How many regions are in Belgium?

Cinema of Belgium refers to the film industry based in Belgium. Belgium is essentially a bi-lingual country divided into the Flemish (Dutch-speaking) north and the French-speaking south. There is also a small community of German speakers in the border region with Germany. Belgium is further a federal country made up of three regions (the Flemish Region, the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region) and three language communities (the Flemish Community (Dutch-speaking), the French (i.e., French-speaking) Community and the German-speaking Community).
Due to these linguistic and political divisions it is difficult to speak of a national, unified Cinema of Belgium. It would be more appropriate to talk about Flemish or Dutch-language cinema of Belgium and Walloon or French-language cinema of Belgium.

Cinema of Belgium

While the invention of the cinématographe by the French Lumière brothers is widely regarded as the birth of cinema, a number of developments in photography preceded the advent of film. Among the people pioneering work on animation devices was a Belgian professor of experimental physics Joseph Plateau. Plateau, who was active at the Ghent University invented an early stroboscopic device in 1836, the "phenakistiscope". It consisted of two disks, one with small equidistant radial windows, through which the viewer could look, and another containing a sequence of images. When the two disks rotated at the correct speed, the synchronization of the windows and the images created an animated effect. The projection of stroboscopic photographs, creating the illusion of motion, eventually led to the development of cinema.

The first public projection in Belgium took place on March 1, 1896 at the Kings Gallery in Brussels. In the following years there was a surge in activity, initially dominated by the French industrial Charles Pathé. One of his assistants, Alfred Machin founded the first production studio in 1910; some of his films are still preserved in the Royal Filmarchive in Brussels. The first Belgian movie producer was Hippolyte De Kempeneer, who produced several interesting films until his studio burned down in 1923.

The 1930s however saw the first serious attempt at cinema. Several prominent figures such as Charles Dekeukeleire and Henri Storck experimented with new filming techniques and founded the Belgian Documentary School, which was long regarded as one of the highlights of Belgian Cinema. With the advent of sound, directors such as Jan Vanderheyden fully explored the possibilities of the medium, adapting popular literary works such as "De Witte" of Ernest Claes. "De Witte" proved to be a pivotal work in the history of Belgian Cinema. The film was a tremendous popular success and would spawn a future remake and a TV series that was widely acclaimed in its own right.

While attempts to produce a serious feature-length film were frequently met with difficulty, Belgian animated films slowly gained a reputation abroad, led by animators such as Raoul Servais, who won several awards throughout the sixties in a career that culminated with a Golden Palm for best short feature in 1979 for "Harpya".

From 1964 on, film could be subsidized by the government, making way for a new generation of filmmakers such as André Delvaux ("De Man Die Zijn Haar Kort Liet Knippen", after Johan Daisne's novel), Roland Verhavert ("Pallieter", after Felix Timmermans's novel) and Harry Kümel.

The 1980s however saw a break with the tradition of the 60s and 70s, which was increasingly perceived as too stagy or otherwise preoccupied with rural dramas, giving rise to more personal and gritty filmmaking, led by people such as Marc Didden ("Brussels by Night") and Robbe De Hert ("Blueberry Hill", "Brylcream Boulevard"). 1985 however saw the release of the ambitious but spectacular failure "De Leeuw van Vlaanderen", written and directed by Hugo Claus, after Hendrik Conscience's novel. Belgian acclaim in animation continued with an Academy Award for best animated short in 1987 with "A Greek Tragedy", by Nicole van Goethem.

Belgian cinema finally took flight during the 1990s, gaining international prominence with such films as "Man Bites Dog" (with Benoît Poelvoorde), "Daens" (directed by Stijn Coninx), "Rosetta" (directed by the Dardenne brothers) and "Toto le Héros" ("Toto the hero") by Jaco Van Dormael. "Toto le Héros" gained wide critical acclaim, winning both the César Award for best foreign film and the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2000, Dominique Deruddere's "Everybody Famous!" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Like "Rosetta", the Dardenne's 2005 film "L'Enfant" won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Other important Walloon directors include Fabrice du Welz, Lucas Belvaux, Bouli Lanners and Vincent Lannoo.

"Pauline and Paulette" a 2001 comedy-drama film directed and co-written by Lieven Debrauwer was the Belgian entry for the Academy Awards 2001 in the category Best Foreign Language Film but failed to receive the actual nomination. Dora van der Groen was awarded Best Actress in the Joseph Plateau awards for her role as Pauline. Erik Van Looy's detective movie "The Alzheimer Case" (known internationally as "The Memory of a Killer") was released in 2003. Van Looy's follow up thriller "Loft" opened in 2008 and had twice as many opening weekend admissions as "The Alzheimer Case". "Ben X" directed by Nic Balthazar became an international success after its release in 2007. The movie was the Belgian Best Foreign Language Film entry in 2007, but failed to be nominated.

Classic literary works continue to be adapted, in particular the work of Willem Elsschot, and often in coproduction with Dutch film companies.

Adaptations of new literary works are also frequent. "The Misfortunates" directed by Felix Van Groeningen and released in 2009 is an adaptation of the book De helaasheid der dingen by Flemish writer Dimitri Verhulst. The film won several awards including the Prix Art et Essai at the Cannes Film Festival's Quinzaine des Réalisateurs and three Golden Starfish Awards at the 17th Hamptons International Film Festival. The film is the official Belgian entry for the 82nd Academy Awards in 2010 in the category Best Foreign Language Film. Another example of a film adaptation of a modern novel is the 2007 movie "Ex Drummer" directed by Koen Mortier that was based on the book by Herman Brusselmans of the same name. "Mr. Nobody" directed by Jaco Van Dormael and released in 2010 gained wide critical acclaim, winning both the Magritte Award for Best Film and the André Cavens Award. In 2012, the Belgian film "Rundskop" ("Bullhead") by Michaël R. Roskam was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Belgium also annually hosts several film festivals, the most important of which are the Flanders International Film Festival Ghent and the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film.Mathijs, Ernest (ed.), "The cinema of the Low Countries", Wallflower Press, London, 2004.

Mosley, Philip, "Split screen: Belgian cinema and cultural identity", State University of New York Press, Albany, 2001.

The country of Belgium is divided into three regions. Two of these regions, the Flemish Region or Flanders, and Walloon Region, or Wallonia, are each subdivided into five provinces. The third region, the Brussels-Capital Region, is not divided into provinces, as it was originally only a small part of a province itself.

Provinces of Belgium

Most of the provinces take their name from earlier duchies and counties of similar location, while their territory is mostly based on the departments installed during French annexation. At the time of the creation of Belgium in 1830, only nine provinces existed, including the province of Brabant, which held the city of Brussels. In 1995, Brabant was split into three areas: Flemish Brabant, which became a part of the region of Flanders; Walloon Brabant, which became part of the region of Wallonia; and the Brussels-Capital Region, which became a third region. These divisions reflected political tensions between the French-speaking Walloons and the Dutch-speaking Flemish; the Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual.

The division into provinces is fixed by Article 5 of the Belgian Constitution. The provinces are subdivided into 43 administrative arrondissements, and further into 581 municipalities.

The medieval Low Countries, including present-day Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, as well as parts of modern Germany and France, comprised a number of rival and independent feudal states of varying sizes. These each had their own identities and governments, though in the early modern period almost all the Belgian states became part of larger entities (the Seventeen Provinces (1549-1581) and the Southern Netherlands (after 1581)). Prominent early states in the area of modern Belgium included the Duchy of Brabant, the County of Flanders, the Prince-Bishopric of Liège and the Duchy of Luxembourg; smaller ones included the County of Hainaut, the Duchy of Limburg and the County of Namur, though there were other small states as well.
When these territories were annexed by France in 1795, they were reorganised into "départments"; the borders were redrawn and the historical names were replaced by names of geographical features (generally the main river of the area).
At the end of French rule and the creation of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, the departmental territories were generally retained but were renamed into provinces and the historical names returned. At the time of the independence of Belgium from the Netherlands in 1830, Belgium's territory simply consisted of the existing nine southern provinces. The first article of the Belgian Constitution said: "Belgium is divided into provinces. These provinces are Antwerp, Brabant, West Flanders, East Flanders, Hainaut, Liège, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, except for the relations of Luxembourg with the German Confederation." As such, each of the modern provinces of Belgium (with the exception of Antwerp) takes its name from one of the medieval predecessors, whereas the borders largely correspond to those of the French departments, which in most cases differ substantially from the historical entities.

In 1839, as part of the Treaty of London, half of the province of Limburg became part of the Netherlands, which consequently has its own province of Limburg.

In 1920, following the First World War, Belgium annexed the Eupen-Malmedy territory, which became part of the province of Liège.

During the second half of the 20th century, Belgium transitioned from a unitary state to a federal state with three Communities and three Regions. As part of the state reforms, the (bilingual) province of Brabant was split in 1995 three ways: into two (unilingual) provinces (Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant) and into the (bilingual) Brussels-Capital Region. (The Brussels-Capital Region does not belong to any province, is not a province, and does not contain any provinces.) The two new Brabant provinces became part of the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region respectively. The remaining eight provinces became part of these regions as well, so the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region each contain five provinces.

