Kemp Mill, Maryland

Kemp Mill is a census-designated place and an unincorporated census area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is known for its creekside walkways, calm suburban atmosphere, Brookside Gardens, and numerous hiking trails. Home to the largest Orthodox Jewish community on the East Coast between Baltimore and Miami, it hosts more than half a dozen synagogues within its boundaries. The population was 13,378 at the 2020 census.

Kemp Mill census area consists of multiple subdivisions, including Kemp Mill Estates, Kemp Mill Farms, Kemp Mill Forest, and Springbrook Forest. The community also includes University Towers, with 523 condominium units, and the Warwick, with 393 rental units. The neighborhood has over 1,693 houses.

History

Early history

Prior to the arrival of European settlers, the area that is now Kemp Mill was inhabited by Indigenous peoples, including the Piscataway and the Nacotchtank. Captain John Smith of the English settlement at Jamestown was probably the first European to explore the area, during his travels along the Potomac River and throughout the Chesapeake region.

Evan Thomas, a Quaker minister and political activist, settled the land and established a frame saw and grist mill in 1745, which he named Thomas’ Mill.

19th century

In the 19th century, much of eastern Montgomery County was dominated by agriculture. The area's rolling terrain was ideal for both small and large farms, while the surrounding woodlands provided essential lumber for homes. Early settlers also established mills along the Northwest Branch Anacostia River and Paint Branch, utilizing the streambed gradient to harness hydropower.

In July 1864, during the Civil War, Silver Spring, Maryland (including Kemp Mill) experienced a significant incursion by Confederate forces. As General Jubal Early's troops spread across the fields and orchards, reactions among the residents varied, with some cheering, and others fleeing to the capital. The Confederate soldiers ransacked properties, including the estate of Montgomery Blair, Lincoln's postmaster general, which they set ablaze. Additionally, Early used the home of Blair's father as his headquarters to coordinate an assault on Washington's defenses.

20th century

The first subdivisions in the greater Kemp Mill area broke ground in 1931. Prior to World War II, racial covenants were used in Washington, D.C. and Silver Spring to exclude African Americans, Jews, and others. In 1948, the Supreme Court's Shelley v Kraemer decision rendered racial covenants legally unenforceable, but African Americans, Jews, and others in the Washington metropolitan area continued to be excluded under the covenants until the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

In the early 1930s, property owners in the Kemp Mill area began establishing very large lot subdivisions (five-acre lots) in various areas just outside the initial suburban ring. These developments were intended to be exclusive neighborhoods with a park-like ambiance. Gray's Estates in Kemp Mill was one such example. Yeatman Parkway, following a tributary to the Northwest Branch, was dedicated as part of Gray's Estates. Today, the parkway is the only remnant of this type of development in Kemp Mill. approximately a decade after the 1948 Supreme Court Shelley v Kraemer decision. The neighborhood was among several communities in Montgomery County's Silver Spring area that were built by Jewish real estate developers catering to Jews moving to the suburbs from Washington, D.C.

Kemp Mill Estates was developed by Jack Kay and Harold Greenberg of the Kay Construction Company, the son and son-in-law of real estate developer Abraham S. Kay. Rav Gedaliah Anemer, the spiritual leader of the congregation, recognized early on that the changing demographics in Washington would eventually necessitate a new center of Jewish life. Despite the area being primarily farmland with limited infrastructure, Rav Anemer envisioned a vibrant Torah community in Kemp Mill. He began hosting minyanim in his basement before the first synagogue was completed on University Boulevard.

Under Rabbi Anemer, a robust Jewish education was established in the area. At a time when the only Jewish school was the coeducational Hebrew Academy through ninth grade, and high school options were either public school or long commutes to Baltimore or New York, he founded the Yeshiva of Greater Washington. The girls’ high school opened in 1964 with just six students, and a boys’ yeshivah followed soon after. Both institutions moved between makeshift facilities in their early years, but community support ensured their growth. Today, they serve hundreds of students and are cornerstone institutions of the Kemp Mill Orthodox community.

As the Jewish population in Kemp Mill grew, so did the need for kosher food establishments. Anemer led the Vaad HaKashrus of Washington, implementing strict supervision protocols that are still respected today. and by 2005, half of the community's 10,000 residents identified as such.

21st century

In 2005, Chabad of Silver Spring was founded by Rabbi Berel and Chaya Wolvovsky on Lamberton Drive. Today it also operates The Gan Montessori preschool and Camp Gan Israel of Silver Spring.

