Below are some of the most frequently asked questions about Chevy Chase history:
The family of a famous American folksinger lived on West Kirke Street. His recording of the song “Freight Train,”
which the family learned from their housekeeper, Libba Cotton, became a favorite of children and adults. Who is he?
Answer: Pete Seeger
How long was the trolley ride from Pennsylvania Avenue and 15th Street to Chevy Chase Circle?
Answer: 35 minutes
What was the original use of the building that is now the Chevy Chase Village Hall and Post Office?
Answer: Library
What was the original sporting activity of the Chevy Chase Club?
Answer: Fox hunting
Until recently, what type of business stood on the corner of Brookville Road and Turner Lane?
Answer: A gas station
The bicycle path that intersects Connecticut Avenue at Chevy Chase Lake was originally a rail line. Which one?
Answer: B&O
What year was the Chevy Chase Circle fountain completed?
Answer: 1933
The oldest structure in Chevy Chase is the No Gain farmhouse, built in the pre-Revolutionary War period. Where is this located?
Answer: Thornapple Street
In 1893, there was only one telephone installed in Chevy Chase, so if you wanted to make a phone call you had to…
Answer: Ask the streetcar Superintendent if you could borrow his phone
In the early 1900s it was common to have unpaved roads in the neighborhood. Today, the Village still boasts one. Which road is it?
Answer: East Kirke Street
The name “Ishpiming” in Chippawa means “high place” and is the nickname for which tall landmark on Chevy Chase Circle?
Answer: Corby Mansion, which is the big Tudor Revival mansion. Before it was renovated by William Corby in 1912, Francis Newlands lived in the home.
Where was the first Post Office in Chevy Chase?
Answer: In a private house on Connecticut Avenue near Chevy Chase Circle
Which year did the trolley car stop running on Connecticut Avenue?
Answer: 1935
How much did it cost to ride the trolley from downtown DC to Chevy Chase?
Answer: 5 cents
Which was the first church to be built in Chevy Chase?
Answer: All Saint’s Church
How did Brookville Road get its name?
Answer: Because it ran continuously from the District of Columbia out to the town of Brookeville. (Note: the current spelling of the road name omits the "e")
What was Cummings Lane called before it got its present name?
Answer: Cedar Lane: because it had a lot of cedar trees.
Who is Bradley Lane named for?
Answer: Abraham Bradley, the Assistant Postmaster General of the US when the Capital moved to Washington, DC
