• Pleasant Grove Page 3

    The Miles Family

    In this undated photograph, taken while the Miles lived at Pleasant Grove, the wraparound porch has been removed, but many of the trees near the house are still standing.  Donated by Mary Miles Patten, CCHS 2013.06.02.

    Rufus and Nelle Miles lived at Pleasant Grove with their daughters Barbara and Mary from 1947 to 1967. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Cummings farm land was subdivided and developed as an unincorporated residential neighborhood in Montgomery County called Chevy Chase Manor.  Cummings Lane itself was extended down to Western Avenue, and the mailing address for Pleasant Grove became 3609 Cummings Lane. Copies of photographs taken by the Miles family in the 1950s and 60s were donated to CCHS by Mary Miles Patten in Spring 2013.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    • The great white oak tree, taken during the time that the Miles lived at Pleasant Grove.  No date. Donated by Mary Miles Patten, CCHS 2013.06.04.
    • Rufus Miles in front of one of the living room fireplaces.  No date. A photograph of Nelle Miles in front of the second fireplace which had a Latrobe stove, perhaps taken at the same time, appears on page 1 of this section. Donated by Mary Miles Patten, CCHS 2013.06.06.

     

    Barbara and Mary Miles with a neighbor, on the front steps of Pleasant Grove. No date. Donated by Mary Miles Patten, CCHS 2013.06.08.

     

    The Meisel Family

    Albert and Jean Meisel moved to Pleasant Grove in 1967, and raised their three sons there.  Mr. Meisel, a writer and a government official, died in 1997.  Mrs. Meisel continues to live in the house, and she kindly gave CCHS permission to photograph her home in the spring of 2013.  Only minor changes have been made over the years, and the generous proportions of the house that Mary Cummings built in 1893 are still evident.  Jean Meisel is a noted artist and her paintings, as well as the ceramic pieces by one of her sons, are displayed throughout the house.

     

     

    • Pleasant Grove, 2013.  Photograph for CCHS by Wayne C. Fowler. CCHS 2013.15.02.
    • image of Pleasant Grove c. 2013 with current owner and CCHS board
      Pleasant Grove, 2013.  The current owner, Jean Meisel, second from the left, talks with members of the CCHS board.  Photograph for CCHS by Wayne C. Fowler.  CCHS 2013.15.01.

       

     

     

    A Photo Gallery of Pleasant Grove in 2013

    In the photo gallery below, look for the living room fireplace that once held a Latrobe stove.  That stove is long gone, and the fireplace is now surrounded by paintings and ceramic pottery.  When Cy and Zelpha Cummings lived at Pleasant Grove, a color print of hunters and hounds hung over the dining room fireplace. This was where Cy Cummings entertained politicians and sportsment.  The farmhouse kitchen, where Alice, Agnes and Zelpha Cummings cooked for their family and guests, now has larger windows.  Upstairs in the attic, the ocular window in the front gable looks out at Mrs. Meisel's studio.  The photographs were taken by Wayne C. Fowler for CCHS.