In 2011, Kehillas Ohr HaTorah was established by a group of former students of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington. The first Shabbos morning minyan was held in November 2012, in the University Towers on Arcola Avenue. Rabbi Michoel Frank was appointed Rav and Mara D’Asra in August 2014. After outgrowing its original location, the shul moved to the Kemp Mill Shopping Center in 2016 and later purchased land from the Silver Spring Jewish Center to build a permanent facility. Ohr HaTorah dedicated the building on May 12, 2017.

During the summer of 2020, multiple Black Lives Matter rallies were held at Northwood High School in Kemp Mill as part of the nationwide protests against racism and police brutality. A 2020 statement of solidarity with African Americans issued by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington was signed by Kemp Mill Synagogue.

Hate crimes

In 1977, the Yeshiva of Greater Washington, then located on Kemp Mill Road, was vandalized with swastikas, antisemitic slogans, and obscenities. It was later damaged by arson, prompting the yeshiva to relocate to its current campus on Arcola Avenue.

In 1978, a black DC school official living in Kemp Mill was the target of a hate crime when the N-word and "KKK" were painted on her house and her tires were slashed. Similar incidents, including several cross-burnings attributed to members of the Ku Klux Klan, occurred in towns surrounding Kemp Mill during these years, primarily Prince George's County. The average price of a home in Kemp Mill at this time was between $85,000 and $90,000.

In March 1989, a young Asian man was beaten in nearby Sligo Creek Park by a group of youths and young adults shouting anti-Asian racial slurs. Ten individuals were arrested related to the crime. A few months later, there was a spate of antisemitic incidents rumored to be due to skinheads. Swastikas were painted on several vehicles, 40 cars had their windows shot in with BB guns, the graffiti "All Jews Must Die Now" was painted on a sidewalk, and an Orthodox Jewish school was vandalized.

A community meeting was held and the local police claimed that "youths" were to blame for the antisemitic incidents and that there were no organized neo-Nazis or skinheads in the region. However, a man living in Kemp Mill had recently been convicted for antisemitic vandalism of the Kemp Mill Urban Park, an act the police claimed was inspired by the 1988 film Betrayed, which follows the actions of a white supremacist organization.

In February 2023, Northwood High School's outdoor facilities were closed to the public due to repeated targeting by an unknown hate group with antisemitic fliers. The fliers were found on the school's athletic fields four times, prompting Principal Jonathan Garrick to announce the closure of the facilities, including the athletic fields, track, tennis courts, and other outdoor areas. Although the perpetrators were not apprehended, the GDL had recently been caught vandalizing Jewish properties in nearby Kensington, Maryland. A month later, the ADL reported a 261% spike in antisemitic incidents across Montgomery County over the year, with a concentration of these incidents occurring in Kemp Mill. The county accounted for nearly 60% of antisemitic incidents reported in the state of Maryland in 2022.

Following the Simchat Torah Massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, after another notable uptick in anti-Semitic vandalism was seen in Kemp Mill, the Montgomery County police announced on October 9, 2023, that they were stepping up patrols around synagogues and Jewish schools in the county.

On the morning of June 17, 2024, a rabbi walking along Arcola Avenue near Kemp Mill Road was attacked by a man wielding a wooden stake, sustaining minor injuries. Montgomery County police arrested a 47-year-old man, Junior Michael Reece, nearby and charged him with felony and misdemeanor assault, as well as a hate crime enhancement. According to police, the charge was based on Reece's statements after the arrest, the location of the attack, and the victim's visibly Jewish attire.

Culture

The Kemp Mill area, with its small size and the frequent use of local amenities by residents, has developed into a pedestrian-friendly community. Many people walk to nearby shops, schools, religious institutions, and recreational spots. Each sub-neighborhood within Kemp Mill has its unique character, shaped by similar housing styles and separated by local streets. Most of the residential streets of Kemp Mill consist of winding roads ending in cul-de-sacs. The area features a mix of midcentury split-level homes, 1980s colonials, and ramblers, all set behind sidewalks and grassy front lawns, shaded by oak trees. In 2024, home prices in the neighborhood ranged from $480,000 to $1.3 million.

