Before Us Lies the Timber

In 1927, forty students about to enter the eighth grade arrived, along with their teacher, to open the doors to their small, two-room schoolhouse for the first time.

There were already ten public high schools in Montgomery County, Maryland. But these students weren’t allowed to attend any of them because of the color of their skin.

As a result of aggressive determination and tireless persistence by Montgomery County School Board pioneers, Rockville Colored High School, became the first high school in the county for African-American boys and girls eager to continue their education.

Finally, these students had a school of their own and could finally see the hope and opportunity that a secondary education offered.

Struggling through economic, social, and transportation challenges, they journeyed towards their diplomas. The first class chose as their motto “Before Us Lies the Timber—Let Us Build,” reflecting their dreams for the future.

Due to economic circumstances, only nine of the original forty students finished. Yet, over the next 29 years, the population of black county residents able to earn a high school education became so large that, twice, new schools had to be built to accommodate them—first, Lincoln High School replaced Rockville Colored High, and later Carver High School replaced Lincoln High.

The students in these years were given the chance to live their lives doing the things that all teenagers do. They founded a National Honor Society chapter, elected May Day Queens, and formed school baseball and basketball teams. They crammed for finals, wrote farewell poems for their beloved teachers, and marched to “Pomp and Circumstance” at commencement.

The author was himself a graduate of Lincoln High in 1945. Warrick S. Hill has assembled a wealth of not just historical information, but personal stories as well. Each graduating class is given its own commemorative chapter, recreating, year by year, the trials, challenges, and accomplishments of these unique students attending the high school they loved.

The histories chronicled in this book will help you not only to learn what African-Americans in Montgomery County went through, but will keep their memories alive for future generations.