KAREN: Gaithersburg has many names over the years, uh, Log Town, Gaithersburg, and also Forest Oak.

The symbol of Gaithersburg is the Forest Oak tree, this oak tree did see the entire history, from Indigenous People up to modern times.

Towards the end of the 18th century, Benjamin Gaither set up a tavern, a general store, right by the intersection where 355 and Muddy Branch are.

As soon as the Civil War ended, they started work on the railroad.

They needed a way for farmers to get their produce from one place to another.

The railroad chose to call this stop Gaithersburg because they already had some Forest Oak stops and they didn't wanna confuse things, so Gaithersburg stuck.

As soon as the train came through, this became an industrial center.

The bank opened in 1891 and so did Montgomery County's first telephone company, it opened here in the train station.

In the 1890s, there were about 10 trains running, and then, of course, you start to have commuters.

So, we have communities getting built that didn't exist before.

Today, we have a very active train station, we probably have 20 trains a day.

You have the MARC trains in the morning and the evening, you have freight all day long, and there is an Amtrak.

We have a lot of people who just come and watch the trains.

This is the Gaithersburg Community Museum, it's an incredible resource that Gaithersburg offers to residents.

It's a very family-friendly museum, we have a lot of hands-on stations but we also have a lot of exhibits about Gaithersburg history.

(model train whistle) The thing I like about Gaithersburg the most is there's so many parks and the neighborhoods are so walkable.

We have Old Town, we have the new community of Crown, and we have Kentlands.

JODI: My name is Jodi Rapaport and I am the owner of My Big Finds.

We are in the heart of the Kentlands in Gaithersburg.

I've lived in this area for 26 years.

They have a lot of small businesses with wonderful restaurants in the community.

The thing that I love about vintage pieces is the story they have.

I always wanna remember who owned it and then how can I then give it a new life to somebody else.

I think it's really cool when residents pass it on, so it's still kind of in the community but in a newer spot.

The atmosphere of the store I would say is cozy clutter.

You have to spend the time and sometimes walk different directions, and it goes from floor to ceiling, so we have 18 feet tall of goodies in the store.

Yeah, we're open every day.

We get to meet people over and over again, so we become part of their community and that's something we strive to do.