Maryland State Archives

This collection consists of several hundred photographs, primarily but not exclusively, glass plate negatives transferred from Historic Takoma, Inc. (Historic Takoma) to the Maryland State archives for preservation, appropriate storage, and public access.

The materials in the collection are currently housed in sleeves that were apparently created by Historic Takoma volunteers some time in the 1990s. Presumably the items were in some other sleeves or housing at the time of transfer from the Takoma Park Historical Society, but there is no record of what those were or what information was on them, or how the collection was organized. Most of the current sleeves have some descriptive information written on them by at least two different persons. Some of this information may have been on the original sleeves, but most seems to have been added by the creators of the current sleeves since it lacks the specificity that the photographer or collector would have had (eg. “unidentified man” or “house on dirt street”). In January 2022 volunteers from Historic Takoma, knowledgeable in local history, reviewed and made minor updates to the subject descriptions. These were captured in the MSA cataloging, but not necessarily on the sleeves. Further identification of the photographs is ongoing.

There is little information about dates. The glass plates appear to be in the first decade of the 20th century based on subject matter and what is known of the likely photographers. The few film negatives show scenes from later in the 20th century, though not likely past the 1940s.

Most of the information about the photographers is inferred. Many of the sleeves contain “collection” notations such as “Colburn Collection” or “Morris Bien”. Those are assumed to be the photographers but there is no definitive record of who took the pictures. Colburn and Bien apparently took glass plate pictures in and around Takoma Park. Many of the glass plates do not have attribution, but can be assumed to be products of one of those two. Each had a particular style and area of interest. Further work is needed to evaluate these photographs and associate with a photographer.

• Arthur Rollison Colburn - 1874-1951.Lived at 41 Carroll Ave in Takoma Park (now the south side of 7000 block) from 1891 to 1927. He was an attorney in private practice; his sister, Helen, who shared this house with him, was an artist and spiritualist, a theme in many of his images. The house was purchased by the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist church and torn down. Inscription on the sleeve of image 436 indicates the negatives were found in the house at that time (circa 1945-1950).
• Morris Bien - 1859 - 1932. Lived at 60 Elm Avenue from 1889 until his death. Many of his pictures are of family in and around this house and the area of Elm/Pine/Montgomery Avenues. “Morris Bien (1859-1932) was an engineer and government attorney specializing in right of way and irrigation law. From 1879-1893 Bien did topographic field work and mapping for the United States Geological Survey. He was in charge of right of way on public lands with the General Land Office from 1893-1902, and from 1902-1924 was legal counsel and later assistant director and assistant commissioner of the Reclamation Service. Bien drafted a state irrigation code in 1904 which became the basis for irrigation laws in several Western states.” [see Archives West]
• Harvey M. Schiller - 1880-1938. There is no record of Harvey Schilling living in Takoma Park. However newspaper accounts indicate he was in the Washington area in the early 1900s. Schilling was an engineer and official in the Reclamation Service. Much of his work was in the West but he apparently worked for some time in Washington, where he likely crossed paths with Morris Bien.
• Henry E. Marschalk - 1905-1994. Born in East Orange, NJ. Lived in East Orange through the 1930s. In 1940 lived in Takoma Park on Flower Avenue, working for Colony Radio in Washington, DC. Later lived in Silver Spring. Was apparently the last president of the Takoma Park Historical Society. Many glass plates in the collection are attributed to the Henry E Marschalk Collection, but they pre-date him. He likely acquired the plates in the course of his work with the Historical Society. The photographer is likely either Colburn or Bien.
• Dr. William A. Hooker- 1877-1953. Lived at 19 Pine Avenue in Takoma Park from 1919 until his death. Agricultural geologist with the Agriculture Department. Long-time leader of the Takoma Park Historical Society and avid researcher/chronicler of Takoma Park history.
• Charles L. Greenfield - 1871-1953. Moved to Takoma Park (current 7116 Maple Avenue) in 1907 and lived in the same house until his death. Clerk at the Treasury Department.

Prepared by the Historic Takoma Archives and History Committee, February 2022.

Historic Takoma, Inc.
7328 Carroll Avenue
Takoma Park MD 20912
archives@historictakoma.org
HistoricTakoma.org

Historic Takoma was established in the late 1970s as an organization dedicated to preserving the physical, architectural, and cultural history of Takoma Park, Maryland and the adjacent Takoma neighborhood of Washington, DC. Historic Takoma’s mission includes advocacy for historic preservation, public education, and maintaining reference and research archives related to Takoma history. Historic Takoma was preceded by the Takoma Park Historical Society, formed in the early 20th century. After the formation of Historic Takoma, the archives and collections of the Takoma Park Historical Society were transferred to Historic Takoma. Among the materials transferred were a number of glass plates and other fragile photographic materials. In 1993 Historic Takoma transferred several hundred of these to the Maryland State Archives for proper storage and safekeeping. In early 2022 an additional 60 items were transferred.