Every Sunday at Olney Farmers and Artists Market, Cristin Cooper sells jars of Coop’s Soups: white bean and kale, gazpacho, Old Bay-spiced corn and other varieties homemade with locally grown ingredients. She calls them “belonging in a bottle.”
By Maya Rosenberg
“One of our customers is now the person we call every time we need a ride to the airport. I have a 2-year-old daughter, and [so many] of her clothes come from another customer’s daughter,” Cooper said. “We purposely sell here because it’s where community is already happening.”
The market, at the intersection of Olney-Sandy Spring Road and Prince Philip Drive, is one way people in Olney, Md., form tight-knit relationships. The Montgomery County community, 18 miles north of D.C., is a blend of rural landscapes, pockets of housing developments and suburban amenities. With a population of about 36,000, it has a small-town feel and the benefits of a metropolitan area.
Once people arrive in Olney, they tend to stay, real estate agent Andrew Rubin said.
“I’ve always referred to Olney as Velcro. Once you get stuck on the Velcro, you might roll around a little bit on it, but you’re staying on the Velcro,” Rubin said. “And people just don’t leave here once they get here, once they realize the charm that Olney has.”
Rubin said Olney is a “microcosm of a city” with its nucleus at the intersection of Olney-Sandy Spring Road and Georgia Avenue, where there are restaurants, boutiques, fitness centers, salons and grocery stores.
South on Olney-Sandy Spring Road are entertainment venues, including Olney Station, which hosts live music and the award-winning Olney Theater Center. Sherwood High School’s yearly Rock-and-Roll Revival has been a staple in Olney for more than 50 years.
Founded in 1800, Olney was originally known as Mechanicsville. It began as one of several Quaker farm villages in what is now upper northeast Montgomery County, alongside Sandy Spring, Brookeville and Ashton. In 1851, Charles Farquhar, the postmaster, renamed the village Olney.
“My great grandparents had a favorite British poet, and his name was William Cowper,” said Tom Farquhar. “His home village was called Olney, and so they named their house after his [home] village. And eventually, that became the name of the town.”
Tom Farquhar is a retired teacher and now the head farmer of Sandy Spring Gardens. The community farm is a few miles from Olney and sells produce at the farmers market. Farquhar’s great-grandparents’ house still stands in the center of Olney, and now houses Salt & Vine Italian restaurant.
Olney remains intertwined with these former Quaker villages, particularly with Sandy Spring. The shared history between Olney and Sandy Spring can be explored at the Sandy Spring Museum.
A mile and a half away, the Sandy Spring Slave Museum, founded in 1988, documents enslaved people’s forced journey through the Middle Passage, the Underground Railroad’s impact in the area and highlights African American heritage in Montgomery County.
“[People] should know that that exists because that’s also an important part of the culture here,” Farquhar said.
Janet Terry, the farmers market founder and chairwoman, and her husband found their way to Olney “by chance” 30 years ago. She wanted to escape D.C.’s high cost of living, but as a self-described “city person,” she didn’t expect she’d fall in love with a more rural environment. As Olney grew, Terry became appreciative of its lingering rustic vibe.
“There was so much [farmland] and no traffic lights when we moved here. Obviously, that's changed,” Terry said. “However, the fact that we still have farms around is really cool. I love having that.”
Terry said the farmers market, where local artists also have stands, has become a “social occasion” for the community.
“I not only wanted to bring fresh, healthy produce [to] get our community healthier, I also wanted to have a central gathering place for Olney,” Terry said. “And it's become the largest central gathering place over the years.”
Rusty Allen was drawn to Olney in the 1990s because he felt it was “off the beaten path.” He knew it was the right place when he woke up in the morning and “didn't hear traffic, didn't hear sirens and didn’t hear beeping and horns.” Allen said he loves that he constantly runs into friends around town. He found Olney to be a “great place” to raise kids; all four of his children went to Sherwood High School.
“It takes a village to raise a child, and I believe that people, my friends here and other people I know in the community, are very supportive of my children. That’s important.”
Transit: Shady Grove Metro station and Glenmont Metro station, both on the Red Line, are each less than 10 miles away. Y2 and Y8 buses run through Olney, with a stop at the ICC Park and Ride. Montgomery County’s Ride On buses 52 and 53 have stops in and around Olney.
Housing: The average house price in Olney this year is $647,963, Rubin said. According to Rubin, as of Aug. 16, there are seven homes on the market ranging from a two-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom 1,032-square-foot condo for $310,000 to a four-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom 2,766-square-foot home for $960,000.
Schools: Olney Elementary, Brooke Grove Elementary, Belmont Elementary, Rosa Parks Middle, Sherwood High School.
