A Century-by-Century Examination of History in Chevy Chase DC
In recognition of the nation’s 250th year as a democracy, Historic Chevy Chase DC conducted a four-part webinar series in 2026 to thoughtfully examine our community’s history, century by century, through the stories of people whose descendants once lived and raised their families on this land from pre-colonial days to modern times. The series, called “Chevy Chase DC at 250: Beyond the Burgers and the Fireworks,” ran between January and June 2026. Recordings are available below:
Listen to the Jan. 29 webinar here: The First 100 Years
Listen to the March 26 webinar recording here: The Civil War Came to Chevy Chase
Listen to the May 14 webinar here: Chevy Chase Under Jim Crow
Listen to the June 24 webinar here: What Now?
This upper Northwest neighborhood had a unique opportunity to witness much of this history due to its geographic proximity to the seat of the world’s longest-surviving democracy. History tells us that the citizens who shaped Chevy Chase DC literally crossed paths with the founders as colleagues, nation builders, and also as enslaved laborers. We can In fact trace the stories of several early African American landowning families to their economic ties to George Washington.
Carl Lankowski, HCCDC president, said that the webinar series is an outgrowth of HCCDC’s work over the past several years to understand how Chevy Chase DC became the community it is today, and what it owes to our future residents especially as community and city leaders contemplate development of the civic core.
The Jan. 29 webinar reflected on the first 100 years of America, from the early 1700s to about 1840, when the land that would become Chevy Chase DC evolved from tobacco plantations to middling farmsteads. The second installment, which aired March 26, drew attention to the re-founding of our republic and as we examine the role of Chevy Chase DC in the Civil War — and how the proliferation of batteries and forts not only changed the landscape in these parts but forever altered its economic base.
The third webinar, on May 14, looked at what occurred after Reconstruction. The suburban expansion under Jim Crow caused racial displacement, when locals who did not fit into the racially exclusive community envisioned by its founder, Francis Newlands, were pushed out. The final installment, on June 24, examined local response to a modern democracy, with visionary leaders that included local citizen Walter Tobriner, and how the Great Migration – into and out of Washington, DC – affected life within our neighborhood. The webinar challenges the community to consider redemption efforts targeting the promises of the nation’s Declaration of Independence.