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History of Chevy Chase Village, Maryland

By
Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Capital Properties DC AB15253

If you are looking for a traditional neighborhood on the edge of DC with large homes on green lawns protected by tall trees, you should consider Chevy Chase Village.  The homes were built at the turn of the century and feature large rooms, high ceilings, and lovely details.  Shopping is nearby and the public schools are popular with residents. 

Chevy Chase Village is a small, incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Maryland. The area was originally part of a land grant given to Colonel Joseph Belt in the mid-18th century. It was known as "Chevy Chase" after the Ballad of Chevy Chase, a medieval Scottish legend. The area was largely rural until the late 19th century, when the Chevy Chase Land Company was established to develop the area into a residential community.

Today Chevy Chase Village is on both sides of Connecticut Avenue just north of the Chevy Chase Circle, tucked up against the Chevy Chase Club and west of Western Avenue.  It's northern limit on the east side is Bradley Blvd.  

                             

The Chevy Chase Land Company was founded by Francis G. Newlands, a United States Senator from Nevada who had bought land northwest of the newly created Rock Creek Park, beginning in 1890.  Newlands envisioned a community of large, spacious homes, with tree-lined streets and ample green space. The first section of the development, known as Chevy Chase Village, was established in 1890.  

This planned residential community, to be built in what was still a rural farm landscape, was not easily accessible from downtown Washington, DC.  To address this, Newlands and the Land Company purchased controlling shares in the Rock Creek Railway that would eventually run along newly extended Connecticut Avenue, past the recently opened National Zoo.  Both the streetcar line and Rock Creek Park added to the value of the property that the Chevy Chase Land Company would acquire for its new suburban development.

Agents for the Land Company bought more than 1,700 acres of land along the route that they planned for Connecticut Avenue and the Rock Creek Railway.  Construction of the new road, railway, and the bridges crossing Rock Creek at Calvert Street and the Klingle Valley was an immense and expensive infrastructure project.   (These are both very deep valleys in Rock Creek Park that have beautiful long bridge spans crossing them.)

On September 18, 1892, the first streetcars traveled from 7th St to the end of the line at Chevy Chase Lake, just south of the B&O Railroad spur that ran towards Georgetown.  At Chevy Chase Circle on the Maryland District line, Connecticut Avenue shifts due north from its angle northwest as it runs through DC.   A very very little known fact is that the original plan was to have Connecticut Avenue intersect Wisconsin Avenue. The land was available but it was priced too high.  Now Connecticut Avenue is about 1/2 a mile from Wisconsin Avenue at the DC line.

The new suburb was an exclusive development by design.  Buyers of house lots along Connecticut Avenue had to fulfill a covenant in their deeds which required that the value of their new homes be worth at least $5,000.  House lots on the side streets were required to be worth at least $3,000. 

These restrictions ensured that only the wealthy could build new homes in Chevy Chase.  Although racial exclusion was not part of the early deed covenants, the 1910 U.S. Census data shows that the new suburb was predominantly white.  Only three out of 166 households were headed by African Americans.  Of the 69 individuals recorded in the Census for Chevy Chase as African American, most were identified as cooks, maids, nurses, or gardeners, who lived with their employers.

Chevy Chase Village was incorporated in 1913, becoming one of the first municipalities in Montgomery County. The village was designed to be a self-contained community, with its own police force, water and sewer systems, and other services. The village was also designed to be exclusive, with strict zoning laws that prohibited the construction of apartment buildings, commercial establishments, or any other structures that did not fit with the community's aesthetic.

Over the years, Chevy Chase Village has remained a prosperous and exclusive community. Many of the original homes built by the Chevy Chase Land Company still stand, and the community continues to be known for its tree-lined streets, manicured lawns, and upscale amenities. Today, Chevy Chase Village is home to approximately 2,000 residents and is one of the most desirable places to live in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

Curious what the market is like in Chevy Chase now?  Click here to see whether home values have changed over the last year.  If you want to start shopping now, just click here! 

