City Tour of Chevy Chase MD
The Town of Chevy Chase is a self-governing municipality located in Montgomery
County, Maryland. The incorporated boundaries of the Town extend to East-West
Highway on the north, Connecticut Avenue on the east, Bradley Lane on
the south and one block east of Wisconsin Avenue on the west (map). Today,
there are 1,032 homes and approximately 3,000 residents in the Town.
In the 1890s, the Chevy Chase Land Company was formed and set the stage
for the development of Chevy Chase in the 20th Century. The Company was
founded by two gentlemen, Francis G. Newlands and William M. Stewart,
who had made their fortunes in the gold and silver mines of the west.
After purchasing thousands of acres of land in the area just north of
Washington D.C., the Company began a massive development project which
included extending Connecticut Avenue north into Maryland, building a
$1.5 million electric railway, installing a water and sewer system, and
building roads and other infrastructure. However, despite all the improvements,
growth was slow to come to the area.
Real development in the Town did not come until after World War I, as
the use of the automobile finally began to make living outside of the
District a viable option. It was during this boom that the building lots
in Chevy Chase Section IV began to be filled.
Section IV was incorporated as a municipality in 1918. The Enabling Acts
of Section IV (later renamed the Town) gave the Town government the legal
authority to govern to preserve and protect the general plan of development
first envisioned and specified by the Chevy Chase Land Company. The members
of the first government levied taxes to provide services to the residents.
The decade of the 1920s saw booming growth in Chevy Chase. As the lots
were improved and the population increased, additional infrastructure
was needed. The 1930s ushered in a decade of improvements, which included
sidewalk and street repair, macadam application to streets, installation
of storm sewer catch basins, and implementation of a tree-planting program
in the public spaces.
Many of the Town’s government and service provision functions have
remained the same since this time. The Town is responsible for sidewalk
and street repair, retains a tree-planting program, is responsible for
trash collection and numerous other services. The Town has, however, grown
in the interim by annexing other sections of the Chevy Chase development.
After the annexation of Sections 8, 8A and 8B in 1976, the sections were
renamed Town of Chevy Chase. In the general election in 1983, the new
name was officially approved.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Town witnessed incredible growth and changes
to its neighbor, the Bethesda Urban District. The Council continues to
monitor how these changes affect the quality of life in the Town and actively
seeks solutions to the problems caused by the growth.
Chevy Chase Links
Town of Chevy Chase
Mongomery County Public Schools
Bethesda Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce
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