An Introduction to Our Town
Kensington covers a wide area with many distinctive
neighborhoods. Kensington's origins and character are most readily
found in the Kensington Historic District, where you will find many
notable features that embody the area's history and that link us
to the Town's past.
Well before Kensington came into being in the late
19th century, the land had gone through numerous owners and a few
name changes. Yet for much of the time, land deeds continued to
mark a parcel's relationship to the original "Joseph's Park,"
the land first owned by Colonel William Joseph in the late 17th
century. On the west, the border of Joseph's Park is about 4 winding
miles of Rock Creek, going from Chevy Chase on the south up well
past Parkwood. The northern border goes from Rock Creek east past
what is now the intersection of Veirs Mill Road and Georgia Avenue.
The Town of Kensington lies in the northwest corner of the old Joseph's
Park, which was comprised of 4,220 acres-more than 6 1/2 square
miles.
The Town of Kensington was chartered in 1894. At
that time it included more than a dozen subdivisions developed in
the late 1870's and 1880's, as well as the Kensington Park subdivision
of 1890. Today, the Kensington Postal Zone is a wide-ranging area
that includes Chevy Chase View, Homewood, Rock Creek Hills, Byeford
Knolls, Kensington Heights, part of Parkwood, Rock Creek Highlands,
the Town of Kensington, and many other communities.
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Noyes Library
Another treasure from Kensington's history is the
Noyes Library, at Carroll Place and Montgomery Avenue, built in1893.
Now a children's library, Noyes was the first public library in
the entire metropolitan area.
It's hard to imagine a time when you couldn't easily
go to a community library to borrow the latest novel, look up information
about the world around us, or browse through the latest periodicals.
But if you had been living in the Washington area a century ago,
none of these would have been a simple task. Public libraries did
not exist, and most people lacked the money or the space to keep
their own home collection of reading materials.
Many farsighted Kensington residents were determined
to change that situation. Two played crucial roles: Crosby Noyes,
editor and publisher of the Washington Evening Star, and
Brainard Warner, one of the developers of the original Town of Kensington.
They built the library where it stands today and stocked it with
books.
Originally operated as a community library under
a private board of trustees, the Noyes Library became part of the
countywide public library system in 1951. In 1970, it became the
county's first and only children's library. Its special mission:
to develop innovative ideas and programs to share with the children's
rooms in other libraries; to build a special collection highlighting
recreation, creativity, and enrichment; and to provide outreach
to children who cannot easily attend public library programs. The
Noyes Children's Library Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises
money to help support the operations of the Noyes Library.
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In 1873 the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad built
the Metropolitan Branch, connecting Washington with Point of Rocks,
Maryland. The railroad tracks crossed farm land owned by Daniel
Brown, George Duvall, George Knowles, and Alfred Ray.
A station was built at the point where the railroad
tracks crossed the old roadway-now called, at various points, Cedar
Lane, Howard Avenue, St. Paul Street, and University Boulevard.
"Knowles Station," as the area became known,
was subdivided and various parcels were sold after the deaths of
George Knowles and his wife Luraner. The farmland began a rapid
conversion to a small community. The lots were desirable due to
their closeness to the railway and the improved public road. By
1880, Knowles Station had a population of 70, and twelve trains
made the run each day. The growing settlement soon had two stores,
a post office, and a blacksmith shop.
Like trains today, the trains of that early era offered
passengers some choices of tickets and rates. A ticket for the 11-mile
trip from Knowles Station to downtown Washington cost 35 cents.
Or you could buy an excursion ticket, a monthly ticket, a school
ticket, a quarterly ticket, or a family ticket.
The present Kensington station was built in 1891,
making it the second oldest B&O station still in active use
in Montgomery County. MARC rail took over service of the old B&O
in 1974. Ten of the original 20 remaining Montgomery County stations
still operate today. With commuters still using trains to get to
work, the old Kensington train station is a daily reminder of Kensington's
rich history.
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THE WOMAN'S CLUB OF KENSINGTON
1899-1999 THE HISTORY OF OUR CLUB
On October 20, 1899, a handful of Victorian ladies gathered in
Kensington to plan a mutual improvement organization for women.
Membership was limited to thirty, a manageable number for meeting
in homes. Having obtained their husbands permission to join,
this band of activists set out to learn about the world, to improve
their community and to possibly even vote in real elections.
In march 1900, the Kensington group joined the State Federation
of Woman's Clubs and four years later became affiliated with the
General Federation of Woman's Clubs. Both Federations orchestrate
social programs favored by women and comprise the largest organization
for women worldwide today.
Over the decades, the community came to realize and appreciate
the efforts of the Kensington Club. They voted unanimously
to call themselves women, not ladies. Their work began with
cleaning up the town — even purchasing its first trash container.
Then they got interested in the schools. The segregated Kengar
School had no running water, no kitchen for student lunches and
inadequate supplies. The club bought books, helped tutor children,
made lunches and finally helped establish a school cafeteria.
Noyes Library has continuously been a club project.
During both World Wars, Club members pitched in by knitting,
gardening, and raising money for War Bonds. In the Forties,
they worked at the Red Cross canteen, wrote to members of the armed
forces overseas and raised money to help supply a fighter plane
named "The Kensington Woman's Club".
As the Woman's Club of Kensington begins its second century,
its earnest endeavors continue. While the borders of the town
have broadened over the years, the women still meet in members homes
as the gather to work on the issues of today.
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Kensington
Neighborhoods
Byeforde
Chevy Chase
View
Garrett Park Estates
Ken Gar
Kensington
Kensington Crossing
Kensington Knolls
Kensington Estates
Kensington
Heights
Kensington View
Hammond Woods
Homewood
Newport Hills
North Kensington
Oakland Terrace
Parkwood
Rock Creek Highlands
Rock Creek Hills
Rock Creek Palisades
White Flint
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Kensington Links
Kensington
Historical Society
Montgomery
County, MD Website
Town of Kensington
Website
Local Artist Debra Halprin
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Kensington Schools
Please see our list of area
schools
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Kensington Parks
Clum Kennedy Garden
Kensington Parkway and Howard Avenue
Flinn Park
Howard Avenue across from the Kensington Post Office
Howard Avenue Park
mini park in front of 3716 Howard Avenue, Prevention for the Society
of Blindness
Enest Park and War Memorial
junction Connecticut Ave. and Baltimore and Armory Streets
Reinhardt Park
on Armory between Knowles Avenue and Warner Street
St. Paul Park
on St. Paul Street just south of Plyers Mill Road
Kensington Other
Services
Kensington
Park Library
Kensington Volunteer
Fire Department
Montgomery
County, MD Website
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