The following table presents a simplified overview of the evolution of the French departments into the present-day Belgian provinces.

The provincial government consists of three main branches: the "Provincial Council", which is the elected body, the "Deputation" or "Provincial College", which is the executive body, and the "Governor", who is appointed by the regional government (i.e. the Flemish or Walloon Government).

The Provincial Councils (; ) are the representative bodies of the population of the provinces. This is the equivalent of the States-Provincial in the Netherlands. The numbers of seats in the Provincial Councils are proportional to the population of the province; the numbers were reduced in both Flanders and Wallonia, starting 2013 (following the 2012 elections). They are directly elected each six years, at the same time of the municipal elections. Before 1994, the provincial elections instead coincided with the national elections. Until then, the provincial councils also appointed Provincial Senators to the Belgian Senate. The last elections were held on 14 October 2018.

The executive branch was previously called the "Permanent Deputation". In the Flemish Region it is now simply called the Deputation () and it consists of the Governor and six Deputies elected by the Provincial Council from among its members. Following the next 2018 election, there will be one Deputy less, i.e. five Deputies. In the Walloon Region it is called the Provincial College () which consists of the Governor and four to five Deputies (depending on the number of inhabitants of the province) elected by the Provincial Council from among its members.

In Flemish Brabant, there is also a Deputy Governor (). The Deputy Governor is appointed by the Flemish Government on the unanimous advice of the Federal Council of Ministers and must have a considerable knowledge of both the Dutch and the French language. He is responsible for ensuring that the language legislation is observed in the municipalities in the Brussels Periphery.

Following the Fifth State Reform, the responsibility for the provincial institutions was devolved to the Regions. The Regions have the power to amend or replace the existing legislation on the provincial institutions, most notably the Provincial Law of 30 April 1836. In the Flemish Region, the Provincial Decree of 9 December 2005 applies. In the Walloon Region, the Code of Local Democracy and Decentralisation applies. The legal framework in these Regions is still very similar, but that could change in the future. Although the Regions are responsible for the provincial institutions, the Federal State has retained its responsibility over the provinces in certain cases. For instance, the Regions are responsible for the appointment of the Provincial Governors, but only after the unanimous advice of the Federal Council of Ministers. Legislation regarding the Governor and Vice-Governor of Brussels-Capital, and the Deputy Governor of Flemish Brabant, has also remained a federal competency.

The Brussels-Capital Region does not belong to any province, nor does it contain any. The extraprovincial status of Brussels has existed since 1995, when the former province of Brabant, which had Brussels as its capital, was divided into the Dutch-speaking province of Flemish Brabant and the French-speaking province of Walloon Brabant.

Within this mainly French speaking region, nearly all former provincial competencies are assumed by its regional institutions and by the French Community Commission, the Flemish Community Commission or the Common Community Commission. However, the Arrondissement of Brussels-Capital has two commissioners of the Federal Government who are called "Governor of the Brussels-Capital Region" and "Vice-Governor". The Governor exercises most of the few remaining powers elsewhere exercised by a provincial governor, particularly in the field of public order, as far as no (federal) law, (regional) decree, ordinance or decision states otherwise.

The Governor is appointed by the cabinet of the Brussels-Capital Region on the unanimous advice of the Federal Council of Ministers. The regional government also appoints the Vice-Governor, who must have a considerable knowledge of both the French and the Dutch language and who must ensure that the legislation regarding the use of languages is observed in Brussels.

Because the German-speaking Community is located entirely within the province of Liège, it has been proposed on multiple occasions to create an eleventh province, the Province of Eupen-Sankt Vith, which would comprise the nine municipalities of the German-speaking Community. Most of the functions carried out by provincial organs would then be exercised by the organs of the German-speaking Community.

The community is however small in area () and has only about 76,000 inhabitants, which would make it the smallest and by far the least populated province.

Provinces of Belgium

In 1920, following the First World War, Belgium annexed the Eupen-Malmedy territory, which became part of the province of Liège.

Provinces of Belgium

In 1920, following the First World War, Belgium annexed the Eupen-Malmedy territory, which became part of the province of Liège.


Where is Germantown?

Germantown is an area in Northwest Philadelphia. Founded by German Quaker and Mennonite families in 1683 as an independent borough, it was absorbed into Philadelphia in 1854. The area, which is about six miles northwest from the city center, now consists of two neighborhoods: 'Germantown' and 'East Germantown'.

Germantown, Philadelphia

Germantown has played a significant role in American history; it was the birthplace of the American antislavery movement, the site of a Revolutionary War battle, the temporary residence of George Washington, the location of the first bank of the United States, and the residence of many notable politicians, scholars, artists, and social activists.

Today the area remains rich in historic sites and buildings from the colonial era, some of which are open to the public.

Germantown stretches for about two miles along Germantown Avenue northwest from Windrim and Roberts Avenues. Germantown has been consistently bounded on the southwest by Wissahickon Avenue, on the southeast by Roberts Avenue, and on the east by Wister Street and Stenton Avenue, but its northwest border has expanded and contracted over the years. When first incorporated as a borough in 1689, Germantown was separated from the rural Germantown Township by Washington Lane; later, the border was expanded to Carpenter and East Gorgas Lanes; it was then rolled back to Washington Lane in 1846, and remained there until the borough was absorbed into the city of Philadelphia in 1854.
Today, the western part of the former borough is the neighborhood known simply as 'Germantown' (though is sometimes called 'West Germantown') and the eastern part is the neighborhood of 'East Germantown'. While the boundary between the two neighborhoods is not well-defined and has varied over time, these days 'Germantown' usually refers to the part of the former borough that lies west of Germantown Avenue, up through West Johnson Street, and 'East Germantown' to the part that lies east of Germantown Avenue, up through East Upsal Street.

The neighborhood of Mount Airy lies to the northwest, Ogontz and West Oak Lane to the northeast, Logan to the east, Nicetown–Tioga to the south, and East Falls to the southwest.
The majority of Germantown is covered by the 19144 zip code, but the area north of Chew Avenue falls in the 19138 zip code.

Germantown was founded on October 6, 1683, by German settlers: thirteen Quaker and Mennonite families from Krefeld. Today the founding day of Germantown is remembered as German-American Day, a holiday in the United States, observed annually on October 6. On August 12, 1689, William Penn at London signed a charter constituting some of the inhabitants a corporation by the name of "the bailiff, burgesses and commonalty of Germantown, in the county of Philadelphia, in the province of Pennsylvania." Francis Daniel Pastorius was the first bailiff. Jacob Telner, Derick Isacks op den Graeff and his brother Abraham Isacks op den Graeff, Reynier Tyson, and Tennis Coender were burgesses, besides six committeemen. They had authority to hold "the general court of the corporation of Germantowne", to make laws for the government of the settlement, and to hold a court of record. This court went into operation in 1690, and continued its services for sixteen years. Sometimes, to distinguish Germantown from the upper portion of German township, outside the borough, the township portion was called Upper Germantown.

In 1688, five years after its founding, Germantown became the birthplace of the anti-slavery movement in America. Pastorius, Gerret Hendericks, Derick Updegraeff and Abraham Updengraef gathered at Thones Kunders's house and wrote a two-page condemnation of slavery and sent it to the governing bodies of their Quaker church, the Society of Friends. The petition was mainly based upon the Bible's Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Though the Quaker establishment took no immediate action, the 1688 Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery was a clear and forceful argument against slavery and initiated the process of banning slavery in the Society of Friends (1776) and Pennsylvania (1780).

In 1723, Germantown became the site of the first Church of the Brethren congregation in the New World.

When Philadelphia was occupied by the British during the American Revolutionary War, British units were housed in Germantown. In the Battle of Germantown, on October 4, 1777, the Continental Army attacked this garrison. During the battle, a party of citizens fired on the British troops, as they marched up the avenue, and mortally wounded British Brigadier General Agnew. The Americans withdrew after firing on one another in the confusion of the battle, leading to the determination that the battle resulted in a defeat of the Americans. However, the battle is sometimes considered a victory by Americans. The American loss was 673 and the British loss was 575, but along with the Army's success under Brigadier General Horatio Gates at Saratoga on October 17 when John Burgoyne surrendered, the battle led to the official recognition of the Americans by France, which formed an alliance with the Americans afterward.

During his presidency, George Washington and his family lodged at the Deshler-Morris House in Germantown to escape the city and the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. The first bank of the United States was also located here during his administration.

Germantown proper, and the adjacent German Township, were incorporated into the City of Philadelphia in 1854 by the Act of Consolidation.

Italians began settling Germantown in 1880, and comprised an active and vibrant part of the community.

The significant changes that occurred in Philadelphia's demographics at the start of the 20th century caused major shifts in Germantown's ethnic makeup as well. When the first wave of the Great Migration brought more than 140,000 African Americans to the city from the South, long-established Philadelphians started to move to the outskirts. During this time, many German, Scots-Irish, and Irish families moved to Germantown.