To the north are Kemp Mill Forest and Springbrook Forest. Kemp Mill Forest, developed in the 1980s using a cluster design, includes both single-family homes and townhouses. Springbrook Forest, one of the oldest neighborhoods, features large lots, narrow streets, and numerous mature trees. The central Kemp Mill neighborhood dates back to the 1950s and 1960s, characterized by traditional suburban development with lots ranging from 6,000 to 9,000 square feet, featuring brick houses.

thumb|200px|Silver Spring Learning Center

</div>

thumb|Entrance to [[Northwood High School (Maryland)|Northwood High School]]

</div>

Kemp Mill Shopping Center, along with the public amenities of Kemp Mill Urban Park, collectively function as the community's town center. Sidewalks from the neighboring residential developments lead to the shopping center, and a paved trail from Sligo Creek Park also terminates at this central location.

thumb|200px|Shalom Kosher, a grocery store in Kemp Mill

</div>

thumb|175px|The Kosher Pastry Oven in Kemp Mill Shopping Center

</div>

A Kemp Mill Village is being formed to serve the needs of elderly and disabled residents.

Crime

Kemp Mill has a crime rate of 12.24 incidents per 1,000 residents annually, making it safer than 90% of U.S. cities. Violent crime is low, with a rate of 1.56 per 1,000 residents, while property crime, albeit rare, is slightly more common, at 6.91 per 1,000 residents. The northeast part of Kemp Mill is generally considered the safest, while the southwest has slightly higher crime rates.

In comparison to nearby areas, Kemp Mill has a lower crime rate than the majority of neighborhoods, including Four Corners, White Oak, Woodside and Wheaton. This means residents of Kemp Mill experience fewer incidents of both violent and property crimes relative to many surrounding communities.

Kemp Mill Urban Park sits on about 2.7 acres (1.1 ha) at the intersection of Arcola Avenue and Lamberton Drive, near the Kemp Mill Shopping Center, Yeshiva of Greater Washington, and Young Israel Shomrai Emunah. It includes a central water feature, an accessible playground, and a combination basketball and soccer court. Originally developed in the 1960s, the park was closed in February 2016 for a full renovation and reopened in 2017.

Sligo Creek rises in the Kemp Mill area and flows south to its confluence with the Northwest Branch Anacostia River. The Sligo Creek Trail, a paved hiker-biker trail roughly 10.2 miles (16.4 km) long in Montgomery County, runs alongside the creek and connects to the Anacostia Tributary Trail System. The eastern edge of the community is bounded by the Northwest Branch, which is followed by the Northwest Branch Trail.

The adjacent Wheaton Regional Park offers additional recreation, including horseback riding and the Wheaton Ice Arena, one of two indoor ice rinks operated by Montgomery Parks. The Wheaton Library and Recreation Center, operated by Montgomery County Public Libraries, stands at the corner of Arcola Avenue and Georgia Avenue.

Two private community pools, Parkland Pool and the Kemp Mill Swim Club, serve the community.

thumb|200px|Northwest Branch fall line

</div>

thumb|200px|Kemp Mill Urban Park

</div>

Geography

Large parks border Kemp Mill on both the east and west sides. A defining feature of Kemp Mill is its abundant open space and greenery. Extensive stretches along both sides of Kemp Mill Road are filled with lush greenery. Northwest Branch Anacostia River lies to the east, while Wheaton Regional Park is to the west. The Kemp Mill area contains around 6,000 acres of forest, most of which is situated within parkland.

As an unincorporated area, Kemp Mill does not have officially defined boundaries. However, Kemp Mill is recognized by the United States Census Bureau and by the United States Geological Survey as a census-designated place.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the neighborhood has a total area of 2.54 square miles (6.2 km<sup>2</sup>), nearly all land.

Kemp Mill is considered by many of its residents to be part of unincorporated Silver Spring. It is served by the Wheaton Post Office.

There is a very large eruv that encompasses Kemp Mill and the other Jewish communities of Silver Spring.

Climate

Kemp Mill experiences a humid subtropical climate, characterized by hot, humid summers and mild winters. Summer temperatures typically reach the mid-80s Fahrenheit, while winter temperatures seldom drop below freezing. The area receives an average of 44 inches of rain annually, surpassing the U.S. average of 38 inches per year. Precipitation is distributed relatively evenly throughout the year, with slightly drier conditions during the summer months.

Snowfall in Kemp Mill averages 14 inches per year, which is lower than the national average of 28 inches. Precipitation of some form occurs approximately 110 days per year.

Kemp Mill is a highly educated community, with 92.5% of the population having a high-school diploma or higher and 60.2% holding a bachelor's degree or higher (as of 2020).

History

Early history

19th century

20th century

21st century

Hate crimes

Culture

Crime

Geography

Climate

Demographics