By 1967, when the photograph below was taken, Sterling had grown from a railroad stop known as Guilford to a large residential development.
Beginning in 1860, the station served local farmers. Trains carried grain, produce, and dairy products to eastern markets, returning with merchandise and mail. Passengers rode to school, to shop and visit. Many commuted to jobs in Washington, D.C. In the 1890s, after financier J.P. Morgan bought the line, he supposedly gave Sterling its name because of his banking interests.
A small close-knit community grew up around the railroad station. Airy wooden homes lined the north side of the tracks. On the south side were businesses including a mercantile store, a mill, and a meat market.
One two-story residence, built in the early 1850s, achieved fame as the Summer White House. President James Buchanan (served 1857-61) brought his family here to escape the heat of Washington in the summers of 1859 and 1860. The house operated for many years afterward as a hotel and an antique shop. It was demolished in the 1980s. Little remains of Old Sterling.
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