During the 1940s, a second mass migration of African Americans from the south to Philadelphia occurred. While the majority of middle-class African American newcomers first settled in North Philadelphia, the housing shortages in this area that followed the end of World War II caused later arrivals to move instead to the Northwest. This led to a wave of new housing construction. To meet the housing needs of the growing numbers of African American families moving into southern Germantown, the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority allocated $10.6 million for the creation of public housing.

Between 1954 and 1956 Germantown experienced an influx of lower-income African Americans, resulting in a decline in property values and triggering a "white flight" of the majority of white residents to the suburbs. The demographic shift caused a slow but steady decline in central Germantown's upscale shopping district, with the last department store, a J. C. Penney branch, closing in the early 1980s.

The current demographics of Germantown reflects this shift. As of the 2010 US Census, Germantown proper is 77% black, 15% white, 3% non-white Hispanic, and 2% Asian, and East Germantown is 92% black, 3% white, 2% non-white Hispanic, and 2% Asian.

Eugene Stackhouse, a retired former president of the Germantown Historical Society says that the demographic transition of Germantown into a predominantly black neighborhood was the result of the now illegal practice of blockbusting. "It was a great disgrace. Cheap houses would be sold to a black family, then the realtors would go around and tell the neighbors that the blacks are invading", said Stackhouse. The practice was used to trigger panic selling.

Germantown is zoned to the School District of Philadelphia, as is all of Philadelphia. Public schools located in Germantown include the Anna L. Lingelbach School (K–8), the John B. Kelly School (K–6), the John Wister Elementary School (K–6), the Hill Freedman Middle School (6–8), the Theodore Roosevelt Middle School (7–8), the Fitler Academics Plus School (1–8), and the Martin Luther King High School (9–12). The Robert Fulton Elementary School and Germantown High School, a regional public high school located in Germantown, were both closed in 2013.

Mastery Charter Schools operates the Mastery Charter Pickett Campus (7–12, MCPC) in Germantown. The school opened in August 2007. The charter system headquarters is located at Pickett. Germantown Settlement Charter School (5–8), Imani Education Circle Charter school (pre-K to 8), and the Wissahickon Charter School's Awbury Campus (6th–8th) is located in the neighborhood. The Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, a private state-chartered school, occupies the former site of Germantown Academy, which moved to Fort Washington, Pennsylvania in 1965.

Germantown's private schools include the DePaul Catholic School (K–8), Waldorf School of Philadelphia (PreK-8), the High Street Christian Academy (K–4), the Germantown Islamic School, the Green Tree School (special education, ages 6–21), and two Quaker schools: Germantown Friends School and Greene Street Friends School.

Nearby private schools include Mount Airy's Revival Hill Christian High School (9–12), Blair Christian Academy (PreK–12), Islamic Day School of Philadelphia (PreK–5), Project Learn School (K–8), Classroom on Carpenter Lane (K-2), and Holy Cross School (K–8), as well as Chestnut Hill's Springside School (PreK–12), Chestnut Hill Academy (K–12), and Crefeld School (7–12). The William Penn Charter School (commonly known as Penn Charter), the oldest Quaker school in the world, is located in nearby East Falls.

La Salle University is in both Germantown and historic Belfield. Its west campus is centered on the old Germantown Hospital buildings and property, which it purchased in 2007. Other universities and colleges close to Germantown include Drexel University College of Medicine's Queen Lane Medical Campus, Arcadia University, Chestnut Hill College, The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, Philadelphia University, and Saint Joseph's University.

Settlement Music School, the largest community school of the arts in the United States, operates one of its six branches in Germantown.

Free Library of Philadelphia operates public libraries. The Joseph E. Coleman Northwest Regional Library is located in Germantown. The library was given its current name in 2002, after Joseph E. Coleman, a member of the Philadelphia City Council.

The first railroad in Philadelphia was the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad, which linked Germantown to a station at 9th and Green Streets in Center City. It opened in 1832, and was initially powered by horses. The inventor Matthias W. Baldwin built his first commissioned steam locomotive for the new railroad. Nicknamed "Old Ironsides", it eventually reached a peak speed of 28 mph.

Today two SEPTA Regional Rail lines connect the neighborhood to Center City: the Chestnut Hill West Line with stops at Queen Lane, Chelten Avenue, and Tulpehocken stations; and the Chestnut Hill East Line with stops at Wister, Germantown, and Washington Lane stations.

The neighborhood is also served by bus routes 18, 23 (formerly a trolley line), 26, 53 (formerly a trolley line), 65, H and XH, J, and K.

Germantown has numerous parks and recreation areas. These include:

Other sites listed separately on the NRHP:
"For a more complete gallery of contributing properties in the Colonial Germantown Historic District see here"The 1946 book, "Bright April", written and illustrated by Marguerite de Angeli, features scenes of 1940s Germantown while addressing the divisive issue of racial prejudice experienced by African Americans. The 2015 novel "Loving Day" is set in Germantown.

Germantown, Philadelphia

Germantown is an area in Northwest Philadelphia. Founded by German Quaker and Mennonite families in 1683 as an independent borough, it was absorbed into Philadelphia in 1854. The area, which is about six miles northwest from the city center, now consists of two neighborhoods: 'Germantown' and 'East Germantown'.

Germantown has played a significant role in American history; it was the birthplace of the American antislavery movement, the site of a Revolutionary War battle, the temporary residence of George Washington, the location of the first bank of the United States, and the residence of many notable politicians, scholars, artists, and social activists.

Today the area remains rich in historic sites and buildings from the colonial era, some of which are open to the public.

The neighborhood of Mount Airy lies to the northwest, Ogontz and West Oak Lane to the northeast, Logan to the east, Nicetown–Tioga to the south, and East Falls to the southwest.
The majority of Germantown is covered by the 19144 zip code, but the area north of Chew Avenue falls in the 19138 zip code.

In 1723, Germantown became the site of the first Church of the Brethren congregation in the New World.

During his presidency, George Washington and his family lodged at the Deshler-Morris House in Germantown to escape the city and the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. The first bank of the United States was also located here during his administration.

Germantown proper, and the adjacent German Township, were incorporated into the City of Philadelphia in 1854 by the Act of Consolidation.

Italians began settling Germantown in 1880, and comprised an active and vibrant part of the community.

The significant changes that occurred in Philadelphia's demographics at the start of the 20th century caused major shifts in Germantown's ethnic makeup as well. When the first wave of the Great Migration brought more than 140,000 African Americans to the city from the South, long-established Philadelphians started to move to the outskirts. During this time, many German, Scots-Irish, and Irish families moved to Germantown.

Between 1954 and 1956 Germantown experienced an influx of lower-income African Americans, resulting in a decline in property values and triggering a "white flight" of the majority of white residents to the suburbs. The demographic shift caused a slow but steady decline in central Germantown's upscale shopping district, with the last department store, a J. C. Penney branch, closing in the early 1980s.

The current demographics of Germantown reflects this shift. As of the 2010 US Census, Germantown proper is 77% black, 15% white, 3% non-white Hispanic, and 2% Asian, and East Germantown is 92% black, 3% white, 2% non-white Hispanic, and 2% Asian.

Germantown's private schools include the DePaul Catholic School (K–8), Waldorf School of Philadelphia (PreK-8), the High Street Christian Academy (K–4), the Germantown Islamic School, the Green Tree School (special education, ages 6–21), and two Quaker schools: Germantown Friends School and Greene Street Friends School.

La Salle University is in both Germantown and historic Belfield. Its west campus is centered on the old Germantown Hospital buildings and property, which it purchased in 2007. Other universities and colleges close to Germantown include Drexel University College of Medicine's Queen Lane Medical Campus, Arcadia University, Chestnut Hill College, The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, Philadelphia University, and Saint Joseph's University.

Settlement Music School, the largest community school of the arts in the United States, operates one of its six branches in Germantown.

Free Library of Philadelphia operates public libraries. The Joseph E. Coleman Northwest Regional Library is located in Germantown. The library was given its current name in 2002, after Joseph E. Coleman, a member of the Philadelphia City Council.

The first railroad in Philadelphia was the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad, which linked Germantown to a station at 9th and Green Streets in Center City. It opened in 1832, and was initially powered by horses. The inventor Matthias W. Baldwin built his first commissioned steam locomotive for the new railroad. Nicknamed "Old Ironsides", it eventually reached a peak speed of 28 mph.

Today two SEPTA Regional Rail lines connect the neighborhood to Center City: the Chestnut Hill West Line with stops at Queen Lane, Chelten Avenue, and Tulpehocken stations; and the Chestnut Hill East Line with stops at Wister, Germantown, and Washington Lane stations.

The neighborhood is also served by bus routes 18, 23 (formerly a trolley line), 26, 53 (formerly a trolley line), 65, H and XH, J, and K.

Germantown has numerous parks and recreation areas. These include:

Other sites listed separately on the NRHP:
"For a more complete gallery of contributing properties in the Colonial Germantown Historic District see here"The 1946 book, "Bright April", written and illustrated by Marguerite de Angeli, features scenes of 1940s Germantown while addressing the divisive issue of racial prejudice experienced by African Americans. The 2015 novel "Loving Day" is set in Germantown.

