Woodley is a Federal-style hilltop house in Washington, D.C. , constructed in 1801. It has served as the home to Grover Cleveland , Martin Van Buren , and Henry L. Stimson , and is now the home of the Maret School .
86-634: The land on which the house now stands was once owned by Colonel Ninian Beall, a Scottish immigrant whose 795-acre tract stretched from the Potomac River to the future site of the Woodley Mansion. Some of the land, including the future site of the mansion, was purchased in the early 1790s by Benjamin Stoddert and Uriah Forrest, at the request of George Washington, to prevent it from being bought up by speculators who would then have sold it to
172-493: A streetcar line , and helping to create Rock Creek Park . After renting Woodley to the Clevelands in 1893, he added a block of rooms on the east side of the building and moved in himself around 1900. Grover Cleveland purchased Woodley in 1886 for $ 21,500. At the time, it was described as "a two and one-half story stone mansion, elegantly situated on high ground, commanding a fine view of the surrounding country and to which
258-689: A European spelling of Patawomeck , the Algonquian name of a Native American village on its southern bank. Native Americans had different names for different parts of the river, calling the river above Great Falls Cohongarooton , meaning "honking geese" and "Patawomke" below the Falls, meaning "river of swans". In 1608, Captain John Smith explored the river now known as the Potomac and made drawings of his observations which were later compiled into
344-831: A Loyalist regiment in the American Revolution. He was eventually captured, paroled, and sent to England, where he studied law at the Middle Temple of the Inns at Court . While there, he visited Prime Minister Henry Addington at the Woodley Lodge. When Key returned to Washington, D.C., he modeled his own home after the original lodge in England. Martin Van Buren served as a Senator from New York and later as Andrew Jackson 's Vice President before ascending to
430-689: A book about Woodley. The group's podcast, Echoes of Woodley, tells stories surrounding the mansion. 38°55′43″N 77°03′37″W / 38.9285°N 77.0602°W / 38.9285; -77.0602 Potomac River The Potomac River ( / p ə ˈ t oʊ m ə k / ) is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States that flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to
516-594: A border raid, fought by Lord Percy of England and Earl Douglas of Scotland over hunting grounds, or a " chace ", in the Cheviot Hills of Northumberland and Otterburn . The battle was memorialized in " The Ballad of Chevy Chase ". The area known as Chevy Chase includes several entities in southern Montgomery County : It also includes the neighborhood of Chevy Chase in northwest Washington, D.C. The United States Postal Service also uses "Chevy Chase" for some postal addresses that lie outside these areas:
602-778: A campus in Chevy Chase. For decades, a six-block stretch of Wisconsin Avenue in Friendship Heights and Chevy Chase has been the only place partially or wholly in Washington, D.C., with multiple traditional department stores , namely, Bloomingdale's , Saks Fifth Avenue , Lord & Taylor and Neiman Marcus . The latter two closed in 2020, as did the indoor shopping center at the Chevy Chase Pavilion. As of 2022, two department stores remain, both on
688-612: A horseshoe bend at Wappocomo 's Hanging Rocks around the George W. Washington plantation, Ridgedale . To the west of Three Churches on the western side of South Branch Mountain , 3,028 feet (923 m), the South Branch creates a series of bends and flows to the northeast by Springfield through Blue's Ford. After two additional horseshoe bends (meanders), the South Branch flows under the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad mainline between Green Spring and South Branch Depot , and joins
774-822: A hotel at 7100 Connecticut Avenue; it opened it in 1894 as the Chevy Chase Spring Hotel and was later renamed the Chevy Chase Inn. "The hotel failed to attract sufficient patrons, especially during the winter months," wrote the Chevy Chase Historical Society, and in 1895, the Land Company leased the property for a year to the Young Ladies Seminary. Part of the original Cheivy Chace patent had been sold to Abraham Bradley , who built an estate known as
860-489: A map and published in London in 1612. This detail from that map shows his rendition of the river that the local tribes had told him was called the "Patawomeck". The spelling of the name has taken many forms over the years from " Patawomeck " (as on Captain John Smith 's map) to "Patomake", "Patowmack", and numerous other variations in the 18th century and now "Potomac". The river's name was officially decided upon as "Potomac" by
946-672: A northeastern course along the western side of Jack Mountain (4,045 ft), followed by Sandy Ridge (2,297 ft) along U.S. Route 220 . North of the confluence of the South Branch with Smith Creek, the river flows along Town Mountain (2,848 ft) around Franklin at the junction of U.S. Route 220 and U.S. Route 33 . After Franklin, the South Branch continues north through the Monongahela National Forest to Upper Tract where it joins with three sizeable streams: Reeds Creek, Mill Run, and Deer Run. Between Big Mountain (2,582 ft) and Cave Mountain (2,821 ft),
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#17327753788341032-512: A number of historic plantation farms adjoining it. En route to Romney, the river is fed by Buffalo Run, Mill Run , McDowell Run, and Mill Creek at Vanderlip . The South Branch is traversed by the Northwestern Turnpike ( U.S. Route 50 ) and joined by Sulphur Spring Run where it forms Valley View Island to the west of town. Flowing north of Romney, the river still follows the eastern side of Mill Creek Mountain until it creates
