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Celebrating One of America's First Street Car Suburbs
Young Boaters in Chevy Chase Lake
Celebrating One of America's First Street Car Suburbs
Celebrating One of America's First Street Car Suburbs
Thornapple Street Newspaper
Celebrating One of America's First Streetcar Suburbs
Chevy Chase Reservoir Hike September 3, 1916
Celebrating One of America's First Streetcar Suburbs
Chevy Chase Maryland Man and Woman on horseback with dogs riding to Fox Hunt
Celebrating One of America's First Streetcar Suburbs
Thomas Fisher Map of Chevy Chase
Celebrating One of America's First Streetcar Suburbs
Chevy Chase Streetcar
Celebrating One of America's First Streetcar Suburbs
Chevy Chase Fourth of July Parade with Isiah Leggett
Celebrating One of America's First Streetcar Suburbs
Celebrating One of America's First Streetcar Suburbs

Welcome

In 1890, a new kind of neighborhood began to take shape on former farmland at the edge of Washington, D.C. The modern planned community of Chevy Chase, Maryland was designed to take advantage of a revolutionary mode of rapid transit: the streetcar. This electric-powered conveyance made commuting from a home in the country to work in the nation’s capital fast, easy and convenient. Residents of Chevy Chase enjoyed the best of both worlds – and they made the most of each! 

Today’s residents and members of the Chevy Chase Historical Society protect and treasure the character of their community while they welcome the best aspects of the future. We welcome you to join us – and to explore our history.

 

Visit the CCHS Archive & Research Center
in our New Location!

After calling the Chevy Chase Library home for more than 15 years, the CCHS Archive and Research Center has moved to a larger space at 8401 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 1010 in historic Chevy Chase Lake. Drop by without an appointment on Tuesdays, between 10am and noon or 1pm and 3pm. Or call to make an appointment.

   New Reading Room at the Chevy Chase Historical Society
       

CCHS Fall Lecture 2018
"The History of Washington's Grand Department Stores: A Nostalgic Look Back"

Department store expert Michael Lisicky will lead local residents on a trip down memory lane when he presents CCHS' Fall Lecture, "The Glory Days of Washington's Grand Department Stores: A Nostalgic Look Back," at the Lawton Community Center, 4301 Willow Lane at 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 18.

Lisicky will take his audience back to Woodward & Lothrop in its heyday -- past the elaborate holiday window displays, through the up-to-the minute fashions for men, women and children, past the Wedding Services department, and on to the seventh-floor Tea Room, known for its Chicken pot Pie and other specialties. He will also discuss other beloved local department stores, including Garfinckels, Hecht’s, and more.

A reception will follow the lecture, and light refreshments will be served. Copies of Lisicky’s book about Woodward & Lothrop will be available for sale and signing by the author. Questions concerning the program may be directed to CCHS at 301-656-6141 or info@chevychasehistory.org.

 

CCHS Spring Lecture 2018 now available
on the CCHS YouTube Channel

Author and architectural historian, Clare Lise Kelly, gave our Spring Lecture “Montgomery Modern: The Spirit of Post-War Architecture” and discussed how modern design in our county’s built environment is a testimony of the optimistic spirit of the mid-20th century.   

  

CCHS Spring Lecture 2017 now available
on the CCHS YouTube Channel

"Readers Build Community: The Literary Culture of Early Chevy Chase"

An illustrated lecture celebrating the new CCHS online exihibit "Chevy Chase Reads"

CCHS Fall Lecture 2016 now available
on the CCHS YouTube Channel

Longtime Bethesda resident and journalist Steve Roberts gave an illustrated lecture, “A Tale of Two Suburbs: Bethesda and Chevy Chase.”   

To purchase Steve Roberts' book, please visit our online store! 

  

Kit Houses in Chevy Chase, Maryland

Nationally recognized kit house scholar Kathryn Holt Springston presented Certificates of Authentication to owners of 11 kit houses she authenticated for the Chevy Chase Historical Society’s first kit house survey in 2017. Click here to see the authenticated houses!

If your house was built between 1900 and 1940 and looks like any of these houses, it might be a kit house delivered to the freight rail siding near Chevy Chase Lake by Sears Roebuck or another manufacturer. If you’d like Kathryn Springston to measure your house for possible kit house authentication, please contact kithouses@chevychasehistory.org to learn what’s involved.

  

We are deeply grateful to the Sponsors of the
Chevy Chase Historical Society Gala, held on April 29, 2018

For the complete list of the 2018 CCHS Annual Gala Sponsors and Friends, please click HERE.

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The Chevy Chase Historical Society is supported in part by a grant from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County