Germantown Baptist Church dates back to 1838 in Germantown, Tennessee and is a large Southern Baptist church, formerly categorized as a megachurch. The church is 179 years old, and since its founding has moved from its location in downtown Germantown to an over building complex on a campus near the border of Germantown and Collierville on Poplar Avenue. As of October 2009, the church has an average Sunday worship attendance of 2,064 and an annual budget of $7,564,896. The original building for the church still stands on Germantown Road. Built twenty-one years before the beginning of the Civil War, Germantown Baptist Church is the second oldest church in the city of Germantown.

Germantown Baptist Church

Western Tennessee was still Indian Territory until 1819, but soon after that date Shelby County was open to settlers. By 1825, a Kentuckian, William Twyford, had settled on the banks of the Wolf River, near the Neshoba area. Early records of the church were destroyed by fire on a couple of occasions. The earliest reference concerning the church is in the September 1838 issue
of "The Baptist" (now "Baptist and Reflector"). It was named New Hope Church in 1838 before the incorporation of Germantown; and in that year the church reported a revival in which 49 members united with the church, including 45 for baptism. Also in 1838, the church petitioned to be seated at the meeting of the "Big Hatchie Association" and reported a membership of 69.

Early in December 1841, Mr. Wilks Brooks deeded a plot of ground next to the church. The Brooks family was active in the church for many years. Joseph Brooks and wife Agnes later donated the church parsonage. On December 30, Germantown received its charter of incorporation, and the name of the church was changed. In 1842, the church was listed in the Association as Germantown Baptist Church, with Reverend L. H. Bethel as Minister, James Brooks and J. B. Winders as messengers. The membership had grown to 84 (70 whites and 14 blacks). The church had a Bible class, and that year was host to the Big Hatchie Association. By 1845, the last year that Reverend Bethel's name appeared, the membership had grown to 132 (98 whites and 34 blacks).

A report in "The Appeal" dated July 23, 1862, reported "The little town of Germantown has been sacked and burned by a band of stragglers from the Federal Army." Both Germantown Methodist and Germantown Baptist churches were burned. A neighbor upon seeing the church burning, sent a servant to request the pulpit Bible. The request was granted and has been preserved to the present.

After the Civil War, the church was at a low ebb. The building had been destroyed and many members had been lost in the war or had moved away. The membership had dropped to 40. Elder W. W. Keep, the pastor, continued to visit and filled the pulpit monthly. He plus the Vasser and Brooks families continued to encourage the membership to rebuild and helped secure from the United States Government a payment as partial value for the burned church building. In 1870, the church members moved into a rebuilt sanctuary. The seating was quite different in that period: the ladies entered one door and sat on one side of the sanctuary. The men entered the other door and sat on the opposite side. The deacons sat down near the front and gave out their "amens."

The first record of a church Sunday School Superintendent was in 1883 when J. M. Scott's name was listed. The first clerk listed was P. N. Overton. The church received special attention in the Association in 1885 when under the ministry of Reverend J. D. Anderson, it was the "only church to report two weekly prayer meetings." On the 4th Lord's Day in January 1891, there was a special meeting of the membership at which the pastor, Reverend J. W. Porter, read a communication from Sister Agnes Brooks proposing to build and donate a parsonage for the church. At the same meeting, Mr. Joseph Brooks donated a lot to the church, and the members agreed that each would furnish a wagon and team to haul the materials needed to build.

In 1932, a brick addition to the rear of the sanctuary was completed. The church membership was 141, and there were 116 enrolled in Sunday School.

When Reverend Ken Story began his ministry in 1964, the church membership was 210. In 1973, a temporary sanctuary was built with seating for 535. The membership in 1973 was 1,223. In addition to the Pastor, the church had a full-time staff that included a Director of Education, Mr. Emmett Wade; a Director of Music and Youth, Mr. Bill Spencer; Secretaries, Nena Harper and Cheryl Rogers; and a Custodian, Harold Weddington.

In 1974, it became apparent that Germantown Baptist needed a larger sanctuary and the church purchased on the east side of its existing lot. In 1975, membership and attendance increased so dramatically that the church had to return to two services and two Sunday School hours in spite of the additional room provided by the interim sanctuary. On March 14, 1975, a ground breaking ceremony was held for a church gymnasium called the Christian Family Center. In January 1977, the Christian Family Center was opened. The new space resulted in an immediate increase in Sunday School attendance and new recreational programs.

Early in 1978, the church became actively involved in the Billy Graham Crusade. Charles Baker served on the Crusade Steering Committee. Ken Story chaired the Crusade Counseling and Follow-up Committee. The church approved the design for a new sanctuary for 1,250 people in August. A new Home Bible Study ministry also began in 1978 to reach the unchurched in Germantown. At first, there were 4 home groups, but within three years the ministry had increased to 8 groups with more than 200 people involved.

On Easter Sunday in 1979, the Lord's Supper and baptisms were observed at 7:15 AM followed by three Sunday School hours and three worship services. The year 1980 was expected to be a very hard year for the church with the construction of the new sanctuary. The deacons designated it "The Year of Prayer and Preparation." As anticipated, the building project disrupted the church's routine activities; parts of the parking lot were used for storage and rooms for meetings were scarce. The little parsonage across the street from the church had to be used for Sunday School classes. In spite of all these obstacles, the activities of the church continued to expand. A World Mission Conference was held; a Fall Revival began where the Spring Revival left off; and three new staff members were added: Danny Wilson, David Burton, and Gary Ellis.
The following year, 1981, was climactic; under Dr. Story's leadership the church experienced great spiritual victories. In May, the 1280 seat sanctuary was completed, and on the first day of occupancy was filled to capacity.

Lemuel Hall Bethel's name appears in church records as Pastor in 1841. By 1845, the last year that Reverend Bethel's name appears, the church membership had grown to 98 whites and 34 blacks. The church's reported membership of 132 was good considering the community had a population of only 245 by 1850.

Willard P. Everson (1906–1992) was a native of Wisconsin. He graduated from Memphis State. He served as pastor of Germantown Baptist Church until around 1943. In 1943, he became the Pastor of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville Beach where he served for 25 years leaving in 1968.

Dr. Ken Story served as Pastor of Germantown Baptist for 33 years, from 1964 to 1997, during which time the congregation purportedly grew from 210 per Sunday to over 2500 per Sunday. He also oversaw the move from the church's old downtown location to its new modern facility between Germantown and Collierville on Poplar Avenue. Dr. Story retired in 1997 and later served as Pastor of First Baptist Church in Counce near Pickwick, Tennessee. Ken has since retired from there. He's now at  Crump Baptist in Crump,Tennesse.

Dr. Sam Shaw served as Pastor of Germantown Baptist from 1998 to 2006 during which time the congregation continued to grow considerably in finances and human resources. Shaw had previously served as Pastor of First Baptist Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His preaching style was sincere and charismatic and brought numerous new programs to the church, through his own creative leadership along with that of many others. Such programs included Metro (a Monday night college event) and the Question This Campaign,. Dr. Shaw ultimately resigned in June 2006 following a controversy over amending the church bylaws.

After some thirteen months of searching, Germantown Baptist Church members voted for forty-seven-year-old Dr. Hal Kitchings to serve as senior pastor. On Sunday, October 28, 2007, Dr. Kitchings preached in both morning services, after which the members of Germantown Baptist Church voted to call Dr. Kitchings to lead the church.

He holds a bachelor's degree from Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. He served as senior pastor of Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton, Mississippi, and youth and activities director at Daniel Memorial Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi.

On Sunday, June 28, 2009, Dr. Kitchings announced to a stunned congregation his resignation, effective at the end of July 2009.

Dr. Fowler preached in view of a call on Sunday, June 27, 2010. Following his sermon, a ballot vote was taken and an overwhelming majority of the church body - about 99.5%. Dr. Fowler's first Sunday as Senior Pastor was August 1, 2010.

In the late 1990s the church moved from its historic location in old Germantown to a new facility on Poplar Avenue between Germantown and Collierville. The new facility includes a state of the art gym and four baseball fields.

The old campus was purchased by some anonymous donors and donated to Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary after the move to new facility, in 1995. In 2006, it was demolished for room to add onto the existing Germantown Methodist Hospital. All that still remains is the original sanctuary.

The new campus is a campus that includes a 3,000 seat sanctuary, two class-room buildings, a recreation complex with two basketball courts, a game room, a weight room, running track and racquetball courts, called the CORE, a dining room and small lunch restaurant, library, music theater, baseball fields and nearby soccer fields, and a multi media conference center.

The church has sent out numerous missionaries, created a thriving inner-city ministry which reaches out to the poor in neighboring Memphis, Tennessee, and initiated many other cutting edge programs which drew both praise and replication from churches from all over the nation.

Germantown is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,844 at the 2010 census.

Germantown, Tennessee

Germantown is a suburb of Memphis, bordering it to the east-southeast. Germantown's economy is dominated by the retail and commercial service sectors; there is no heavy industry in Germantown. In the city center is the "Old Germantown" neighborhood, anchored by a railroad depot (a 1948 reproduction of the 1868 original) and railroad tracks that recall the community's earliest days of development as an outpost along the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.

