Sarah Pryor (1830-1912), the daughter of a wealthy Virginian family, lived in Washington from 1859 until the outbreak of the Civil War. In her memoirs written in 1909, she recounts the grand society of antebellum D.C. and the shift to war tensions.
Beacon Field Airport Historical marker detailing old Hybla Valley airport. (Source: Wikipedia ) Huntington Huntington is so far out on the Yellow Line you might wish you could take a plane from there. Well, for the first half of the 20th century, you …
Bren Mar Park Van Dorn St. Finally, the story of the Fairfax County Park Authority gets to be told. The FCPA was founded in 1950 with the goal of providing 15 acres of parkland for every 1,000 county residents. Their first big purchase was 15 acres in …
Princess' Palace Prince Charles stops to chat with a sales clerk at a costume jewelry display in the Springfield, Va., J.C. Penny store on Nov. 11, 1985. Princess Diana looks at the jewelry. (AP Photo) Franconia-Springfield Springfield Town Center, home …
Derwood Station Shady Grove “Oh no! I slept through my stop!” is the reaction most people have when arriving at Shady Grove. However, back in the late 19th century, Shady Grove’s home of Derwood, Maryland was a hub of the B&O railroad. Opened in 1889, …
Hungerford's Tavern Sketch of Hungerford's Tavern. Rockville Hungerford’s Tavern was, pun intended, revolutionary. In addition to being what people used to call Rockville, it was also one of America’s first “real taverns.” Built around 1750, it was a …
Coffee Coffins Sign at Parklawn Memorial Gardens. Twinbrook In 1916, Robert Crew Wilkins, an executive of D.C. based “Wilkins Coffee Co.” built an estate for himself in Rockville to be used as a summer home. He sold the mansion to George Moss in 1950 who …
Uncle Tom's Cabin Slave life at the the Riley-Bolten House served as the inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's book Uncle Tom's Cabin. (Source: Wikipedia ) White Flint Since the eponymous mall is now defunct, “White Flint” may itself soon be a piece of …
Walter Scott Station Sir Walter Scott, who inspired the developer responsible for the Garrett Park neighborhood. (Source: Wikipedia ) Grosvenor-Strathmore Grosvenor-Strathmore is the peanut butter & jelly of North Bethesda. The two are inextricably linked …
Alta Vista-Trolley's End A house in Alta Vista (Source: Library of Congress ) Medical Center If you think of Bethesda as a suburban paradise, you have to thank the neighborhood that started it all. Alta Vista, built around the late 1800s, is widely …
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