees might be the most famous pollinators and have many varieties. The bees at Button Farm were originally rescued in 2017 from the walls of the Loving Charity Hall, at the Warren Historic Site, near Poolesville, Maryland as it was undergoing restoration.

Button Farm Food Forest

Coming Soon

Chickens

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Heritage Breed Animals are essential to the daily life of Button Farm. No family farm of the 19th century would have been complete without chickens, both for eggs and meat. Our chickens provide eggs for our farm family as well as eat insects that can damage our garden crops.

Cotton Patch Geese

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Button Farm originally obtained these geese to help weed our garden and grounds, but soon discovered they were too good at their job and also weeded out herbs and vegetables for the garden!

Farm House

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This 1880s farmhouse was named for the Button family; the last farming occupants to own the property after World War II.

Guinea Hogs

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The American Guinea Hog is an endangered heritage breed. Also called the Yard Hog or Acorn Hog, this relatively small, black breed of hog is thought to have been bred from hogs brought over in the late 18th century from West Africa.

Museum Garden

Garden

The Museum Garden reflects the agricultural traditions of Montgomery County during the period of slavery and is at the heart of our heirloom preservation program.

Outhouse

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Button Farm’s outhouse was in use until 1950 when modern plumbing was installed in the farmhouse. In 2021 this relic of the past was knocked from its foundation during a violent wind storm.

Plantation Quarter

Baron Hills Plantation

A log cabin, to be reconstructed in this field in 2023-24, will serve as the focal point of our 1850s Farm.

Slave Cemetery

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The Button Farm

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The Meadow

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The Meadow features Bluebird Houses, situated along the walking paths. These birdhouses are maintained by the Maryland Bluebird Society whose mission “is to assist in monitoring and increasing the population of the Eastern Bluebird and other native cavity-nesting birds through education, support, and research.”

Check out the gallery of Eastern Bluebird photos from their website: http://mdbluebirdsociety.org/photo-gallery/

The North Star

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The Pavilion

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