The city hosts many horse shows and competitions annually, most notably the Germantown Charity Horse Show in June. Other major annual events include the Germantown Festival, an arts and crafts fair, in early September.

Germantown is one of a few cities in the nation possessing a triple-A bond rating from both Moody's and Standard & Poor's. It has the lowest crime rate for any city its size in the State of Tennessee and the police and fire departments have average emergency response time of five minutes (police just under 4 minutes & fire department 5.2 minutes). The parks and recreation department is nationally accredited. The Arbor Day Foundation has designated Germantown a "Tree City USA" for 23 consecutive years.

Germantown is located at (35.089023, −89.793997). It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which, or 0.17%, is water.

Germantown was founded along the Chickasaw Trace on a ridge between the Wolf River and Nonconnah Creek, about 16 miles east of the Mississippi River.

The first white settlers arrived in Germantown about 1825. Between 1825 and 1830, Miss Frances Wright established Nashoba Plantation, a utopian community intended to educate emancipated slaves and teach them a trade. By 1830, the first store was opened as more settlers moved into the area.

The community became known as Pea Ridge in 1833. Town lots were laid out in 1834 by surveyor N. T. German. The name was changed to Germantown in 1836. This coincidentally also reflected the settling of German families.

The town was incorporated in 1841. The Memphis-Charleston Railroad was built through the community in 1852. Germantown experienced setbacks through the period of the Civil War (1861-1865); the yellow fever epidemics reduced its population to a few hundred.

The town rebounded slowly. Churches destroyed in the war were rebuilt, schools were constructed and the population began to return around the turn of the century. The city name was briefly changed to Neshoba, an Chickasaw word meaning 'wolf', during World War I, because of widespread anti-German sentiment in the United States at that time.

During the twentieth century, the community derived its strength through involvement of citizens, as evidenced in the churches, garden clubs and civic organizations. The Poplar Pike Improvement Association and the Germantown Civic Club played vital roles in the physical and social development of the community.

In the last half of the century, the population grew from about 400 to more than 40,000. Over several decades, elected and civic leadership, with support of citizens, worked proactively to control suburban growth through development regulations, aesthetic controls and strategic planning efforts.

The City of Germantown operates under a Mayor-Alderman form of government. The mayor and five aldermen are elected for four year terms and are part-time positions. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen is the legislative and policy-making body of the City. The mayor does not vote except to break a tie. By charter, the mayor is the chief administrative officer; however, oversight of day-to-day management is assigned to a professional city administrator, appointed by the mayor but subject to board approval. Mike Palazzolo was elected as Mayor in November 2015.

More than 200 citizens annually volunteer their time, expertise and energy in service on the City's 20-plus advisory commissions and boards. Most appointments, made by the mayor and aldermen each December, are for one year terms; most groups meet monthly. Their responsibilities range from recommendations on City government matters and community interests to identifying opportunities, challenges and solutions to conducting special activities. The commissions are Audit, Beautification, Design Review, Economic Development, Education, Environmental, Financial, Athletic Club, Great Hall, Historic, Industrial Development, Neighborhood Preservation, Parks and Recreation, Personnel, Planning, Public Safety Education, Retirement Plan Administration, Other Postemployment Benefits, Senior Citizens, and Telecommunications. The boards are Zoning Appeals, Industrial Development and Library.

Germantown is served by two school districts, Shelby County Schools and Germantown Municipal School District.

Elementary Schools:
Farmington Elementary School, Dogwood Elementary School, Riverdale Elementary K-8 School (GMSD) and Germantown Elementary School (SCS)

Middle School:
Houston Middle School, Riverdale Elementary K-8 School (GMSD) and Germantown Middle School (SCS)

High School:
Houston High School (GMSD) In 2015, Houston High School was rated by the Washington Post as one of America's Most Challenging High Schools.
Germantown High School (SCS) Germantown High School is an International Baccalaureate School, Blue Ribbon School, and is one of the largest high schools in the state of Tennessee, rated as a Reward School in Tennessee for Growth and Achievement measured by perfect scores of 5 each of the past 5 years.

Jason Manuel, former principal of Houston Middle School, is Superintendent of Germantown Municipal Schools. The School Board consists of 5 at large elected positions.

Germantown Elementary, Middle, and High School remain with the Shelby County Schools district, although they are located within the borders of the city of Germantown and continue to serve a large proportion of Germantown K-12 students as well as students from unincorporated Shelby County.As of the 2010 census, there were 38,844 people, 14,910 households, and 11,750 families residing in the city, with 15,536 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 89.54% White, 3.57% Black, 0.21% Native American, 5.15% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.42% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.89% of the population.

There were 14,910 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.5% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 21.9% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city, the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 20, 3.5% from 20 to 24, 19.2% from 25 to 44, 35.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.7 years. There were 18,800 males, of whom 14,023 were over the age of 18. There were 20,044 females, of whom 15,447 were over the age of 18.

The median income for a household in the city according to the 2010 census was $112,979, and the median income for a family was $127,216. Males had a median income of $93,401 versus $54,592 for females. The per capita income for the city was $54,157. About 1.9% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

A total of 27 parks allow for a park within walking distance of every residence. The community has more than 700 acres of parkland. More than 11.4 miles of greenway links parkland and neighborhoods.

The Community Library was constructed in 1996, the Regional History and Genealogy Center opened in FY07.

The Germantown Performing Arts Centre (GPAC) is an acoustically-perfect 800-seat theater featuring top artists from around the world.

The Germantown Athletic Club is a 118,000 square foot indoor athletic complex that opened in 1989 and expanded in 2003 to include two outdoor pools.

The Great Hall & Conference Center is an 8,000 square feet rental facility space that is ideal to accommodate meetings, weddings and receptions.
The Commissary is a world famous Memphis-style barbecue restaurant located in "Old Germantown."Notable celebrities who currently reside or have previously resided in Germantown include:

Fire Protection:
Number of Stations - 4,
Number of Regular Firefighters - 71,
Number of Volunteer Firefighters - 25,
Insurance Service Office Rating - Class I

Police Protection:
Number of Regular Police Officers - 99,
Number of Reserve Police Officers - 30

Recreation and Culture:
Number of Parks - 27,
Acreage - 748,
Number of Libraries - 2,
Volumes - 143,520

Water System:
Number of Consumers - 13,479,
Miles of Water Main - 208,
Well Capacity - 25 million gallons per day,
Treatment Plant Capacity - 25 million gallons per day,
Storage Capacity - 7.875 million gallons,
Average Daily Consumption - 7.5 million gallons per day,
Peak Day Pumpage - 15.120 million gallons

Sewer System:
Number of Consumers - 13,270,
Miles of Sewer Main - 211,
Treatment - Provided by City of Memphis

Germantown is a suburb of Memphis, bordering it to the east-southeast. Germantown's economy is dominated by the retail and commercial service sectors; there is no heavy industry in Germantown. In the city center is the "Old Germantown" neighborhood, anchored by a railroad depot (a 1948 reproduction of the 1868 original) and railroad tracks that recall the community's earliest days of development as an outpost along the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.

Germantown, Tennessee

Germantown is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,844 at the 2010 census.

The city hosts many horse shows and competitions annually, most notably the Germantown Charity Horse Show in June. Other major annual events include the Germantown Festival, an arts and crafts fair, in early September.

Germantown is located at (35.089023, −89.793997). It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which, or 0.17%, is water.

Germantown was founded along the Chickasaw Trace on a ridge between the Wolf River and Nonconnah Creek, about 16 miles east of the Mississippi River.

The first white settlers arrived in Germantown about 1825. Between 1825 and 1830, Miss Frances Wright established Nashoba Plantation, a utopian community intended to educate emancipated slaves and teach them a trade. By 1830, the first store was opened as more settlers moved into the area.

The community became known as Pea Ridge in 1833. Town lots were laid out in 1834 by surveyor N. T. German. The name was changed to Germantown in 1836. This coincidentally also reflected the settling of German families.

The town was incorporated in 1841. The Memphis-Charleston Railroad was built through the community in 1852. Germantown experienced setbacks through the period of the Civil War (1861-1865); the yellow fever epidemics reduced its population to a few hundred.

The town rebounded slowly. Churches destroyed in the war were rebuilt, schools were constructed and the population began to return around the turn of the century. The city name was briefly changed to Neshoba, an Chickasaw word meaning 'wolf', during World War I, because of widespread anti-German sentiment in the United States at that time.

During the twentieth century, the community derived its strength through involvement of citizens, as evidenced in the churches, garden clubs and civic organizations. The Poplar Pike Improvement Association and the Germantown Civic Club played vital roles in the physical and social development of the community.

In the last half of the century, the population grew from about 400 to more than 40,000. Over several decades, elected and civic leadership, with support of citizens, worked proactively to control suburban growth through development regulations, aesthetic controls and strategic planning efforts.

Germantown is served by two school districts, Shelby County Schools and Germantown Municipal School District.