1118-488: A popular shopping district. It is the home of the Chevy Chase Club and Columbia Country Club , private clubs whose members include many prominent politicians and Washingtonians. The name is derived from Cheivy Chace , the name of the land patented to Colonel Joseph Belt from Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore , on July 10, 1725. It has historic associations with a 1388 chevauchée , a French word describing
1204-717: A water intake 725 feet (220 m) offshore, citing potential harm to Maryland's interests by an increase in Virginia sprawl caused by the project. After years of failed appeals within the Maryland government's appeal processes, in 2000 Virginia took the case to the Supreme Court of the United States , which exercises original jurisdiction in cases between two states. Maryland claimed Virginia lost its riparian rights by acquiescing to MDE's permit process for 63 years (MDE began its permit process in 1933). A Special Master appointed by
1290-463: Is at least 3.5 million years old, likely extending back ten to twenty million years before the present when the Atlantic Ocean lowered and exposed coastal sediments along the fall line. This included the area at Great Falls, which eroded into its present form during recent glaciation periods. The stream gradient of the entire river is 0.14%, a drop of 930 m over 652 km. "Potomac" is
1376-569: Is attached twenty nine acres of ground." His intention was to occupy the house during the summer months and at other periods of the year when he wanted to be safe from intrusion. He planned to add an additional story and a tower to the house so he could see the Potomac River as far as Mount Vernon. William Phillips was a career diplomat and a lifelong friend of Franklin Roosevelt. When he and his wife Caroline rented Woodley (1915–1919), he
1462-859: Is currently re-bounding as a result of the ICPRB 's successful "American Shad Restoration Project" that was begun in 1995. In addition to stocking the river with more than 22 million shad fry, the Project supervised the construction of a fishway that was built to facilitate the passage of adults around the Little Falls Dam on the way to their traditional spawning grounds upstream. *denotes naturalized species; Sources: Striped mullet Mugil cephalus Spot Leiostomus xanthurus Spotted seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus Atlantic Croaker Micropogonias undulatus Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase ( / ˈ tʃ ɛ v iː tʃ eɪ s / )
1548-541: Is fed by Anderson Run and Stony Run. At McNeill , the South Branch flows into the Trough where it is bound to its west by Mill Creek Mountain (2,119 ft) and to its east by Sawmill Ridge (1,644 ft). This area is the habitat to bald eagles . The Trough passes into Hampshire County and ends at its confluence with Sawmill Run south of Glebe and Sector . The South Branch continues north parallel to South Branch River Road ( County Route 8) toward Romney with
1634-402: Is said that President Abraham Lincoln used to escape to the highlands on summer nights to escape the river's stench. In the 1960s, with dense green algal blooms covering the river's surface, President Lyndon Johnson declared the river "a national disgrace" and set in motion a long-term effort to reduce pollution from sewage and restore the beauty and ecology of this historic river. One of
1720-519: Is served by the Montgomery County Public Schools . Residents of Chevy Chase are zoned to Somerset, Chevy Chase or North Chevy Chase Elementary School, which feed into Silver Creek Middle School, Westland Middle School and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School . Private schools in Chevy Chase include Concord Hill School, Oneness-Family School , and Blessed Sacrament School. Rochambeau French International School formerly had
1806-462: Is the colloquial name of an area that includes a town , several incorporated villages , and an unincorporated census-designated place in southern Montgomery County , Maryland ; and one adjoining neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C. Most of these derive from a late-19th-century effort to create a new suburb that its developer dubbed Chevy Chase after a colonial land patent . Primarily residential, Chevy Chase adjoins Friendship Heights ,
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#17327753788341892-522: The Board on Geographic Names in 1931. The similarity of the name to the Ancient Greek word for river, potamos , has been noted for more than two centuries but it appears to be due to chance. The Potomac River brings together a variety of cultures throughout the watershed from the coal miners of upstream West Virginia to the urban residents of the nation's capital and, along the lower Potomac,
1978-595: The Chesapeake Bay in Maryland . It is 405 miles (652 km) long, with a drainage area of 14,700 square miles (38,000 km ), and is the fourth-largest river along the East Coast of the United States . More than 6 million people live within its watershed . The river forms part of the borders between Maryland and Washington, D.C. , on the left descending bank, and West Virginia and Virginia on
2064-680: The District Emancipation Act . Four years later, she was reunited with her husband Denis and her four older children, and the entire Berry family were living together in their own house in East Georgetown. After the end of Reconstruction and the death of Denis Berry, Lucy moved to the Government Hospital of the Insane (now St. Elizabeth's), where she worked as a laundress until her death. Robert J. Walker
