Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
2009.1076.02 |
Title |
A Brief History of North Chevy Chase |
Object Name |
Memoir |
Date |
1953 |
Creator |
Robert Simpson and Edward Yardley |
Description |
A Brief History of North Chevy Chase By Robert Simpson and Edward Yardley 1953 If we could turn back the hands of time to the last have of the 18th century we might occasionally have Avenue and Jones Bridge Road to permit George Washington to ride past on horseback on his way to Clean Drinking Manor, the home of the Jones family. The manor house was situated on the north side of Jones Bridge Road where it intersects Jones Mill Road. The original manor house was constructed about 1687 but this was replaced about 1750 by another house, the ruins of which are still in evidence, and which is well remembered by some of the present residents of the community. The authors have in their possession photographs of both the exterior and the interior of this old landmark. The architecture was early colonial, of the Williamsburg pattern, with steep slanting roofs dormer windows with many small panes and enormous chimneys at either end of the house. A porch extended entirely across the front of the house. There were two doors in the center leading to two separate parlors or drawing rooms that were divided by a partition between these two doors. Two or more rooms were to the rear of these parlors. The arrangement of the back rooms and of the second floor is not known since the last occupant (Nick Jones) would not admit callers to those parts of the house. The enormous door knobs appeared to be made of solid brass and they, and the other brass objects including the andirons, were kept brilliantly polished, which accentuated the rather "dowdy" appearance of the structure as a whole. Magnificent boxwood lined both sides of the path leading from Jones Mill Road to the house. The house was furnished with many, almost priceless, earlier American pieces and one of the walls was adorned with a portrait of George Washington which was said to have been presented to the lord of the manor by Washington himself. According to legend, the father of our country would take off from Mount Vernon by horseback cross the Potomac by ferry, proceed via the old County Road or Cedar Lane to Jones Bridge Road and on to the home of his friends at Drinking Manor on his return from Fort Duquesne. Annie Leskin Siousset (Old Manors in the Colony of Maryland On the Patuxent) states that Clean Drinking, Which originally consisted of about 1,400 acres, was "taken up" by Col. John Courts of Sproxton, Yorkshire, in 1690 and patented in 1699. It was originally situated in Charles County.later in Prince George's County and still later in Frederick County. Its final place of repose was Montgomery County, which was created in 1776 and named for General Montgomery. The original Manor encompassed the area bounded by Rock Creek on the East and North and extended West at least to the Naval Hospital grounds, including, of course, what is now North Chevy Chase. The southern boundary is somewhat obscure. WASHINGTON AND CAPITAL (American Guide Series 1937) refers to the fact that "the 10 mile square which in 1791 became the Federal area was fringed with many notable manors", including Clean Drinking Manor. This would seem to place the southern boundary near Chevy Chase Circle, but since the manor embraced only about 1,400 acres (somewhat less than two and one half square miles) its southern boundary must have been somewhat north of the Circle. The Manor acquired its name from the springs of pure water for which it was famous. Judge Charles Jones married Elizabeth Courts in 1750, and their descendants continued In ownership of at least a part of the Manor until after the turn of the present century. Hayes Manor, consisting of approximately 1,000 acres, was purchased from Clean Drinking Manor in 1756 by a Captain Arthur Lee and conveyed to a Major Yates. In 1762 the Rev. Alexander Williamson built the beautiful mansion which bears the name Hayes Manor and which is still standing on Manor Road adjacent to Columbia Country Club golf course, This Manor was the parsonage of Prince George's Parish. Rev. Williamson, who was rather unpopular because of his royalist leanings, died in 1785 and it is said that his remains rest in an unmarked grave in the vicinity of the present Manor house. Hayes Manor was purchased from the Williamson estate by the Dunlop family in whose possession it remains at the present time. Latterly North Chevy Chase was included in a tract known as the Peter Hawkins Estate. "Uncle Jimmy" Hawkins, a former slave of the owner of the plantation lived until comparatively recently on a tract adjacent to the Naval Hospital grounds. Uncle Jimmy could discuss from personal knowledge events connected with the community covering a period of three quarters of a century. One of his sons is authority for the statement that Uncle Jimmy was married four times and was the father of "at least" 29 children. Some of his progeny now live on Jones Bridge Road and Hawkins Avenue near the Naval Hospital grounds. North Chevy Chase was acquired by Redford We Walker and wife of Washington from Daniel Carroll Digger by deed dated February 14, 1893. The plat for the subdivision (then called "Kenilworth") was filed in the Clerk's office at Rockville on January 14, 1895, by Redford W. Walker & Son, 1006 F Street, N. W., Washington. The area depicted on the original subdivision plat aggregated approximately 64.5 acres, exclusive of streets and the right of way of the street car line which traversed the subdivision over what is now Kensington Parkway, The original subdivision was divided into 118 lots ranging in size from 7,662 square feet to 14.3 acres. The lots facing Montgomery and Inverness extended back several hundred feet. Many of the lots have been subdivided. The boundaries of the subdivision are: On the South Jones Bridge Road (shown on the Plat as Jones Mill. Road); on the East the rear lines of the lots facing Montgomery Avenue; on the North the rear lines of the lots facing Inverness Street and on the West Connecticut Avenue (shown on the Plat as County Road). The actual development of North Chevy