Elementary Schools:
Farmington Elementary School, Dogwood Elementary School, Riverdale Elementary K-8 School (GMSD) and Germantown Elementary School (SCS)

Middle School:
Houston Middle School, Riverdale Elementary K-8 School (GMSD) and Germantown Middle School (SCS)

High School:
Houston High School (GMSD) In 2015, Houston High School was rated by the Washington Post as one of America's Most Challenging High Schools.
Germantown High School (SCS) Germantown High School is an International Baccalaureate School, Blue Ribbon School, and is one of the largest high schools in the state of Tennessee, rated as a Reward School in Tennessee for Growth and Achievement measured by perfect scores of 5 each of the past 5 years.

Jason Manuel, former principal of Houston Middle School, is Superintendent of Germantown Municipal Schools. The School Board consists of 5 at large elected positions.

In the city, the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 20, 3.5% from 20 to 24, 19.2% from 25 to 44, 35.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.7 years. There were 18,800 males, of whom 14,023 were over the age of 18. There were 20,044 females, of whom 15,447 were over the age of 18.

The median income for a household in the city according to the 2010 census was $112,979, and the median income for a family was $127,216. Males had a median income of $93,401 versus $54,592 for females. The per capita income for the city was $54,157. About 1.9% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

A total of 27 parks allow for a park within walking distance of every residence. The community has more than 700 acres of parkland. More than 11.4 miles of greenway links parkland and neighborhoods.

The Community Library was constructed in 1996, the Regional History and Genealogy Center opened in FY07.

The Germantown Performing Arts Centre (GPAC) is an acoustically-perfect 800-seat theater featuring top artists from around the world.

The Germantown Athletic Club is a 118,000 square foot indoor athletic complex that opened in 1989 and expanded in 2003 to include two outdoor pools.

The Great Hall & Conference Center is an 8,000 square feet rental facility space that is ideal to accommodate meetings, weddings and receptions.
The Commissary is a world famous Memphis-style barbecue restaurant located in "Old Germantown."Notable celebrities who currently reside or have previously resided in Germantown include:

Fire Protection:
Number of Stations - 4,
Number of Regular Firefighters - 71,
Number of Volunteer Firefighters - 25,
Insurance Service Office Rating - Class I

Police Protection:
Number of Regular Police Officers - 99,
Number of Reserve Police Officers - 30

Recreation and Culture:
Number of Parks - 27,
Acreage - 748,
Number of Libraries - 2,
Volumes - 143,520

Water System:
Number of Consumers - 13,479,
Miles of Water Main - 208,
Well Capacity - 25 million gallons per day,
Treatment Plant Capacity - 25 million gallons per day,
Storage Capacity - 7.875 million gallons,
Average Daily Consumption - 7.5 million gallons per day,
Peak Day Pumpage - 15.120 million gallons

Sewer System:
Number of Consumers - 13,270,
Miles of Sewer Main - 211,
Treatment - Provided by City of Memphis

Germantown, Tennessee

Germantown is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,844 at the 2010 census.

Germantown is a suburb of Memphis, bordering it to the east-southeast. Germantown's economy is dominated by the retail and commercial service sectors; there is no heavy industry in Germantown. In the city center is the "Old Germantown" neighborhood, anchored by a railroad depot (a 1948 reproduction of the 1868 original) and railroad tracks that recall the community's earliest days of development as an outpost along the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.

The city hosts many horse shows and competitions annually, most notably the Germantown Charity Horse Show in June. Other major annual events include the Germantown Festival, an arts and crafts fair, in early September.

Germantown is located at (35.089023, −89.793997). It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which, or 0.17%, is water.

Germantown was founded along the Chickasaw Trace on a ridge between the Wolf River and Nonconnah Creek, about 16 miles east of the Mississippi River.

The first white settlers arrived in Germantown about 1825. Between 1825 and 1830, Miss Frances Wright established Nashoba Plantation, a utopian community intended to educate emancipated slaves and teach them a trade. By 1830, the first store was opened as more settlers moved into the area.

The community became known as Pea Ridge in 1833. Town lots were laid out in 1834 by surveyor N. T. German. The name was changed to Germantown in 1836. This coincidentally also reflected the settling of German families.

The town was incorporated in 1841. The Memphis-Charleston Railroad was built through the community in 1852. Germantown experienced setbacks through the period of the Civil War (1861-1865); the yellow fever epidemics reduced its population to a few hundred.

The town rebounded slowly. Churches destroyed in the war were rebuilt, schools were constructed and the population began to return around the turn of the century. The city name was briefly changed to Neshoba, an Chickasaw word meaning 'wolf', during World War I, because of widespread anti-German sentiment in the United States at that time.

During the twentieth century, the community derived its strength through involvement of citizens, as evidenced in the churches, garden clubs and civic organizations. The Poplar Pike Improvement Association and the Germantown Civic Club played vital roles in the physical and social development of the community.

In the last half of the century, the population grew from about 400 to more than 40,000. Over several decades, elected and civic leadership, with support of citizens, worked proactively to control suburban growth through development regulations, aesthetic controls and strategic planning efforts.

Germantown is served by two school districts, Shelby County Schools and Germantown Municipal School District.

Elementary Schools:
Farmington Elementary School, Dogwood Elementary School, Riverdale Elementary K-8 School (GMSD) and Germantown Elementary School (SCS)

Middle School:
Houston Middle School, Riverdale Elementary K-8 School (GMSD) and Germantown Middle School (SCS)

High School:
Houston High School (GMSD) In 2015, Houston High School was rated by the Washington Post as one of America's Most Challenging High Schools.
Germantown High School (SCS) Germantown High School is an International Baccalaureate School, Blue Ribbon School, and is one of the largest high schools in the state of Tennessee, rated as a Reward School in Tennessee for Growth and Achievement measured by perfect scores of 5 each of the past 5 years.

Jason Manuel, former principal of Houston Middle School, is Superintendent of Germantown Municipal Schools. The School Board consists of 5 at large elected positions.

In the city, the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 20, 3.5% from 20 to 24, 19.2% from 25 to 44, 35.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.7 years. There were 18,800 males, of whom 14,023 were over the age of 18. There were 20,044 females, of whom 15,447 were over the age of 18.

The median income for a household in the city according to the 2010 census was $112,979, and the median income for a family was $127,216. Males had a median income of $93,401 versus $54,592 for females. The per capita income for the city was $54,157. About 1.9% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

A total of 27 parks allow for a park within walking distance of every residence. The community has more than 700 acres of parkland. More than 11.4 miles of greenway links parkland and neighborhoods.

The Community Library was constructed in 1996, the Regional History and Genealogy Center opened in FY07.

The Germantown Performing Arts Centre (GPAC) is an acoustically-perfect 800-seat theater featuring top artists from around the world.

The Germantown Athletic Club is a 118,000 square foot indoor athletic complex that opened in 1989 and expanded in 2003 to include two outdoor pools.

The Great Hall & Conference Center is an 8,000 square feet rental facility space that is ideal to accommodate meetings, weddings and receptions.
The Commissary is a world famous Memphis-style barbecue restaurant located in "Old Germantown."Notable celebrities who currently reside or have previously resided in Germantown include:

Fire Protection:
Number of Stations - 4,
Number of Regular Firefighters - 71,
Number of Volunteer Firefighters - 25,
Insurance Service Office Rating - Class I

Police Protection:
Number of Regular Police Officers - 99,
Number of Reserve Police Officers - 30

Recreation and Culture:
Number of Parks - 27,
Acreage - 748,
Number of Libraries - 2,
Volumes - 143,520

Water System:
Number of Consumers - 13,479,
Miles of Water Main - 208,
Well Capacity - 25 million gallons per day,
Treatment Plant Capacity - 25 million gallons per day,
Storage Capacity - 7.875 million gallons,
Average Daily Consumption - 7.5 million gallons per day,
Peak Day Pumpage - 15.120 million gallons

Sewer System:
Number of Consumers - 13,270,
Miles of Sewer Main - 211,
Treatment - Provided by City of Memphis

Germantown is a village in Washington County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 19,749 at the 2010 census. The village surrounds the Town of Germantown. In July 2007, Germantown was ranked the 30th most appealing place to live in the United States by "Money Magazine."

Germantown, Wisconsin

Germantown is located at (43.223206, -88.120433).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of, of which, of it is land and is water.

As of the census of 2010, there were 19,749 people, 7,766 households, and 5,501 families residing in the village. The population density was. There were 8,092 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the village was 92.6% White, 2.2% African American, 0.2% Native American, 3.1% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.0% of the population.

There were 7,766 households of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.5% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.2% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.03.

The median age in the village was 41.7 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24% were from 25 to 44; 30.7% were from 45 to 64; and 13.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,260 people, 6,904 households, and 5,129 families residing in the village. The population density was 530.5 people per square mile (204.8/km²). There were 7,075 housing units at an average density of 205.5 per square mile (79.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 95.83% White, 1.35% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 1.60% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 1.12% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,904 households out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.9% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the village, the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $60,742, and the median income for a family was $68,975. Males had a median income of $47,123 versus $31,400 for females. The per capita income for the village was $25,358. About 1.9% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

Germantown schools are operated by the Germantown School District. The district comprises four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, and has about 3,939 students as of October 20, 2008.