 
Show All Comments Sort:
Wayne Martin
Wayne M Martin - Oswego, IL
Real Estate Broker - Retired

Good morning Lise. Since living in downtown Chicago in a unit in the sky my tastes have become more modern. That said, had a large colonial in the suburbs many years ago. Your description of Chevy Chase Village may have me leaning the other way once again. Enjoy your day.

Apr 16, 2023 05:00 AM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hello Lise - the histories of many communities can be complicated at times.  I have memories of Chevy Chase as a neighborhood I visited as well as a destination for many activities when I lived in Washington DC in the 1980s.  Thank you for sharing some new-to-me information as well as familiar factoids too.   

Apr 16, 2023 05:11 AM
Lise Howe
Keller Williams Capital Properties - Washington, DC
Assoc. Broker in DC, MD, VA and attorney in DC

Wayne Martin - you are moving again though right? More space for the grandbabies? or do I not remember that correctly? 

Apr 16, 2023 05:17 AM
Lise Howe
Keller Williams Capital Properties - Washington, DC
Assoc. Broker in DC, MD, VA and attorney in DC

Michael Jacobs - doing this post I learned some things that I had not known - I didn't realize the Chevy Chase Land Company built those two bridges or that Connecticut Ave and Wisconsin were supposed to meet - Have a great week

Apr 16, 2023 05:18 AM
Brian England
Ambrose Realty Management LLC - Gilbert, AZ
MBA, GRI, REALTOR® Real Estate in East Valley AZ

Such good-looking homes in Chevy Chase Village.  I am a fan of tradition and it saddens me that some traditions that were good have fallen by the wayside, haha.

Apr 16, 2023 05:22 AM
Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Real Estate Broker

Good morning, Lise... loved this history lesson about Chevy Chase Village. I was aware of it, having lived in the DC area, but really had no idea as to its origins.

Apr 16, 2023 05:28 AM
Dorie Dillard Austin TX
Coldwell Banker Realty ~ 512.750.6899 - Austin, TX
NW Austin ~ Canyon Creek and Spicewood/Balcones

Good morning Lise Howe ,

Thank you for this in-depth history lesson of Chevy Chase. Love you lead photo and I learned much today about the area you market! 

Apr 16, 2023 05:44 AM
Michael J. Perry
Fathom Realty - Lancaster, PA
Lancaster, PA Relo Specialist

I’ve been through Chevy Chase numerous times heading to DC . Always thought I’d rather live there than DC 

Apr 16, 2023 06:21 AM
Lise Howe
Keller Williams Capital Properties - Washington, DC
Assoc. Broker in DC, MD, VA and attorney in DC

Michael J. Perry it really is a lovely little city or village.   I would love one of the old homes there - but they have gotten very very expensive! 

Apr 16, 2023 06:28 AM
Lise Howe
Keller Williams Capital Properties - Washington, DC
Assoc. Broker in DC, MD, VA and attorney in DC

Dorie Dillard Austin TX - I love the history of the individual neighborhoods in the DC area  - it helps to understand the fabric of the city

Apr 16, 2023 06:29 AM
Lise Howe
Keller Williams Capital Properties - Washington, DC
Assoc. Broker in DC, MD, VA and attorney in DC

Nina Hollander, Broker - Chevy Chase village really is a lovely place to live and I learned a lot doing the research on this post! 

Apr 16, 2023 06:29 AM
Kristin Johnston - REALTOR®
RE/MAX Platinum - Waukesha, WI
Giving Back With Each Home Sold!

Great post!  Thanks for sharing and enjoy your day!

Apr 16, 2023 06:49 AM
Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Lise, wow, great history on Chevy Chase, and don't know if I ever ventured there when I lived in the area.

Apr 16, 2023 07:46 AM
Will Hamm
Hamm Homes - Aurora, CO
"Where There's a Will, There's a Way!"

Hello Lise Howe and thanks again for the history lesson on Chevy Chase area.  Interesting for sure.

Apr 16, 2023 09:15 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Hi Lise-loved learning about the history of Chevy Chase Village!!!! Larry and I love the whole area and loved exploring it. 

Apr 19, 2023 06:43 PM