Chase, or "Kenilworth", started at the turn of the century. The subdivision was tentatively laid out, by the owners Mr. William H. Walker. Cinder walks and dirt roads were provided and kerosene lamps served for street Illumination. Trees were planted along the main thoroughfares, some of which, especially the evergreens, are in good condition today. The first homes were built by Mr. Walker on Montrose Drive; by Mr. Clarence Harding at the corner of Jones Bridge Road and Connecticut Avenue, and, on the adjoining lot by Mr. Howard Fill. Later the residences of Mr. William Lanning, Mr. Magnus Thompson and Mr. Lowry were erected on Kenilworth Driveway. Other lots were sold shortly thereafter, and in the early 1900's the community boasted of about fifteen homes and about sixty residents. Along Connecticut Avenue, (now Kensington Parkway) ran the Kensington and Sandy Springs Railway, which operated two cars from Chevy Chase Lake to Kensington, with overhead wires and many poles along the route. Many of the residents of North Chevy Chase remember the two accommodating motormen; Bob Sheppard and Ed Kelly, who ran the cars. They rendered invaluable service to the community, by stopping anywhere along the lines to take on or discharge passengers. They would obligingly hold over the last car at the Lake for a half hour or more to accommodate a late theater goer. Also, housewives remember them kindly for their free delivery service. At that time, it was only necessary to telephone the groceryman at Kensington for five gallons of kerosene, or other needed supplies and on the return trips announced by the clanging of the foot bell, the waiting resident received the orders which had been placed post haste on the front platform of the trolley by the storekeeper. Many an unexpected guest, in the evening, was treated to McKeever's ice cream from the store in Kensington by the same service. The water supply was furnished from a well adjacent to the property of Mr Lanning. This well contained fines pure, cold water, which was pumped by a gasoline engine to an elevated tank and by gravity was piped into the houses. The pressure was weak and the occupants had their troubles. A nearby resident was generally responsible for the operation of the pump. Not infrequently, a neighbor, in the process of shaving, would call to say that he had no water. The custodian of the pump, perhaps routed from his bed or the breakfast table, would have to make a dash across the field to remedy the difficulty. After a few years, however, the installation of electric current improved the situation. But the service was sometimes Interrupted by electrical storms and technical breakdowns and Mr. Amiss or Mr. Simpson, who were assigned to the post of caretaker of the pump were called on to diagnose the trouble. Later, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission took over the water supply for the subdivision and the tank and pump were removed. As the community was now expanding it was decided that the time had come to form a Citizens' Committee, to further the interests of the Residents and homeowners of North Chevy Chase. Wherefore, in May, 1920, a meeting was held in the home of Mr. Magnus Thompson to discuss this matter. Those present were Messrs. A. G. Burham, W. S. Cline, John Hill, E. L. Pugh, G. E. Phillips, W. Wichard, Magnus Thompson, Charles Carpenters, R. N. Atherton, William H. Walker, R. H. Simpson, T. Brooke Amiss, Jr., J. M. Buffin, H.N. Eaton, Carl Rakeman, Martin Wiegand, Charles Miller, William Lanning, A. G. Maddern, R. N. Gangwisch, E. A. Crawford, and Mrs. James D. Parsons, and Mrs. J. W. Young. A committee of five persons was appointed and the first order of business was the assessment of each property holder the sum of fifty cents per month. This money was to be devoted to improvement of the subdivision. The question of fire prevention was now of prime importance. So, on February 9, 1921, the committee was authorized to spend the sum of $600.00 for the purchase of twenty Fire foam extinguishers; one each to be placed in the individual homes; and a fire sirens which was hand operated. This was installed at the corner of Kenilworth Driveway and Kensington Parkway. Fortunately, it was never used for any serious conflagration and was outmoded when the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission installed the present fire hydrants, thus making available the services of the Montgomery County fire departments. Over the years four houses have been destroyed by fire, namely, the Smith house on Montgomery Avenue, the home of Mr. E. L. Pugh on Montrose Drive, the Nixon home on Kenilworth Driveway and the Swearingen home on Jones Bridge Road. On April 9, 1924, by an act of the General Assembly, North Chevy Chase was incorporated as a special taxing area, with authority to formulate regulations for the government of the community and to set its tax rates, not to exceed fifty cents per hundred, assessed valuation. A meeting of the property holders was held thereafter, and officers were elected by the citizens to serve one year from the time they took the oath of office on April 15, 1924. Those elected were Messrs. Robert Gangwisch (chair.); Vaugh Bowley (Treasurer); A. G. Burham (Secretary); Robert H. Simpson; William L. Lanning. On the first Monday in April of each year, a meeting of the property holders is called. At this times two members are elected to the Citizens' Committee to take the place of those whose terms have expired. The Secretary Treasurer is the only member receiving remuneration for his service. "Time Marches On" and North Chevy Chase has grown from a small rural community, where in some places horses and a cow or two were, stabled, and in most backyards chickens cackled and a rooster heralded the dawn of the cow days to its present status of a metropolitan suburban area, with the restrictions, that rightfully belong to a closely populated district. While in the early years the growth of North Chevy Chase was slow, it has shown a rapid development in the last decade as a part of the Metropolitan area and according to a late reports the subdivision contains over one hundred homes and the population exceeds four hundred persons. |