Bethlehem Lutheran School, a grade school of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, has their North Campus in Germantown.

Germantown is an urbanized census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland. With a population of 90,676 as of 2013 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, Germantown is the third most populous place in Maryland, after the city of Baltimore, and the census-designated place of Columbia. Germantown is located approximately outside of the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. and is an important part of the Washington metropolitan area.

Germantown, Maryland

Germantown was founded in the early 19th century by European immigrants though much of the area's development did not occur until the mid-20th century. The original plan for Germantown divided the area into a downtown and six town villages: Gunners Lake Village, Kingsview Village, Churchill Village, Middlebrook Village, Clopper's Mill Village, and Neelsville Village. The Churchill Town Sector at the corner of Maryland Route 118 and Middlebrook Road most closely resembles the downtown or center of Germantown because of the location of the Upcounty Regional Services Center, the Germantown Public Library, the Black Rock Arts Center, the Regal Germantown Stadium 14, and pedestrian shopping that features an array of restaurants. Three exits to Interstate 270 are less than one mile away, the Maryland Area Regional Commuter train is within walking distance, and the Germantown Transit Center that provides Ride On shuttle service to the Shady Grove station of the Washington Metro's Red Line.

Germantown has the assigned ZIP codes of 20874 and 20876 for delivery and 20875 for post office boxes. It is the most populous Germantown in Maryland and is the only "Germantown, Maryland" that is recognized by the United States Postal Service.

In the 1830s and 1840s, the central business area was focused around the intersection of Liberty Mill Road and Clopper Road. Several German immigrants set up shop at the intersection and the town became known as "German Town", even though most residents of the town were of English or Scottish descent.

Although it avoided much of the physical destruction that ravaged other cities in the region, the American Civil War was still a cause of resentment and division among residents of Germantown. Many Germantown residents were against slavery and had sons fighting for the Union Army. In contrast, other residents of Germantown owned slaves, and even those who weren't slave-owners had sons fighting for the Confederate Army. As a result, many people in Germantown, who were once on friendly terms with each other, made an effort not to interact with each other, such as switching churches, or frequenting a store or mill miles away from the ones they would normally do business with.

Late in the summer and fall of 1861, there were more than twenty thousand Union Army soldiers camped to the west of Germantown, in neighboring Darnestown and Poolesville. Occasionally, these soldiers would come to Germantown and frequent the stores there. In September 1862 and in June 1863, several regiments of Union Army soldiers marched north on Maryland Route 355, on their way to the Battle of Antietam, and the Battle of Gettysburg, respectively. In July 1864, General Jubal Early led his army of Confederate soldiers down Maryland Route 355 to attack the Union capital of Washington, D.C. Throughout the course of the war, Confederate raiders would often come through the Germantown area. Local farmers in the Germantown area lost horses and other livestock to both Union and Confederate armies.

On April 20, 1865, George Atzerodt, a co-conspirator in the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, was captured in Germantown. He had been assigned by John Wilkes Booth to assassinate U.S. Vice President Andrew Johnson, but did not do it and instead fled Washington, D.C., on the night of the Lincoln assassination. He was captured at the farm of his cousin Hartman Richter, on Schaeffer Road near Clopper Road. Atzerodt was hanged on July 7, 1865, along with Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, and David Herold at Washington, D.C.'s Fort McNair. George Atzerodt had come to the town with his family from Prussia when he was about nine years old. When he was about 14 his father moved the family to Virginia, but George still had many friends and relatives in Germantown. He was living in Port Tobacco during the Civil War, and supplementing his meager income as a carriage painter by smuggling people across the Potomac River in a row boat. This clandestine occupation brought him into contact with John Surratt and John Wilkes Booth and he was drawn into a plot to kidnap President Lincoln. On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth gave George Atzerodt a gun and told him that he was to kill the vice president, Andrew Johnson, which he refused to do. George panicked when he found out that Booth had shot President Lincoln and made his way to his cousin's, Hartman Richter's, house in Germantown to hide. He was discovered there by soldiers three days after the assassination and was hanged with other conspirators on July 7.

Germantown did not have a public school until after the end of the American Civil War. During that time, education was handled at home. In 1868, a one-room schoolhouse was built on Maryland Route 118, near Black Rock Road, which hosted children from both Germantown and neighboring Darnestown. In 1883, a larger one-room schoolhouse was built closer to Clopper Road. Another, newer school was constructed in 1910, on what is now the site of Germantown Elementary School. This school had four rooms, with two downstairs and two upstairs, with each room housing two grade levels. After the eighth grade, the students would head via train to nearby Rockville, for further education.
The wooden structure of the Bowman Brothers Mill fell victim to a fire in 1914, but four years later, the owners were back in business again, selling the mill to the Liberty Milling Company, a brand new corporation. Augustus Selby was the first owner and manager of the new Liberty Mill, which opened in 1918. Electricity was brought into Liberty Mill and also served the homes and businesses nearby, making Germantown the first area in the northern portion of Montgomery County to receive electricity.

In 1935, professional baseball player Walter Perry Johnson, who played as a pitcher for the Washington Senators (now the Minnesota Twins), purchased a farm on what is now the site of Seneca Valley High School. Used as a dairy farm, Johnson lived there with his five children and his mother (his wife had died), until his death in 1946.

"Feed the Liberty Way" was used as a slogan for Liberty Mill which, with eight silos, became the second largest mill in all of Maryland, supplying flour to the United States Army during World War II. Cornmeal and animal feed were also manufactured at Liberty Mill, and a store at the mill sold specialty mixes, such as pancake and muffin mix. Following the end of World War II, the Liberty Mill went into disrepair. For over 25 years, the mill continued to deteriorate until it was destroyed by an arsonist in 1971.

In January 1958, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission was relocated from its location in downtown Washington, D.C. to Germantown, which was considered far enough from the city to withstand a Soviet nuclear attack. The facility now operates as an administration complex for the U.S. Department of Energy and headquarters for its Office of Biological and Environmental Research.

Marshall Davis owned a farm located where Interstate 270 and Germantown Road intersect today. After Interstate 270 divided his farm in two, Davis decided to sell the last of his land to the International Development Corporation for about $1,300 per acre in 1955. Fairchild-Hiller Corporation bought the land for about $4,000 per acre in 1964, and it built an industrial park on the land four years later. Harry Unglesee and his family sold their farm near Hoyles Mill Road for less than $1,000 per acre in 1959. Other farmers soon sold their land to developers and speculators as well.

The Germantown Master Plan was adopted in 1967. The plan for the area included a dense central downtown area and less dense development surrounding it. In 1974, the Montgomery County Council approved an amended plan written by the Montgomery County Planning Board. The amended plan included a downtown area and six separate villages, each comprising smaller neighborhoods with schools, shopping areas, and public facilities. The amended plan also included the construction of a third campus for Montgomery College near the downtown area. The same year, the completion of a sewer line helped the development and growth of Germantown.

During the 1970s, Wernher von Braun, a German rocket scientist during World War II, worked for the aerospace company Fairchild Industries, which had offices in Germantown, as its Vice President for Engineering and Development. Von Braun worked at Fairchild Industries from July 1, 1972 until his death on June 16, 1977.

The Germantown Campus of Montgomery College opened on October 21, 1978. At the time, it consisted of two buildings, 24 employees, and 1,200 students. Enrollment had increased to five thousand students by 2003, with eighty employees across four buildings. A steel water tower modeled after the Earth can be seen from orbiting satellites in outer space. As of 2008, a forty-acre bio-technology laboratory was nearing completion.

Since the early 1980s, Germantown has experienced rapid economic and population growth, both in the form of townhouses and single-family dwellings, and an urbanized "town center" has been built. Germantown was the fastest growing zip code in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and Maryland in 1986, and the 1980s saw a population growth of 323.3% for Germantown.

In 2000, the Upcounty Regional Services Center (now the Sidney Kramer Upcounty Regional Services Center) opened in Germantown, and a 16,000 square feet section of the first floor was home to the Germantown Public Library for several years until it moved to a new, 19 million dollar complex in 2007. On September 29, 2013, the Upcounty Regional Services Center in Germantown was renamed as the Sidney Kramer Upcounty Regional Services Center, after Sidney Kramer, the Montgomery County executive from 1986 to 1990.

In October 2000, the Maryland SoccerPlex opened in Germantown. The sports complex includes nineteen natural grass fields, three artificial fields, a 5,200 seat soccer stadium with lighting and press box, eight indoor convertible basketball/volleyball courts. Two miniature golf courses, a splash park, a driving range, an archery course, community garden, model boat pond, two BMX courses, tennis center, and a swim center are also located within the confines of the complex. The soccerplex is the current home of the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League.

In March 2001, Germantown's only movie theater, the Sony 6, opened in the 1980s, located at the Germantown Commons Shopping Center, closed down as part of a closure of 112 movie theaters across the United States by Loews Cineplex, leaving Germantown without a movie theater of its own. As a result, local residents frequented a movie theater in Kentlands or one at The Rio in Gaithersburg. Over a year later, on May 3, 2002, the Hoyts Cinema 14, now the Regal Germantown Stadium 14, opened, and Germantown now had its own movie theater once again. A DSW footwear retail store now sits on the site of the former Sony 6 theater. A month later, it was announced that a Staples and Best Buy store would open at Germantown's Milestone Shopping Center later that fall. Opening later that year, the Best Buy store replaced a Homeplace store that had closed down in 2001 following that company's disbandment.

In 2003, one of Germantown's trailer parks, the Cider Barrel Mobile Home Park, located at the intersection of Germantown Road and Frederick Road, closed after decades of operation, having been in business since at least the 1970s. The site is now home to garden apartments.

On August 14, 2011, a 7-Eleven convenience store in downtown Germantown fell victim to a flash mob robbery, in which nearly forty people walked into the store, grabbed merchandise, and subsequently fled with the stolen goods, all without paying. The incident garnered widespread attention in the United States and internationally.

Holy Cross Health opened a hospital on the campus of Montgomery College in October 2014, becoming the first hospital in the U.S. to be built on a community college campus. The opening of the new 93-bed hospital strengthens the college's medical program by giving students the opportunity for hands-on work and access to more advanced medical technology. The hospital is projected to eventually bring 5,000 new jobs to the area.

Despite its size, Germantown has never been incorporated formally as a town or a city. It has no mayor or city council and is thus governed by Montgomery County. It is represented by Democrat Craig L. Rice in the Montgomery County council.

The U.S. Department of Energy has its headquarters for the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in Germantown. The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission was moved from its location in downtown Washington, D.C. to the present-day U.S. Department of Energy building in Germantown because of fears of a Soviet nuclear attack on the U.S. capital. At the time, Germantown was believed to be far enough from Washington, D.C. to avoid the worst effects of a nuclear strike on the city. The facility now operates as an administration complex for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Since development began in the late 20th century, Germantown has experienced economies of agglomeration, with many high-tech companies opening headquarters and other offices in Germantown and other areas along the Interstate 270 corridor. Library Systems & Services, Qiagen North America, Earth Network Systems Inc., Digital Receiver Technology Inc., Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union, and Hughes Network Systems all have their headquarters in Germantown.

In addition to the companies headquartered in Germantown, many have offices in the area, including Wabtec, Xerox, General Electric Aviation, WeatherBug, and Proxy Aviation Systems.

Germantown is located approximately 428 feet above sea level, at.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 10.9 sq mi (28.0 km²), of which, all but (0.46%) of which is land.

Germantown lies within the humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen "Cfa"), with hot, humid summers, cool winters, and generous precipitation year-round. Its location above the Fall Line in the Piedmont region gives it slightly lower temperatures than cities to the south and east such as Washington, D.C. and Silver Spring. Summers are hot and humid with frequent afternoon thunderstorms. July is the warmest month, with an average temperature of. Winters are cool but variable, with sporadic snowfall and lighter rain showers of longer duration. January is the coldest month, with an average temperature of. Average annual rainfall totals.
As of 2013 estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau, Germantown had a population of 90,676. As of the census of 2010, there were 86,395 people, and 30,531 households residing in the area. The population density was 8,019 people per square mile (3,096.6/km²). The racial makeup of the area was 36.3% white, 21.8% African American, 0.2% Native American, 19.7% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.4% of the population.

There were 20,893 households out of which 41.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the area, the population was spread out with 28.9% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 43.0% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 3.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.

The median income for a household in Germantown was $76,061 as of a 2010 estimate by the website, "City-Data". 6.5% of the population and 3.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 5.9% are under the age of 18 and 9.9% are 65 or older.

All the public schools in Germantown are part of the Montgomery County Public Schools system. The elementary schools in Germantown are Cedar Grove Elementary School, Clopper Mill Elementary School, Fox Chapel Elementary School, Germantown Elementary School, Great Seneca Creek Elementary School, Captain James E. Daly Jr. Elementary School, Lake Seneca Elementary School, Ronald McNair Elementary School, Sally K. Ride Elementary School, Spark Matsunaga Elementary School, S. Christa McAuliffe Elementary School, Waters Landing Elementary School, and William B. Gibbs, Jr. Elementary School.

The four middle schools are Kingsview Middle School, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, Neelsville Middle School, and Roberto W. Clemente Middle School, which feed into two high schools: Northwest High School and Seneca Valley High School. Students from Kingsview and Neelsville Middle Schools move on to Northwest, while those from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Roberto W. Clemente Middle Schools move on to Seneca Valley High School. Additionally, the Longview School, which provides special education services, is located in Germantown.

Montgomery College, the largest higher education institution in Montgomery County, has its largest campus in Germantown. It is located on Observation Drive not far from the downtown area.

Germantown is bisected by Interstate 270, one of Maryland's busiest highways. Northbound traffic heads toward Frederick and Interstate 70 and southbound traffic heads toward Bethesda and the Capital Beltway. Interstate 270 has three exits in Germantown.

Germantown also has a station on the MARC train's Brunswick Line, which operates over CSX's Metropolitan Subdivision. The station building itself, at the corner of Liberty Mill Road and Mateny Hill Road, is a copy of the original 1891 structure designed by E. Francis Baldwin for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The modern station building was rebuilt after it was destroyed by arson in 1978.

The Montgomery County public transit bus system, Ride On, serving Montgomery County with over 100 bus routes, operates a major transit hub in Germantown known as the Germantown Transit Center. The transit center serves approximately 20 routes, making it one of the largest transit centers in the county.

, a light rail system, the Corridor Cities Transitway, is under evaluation. If constructed, the system would connect the terminal of the Washington Metro Red Line, Shady Grove station in nearby Derwood to Germantown and continue northward to Clarksburg.

The BlackRock Center for the Arts is located in the downtown Germantown, at the Germantown Town Center. The BlackRock Center for the Arts also sponsors the Germantown Oktoberfest, an annual festival held every year in the fall, which includes various genres of music, including traditional German folk, rock and pop. The Harmony Express Men's Chorus is a 4-part a cappella men's chorus based in Germantown.

The band Clutch is also from Germantown. Members of the group attended Seneca Valley High School together, with several members graduating with the Class of 1989. Two years later, in 1991, the band was formed.

The Maryland SoccerPlex sports complex is located in Germantown. The arena now hosts the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League as well as amateur, collegiate, and regional soccer tournaments.

The Germantown Historical Society (GHS) was formed in 1990 as a non-profit organization with a mission to educate the public about local history and preserve local historic sites. The GHS office and future museum is located in the historic Germantown Bank (1922) at 19330 Mateny Hill Road, across from the MARC railroad station. The GHS offers lectures on local history and has traveling exhibits about Germantown. It also sells the books, Liberty Mill T-shirts, and other souvenirs. The main fundraiser for the organization is the Germantown Community Flea Market, held on the first Saturday of the month April through November in the MARC parking lot, Rt. 118 and Bowman Mill Drive, featuring more than 150 vendors.

Germantown is served by a news and information website known as the "Germantown Pulse". The "Germantown Pulse" covers a wide range of topics, including sports, schools, crime, music, and other events of note in the area.

Germantown veterans are served by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, American Legion Post 295. American Legion Post 295 sponsors Cub Scout Pack 436, a Venturing Crew and is establishing a Sea Scout Ship. American Legion Boys State and American Legion Baseball have been longtime programs supported by the Post.

Germantown is an unincorporated community in Hyde County, North Carolina. It is at the intersection of Swindell Rd. (NC-1141) and NC-1140. Germantown is approximately 52.66 miles east-southeast of Greenville, North Carolina, 44 miles southeast of Williamston, North Carolina, and 240.4 miles south-southeast of Washington, D.C., at an elevation of 1 meter. Germantown is also known for having a lot of German Americans.

Germantown, North Carolina

Germantown is a historic unincorporated rural community in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. It is the resting place of John Jacob Richter (also spelled Rector). He was buried there in 1729. It is located in and around current-day C. M. Crockett Park, which contains the popular local fishing destination of Germantown Lake. Chief Justice John Marshall was born in Germantown. Archeological sites relating to the settlement are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Germantown, Virginia

Many inhabitants from Germantown came from Germany, e.g. Siegen (east of Bonn). In 1718 twelve German emigrant families left the employ of Governor Alexander Spotswood and the mining settlement of Germanna for a parcel of land in modern southern Fauquier County. The parcel was divided equally between the settlers: Melchior Brombach, Joseph Coons, Harman Fishback, John Fishback, Peter Hitt, Jacob Holtzclaw, John Hoffman, John Kemper, John Joseph Martin, Jacob Rector, John Spilman, and Tillman Weaver. All the homes were built on the southern side of Licking Run which flowed through each farm.

Each landowner also donated 10 areas to form a glebe where the first church, parsonage, and school in Fauquier County were constructed. German Rolling Road was constructed by the settlers to enable them to reach the market of Falmouth. A saw mill and a grist mill also operated in this town as well. The mill pond lies under Germantown Lake, named in honor of the settlement. This is where future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States John Marshall was born in 1755.

By the time of the American Revolution the prosperous settlers had all acquired other land and the settlement was defunct. Therefore, Germantown is sometimes called a lost German colony.