2150-1482: The Fall Line . This 108-mile (174-km) stretch encompasses the Potomac from a short distance below the Washington, DC - Montgomery County line, just downstream of the Little Falls of the Potomac River , to the Chesapeake Bay . Along the way the following tributaries drain into the Potomac: Pimmit Run , Gulf Branch , Donaldson Run , Windy Run , Spout Run , Maddox Branch , Foundry Branch , Rock Creek , Rocky Run, Tiber Creek , Roaches Run, Washington Channel , Anacostia River , Four Mile Run , Oxon Creek , Hunting Creek , Broad Creek , Henson Creek, Swan Creek, Piscataway Creek , Little Hunting Creek , Dogue Creek , Accotink Creek , Pohick Creek , Pomonkey Creek , Occoquan River , Neabsco Creek , Powell's Creek , Mattawoman Creek , Chicamuxen Creek , Quantico Creek , Little Creek , Chopawamsic Creek , Tank Creek , Aquia Creek , Potomac Creek , Nanjemoy Creek , Chotank Creek , Port Tobacco River , Popes Creek , Gambo Creek , Clifton Creek , Piccowaxen Creek , Upper Machodoc Creek , Wicomico River , Cobb Island , Monroe Creek , Mattox Creek , Popes Creek , Breton Bay, Leonardtown , St. Marys River , Yeocomico River , Coan River , and Hull Creek . The river itself
2236-563: The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin . The compact was amended in 1970 to include coordination of water supply issues and land use issues related to water quality. Beginning in the 19th century, with increasing mining and agriculture upstream and urban sewage and runoff downstream, the water quality of the Potomac River deteriorated. This created conditions of severe eutrophication . It
2322-664: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration designated an 18-square-mile (47 km ) portion of the river in Charles County , Maryland, as the Mallows Bay–Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary in 2019. The river has significant historical and political significance, as the nation's capital of Washington, D.C. is located on its banks, as is Mount Vernon , the home of "Father of his Country" George Washington . During
2408-572: The Soviets . That accusation would eventually culminate in the trial of Hiss. (He was found guilty of perjury and went to prison.) Among the many guests at Woodley during the Berle year was Secretary of State Cordell Hull , who would sneak away during afternoons to play croquet on the Woodley croquet lawn; Albert Einstein , who came to a Woodley reception; and Charles W. Yost , Berle's assistant, who
2494-619: The US Geological Survey and the Fish and Wildlife Service , began to identify fish in the Potomac and tributaries that exhibited "intersex" characteristics, as a result of endocrine disruption caused by some form of pollution. On November 13, 2007, the Potomac Conservancy, an environmental group, issued the river a grade of "D-plus", citing high levels of pollution and the reports of " intersex " fish. Since then,
2580-663: The 1867 renovation of Woodley, which included the addition of a third floor. Francis Newlands , a beneficiary of the Comstock Silver Mine, was both a politician and a real estate tycoon. As Senator from Nevada, he championed the Newlands Reclamation Act of 1901, which culminated in the irrigation of huge sections of the West. At the local level, he developed the suburb of Chevy Chase , boosting his land's value by extending Connecticut Avenue , building
2666-547: The 1980s, through sewage plant upgrades and restrictions on phosphorus in detergents. By the end of the 20th century, notable success had been achieved, as massive algal blooms vanished and recreational fishing and boating rebounded. Still, the aquatic habitat of the Potomac River and its tributaries remain vulnerable to eutrophication, heavy metals , pesticides and other toxic chemicals, over-fishing, alien species , and pathogens associated with fecal coliform bacteria and shellfish diseases. In 2005 two federal agencies,
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2752-838: The American Civil War, the river became the boundary between the Union and the Confederacy , and the Union's largest army, the Army of the Potomac , was named after the river. The Potomac River runs 405 mi (652 km) from Fairfax Stone Historical Monument State Park in West Virginia on the Allegheny Plateau to Point Lookout , Maryland, and drains 14,679 sq mi (38,020 km ). The length of
2838-558: The Bradley Farm. In 1892, Newlands and other members of the Metropolitan Club of Washington, D.C., founded a hunt club called Chevy Chase Hunt, which would later become Chevy Chase Club. In 1894, the club located itself on the former Bradley Farm property under a lease from its owners. The club introduced a six-hole golf course to its members in 1895, and purchased the 9.36-acre Bradley Farm tract in 1897. In 1906,
2924-640: The Chevy Chase Country Club barred "Negroes" and "one ethnic group of Caucasians" from membership. In response, Club president Randall H. Hagnar denied that the club excluded Black or Jewish people; he said that no members were African-Americans but that several were Jewish. In 1903, Lea M. Bouligny bought the old Chevy Chase Inn and founded the Chevy Chase College and Seminary . The name was changed to Chevy Chase Junior College in 1927. The National 4-H Club Foundation purchased
3010-501: The Chevy Chase Land Company blocked a proposed subdivision called Belmont after they learned its Black developers aimed to sell house lots to other African Americans. In subsequent litigation, the company and its affiliates argued that those developers had committed fraud by proposing "to sell lots...to negroes." By the 1920s, restrictive covenants were added to Chevy Chase real estate deeds. Some prohibited both
3096-574: The Civil War era. As Adjutant General, he watched the siege of Vicksburg beside General Ulysses S. Grant aboard the ironclad USS Magnolia. Later in the war, he raised 21,000 black troops in Mississippi. During an assignment in the West, it is believed, he rented Woodley to former President James Buchanan. After the war, Thomas served briefly as Secretary of War and was a key player in the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson. In April 1862, Thomas freed
3182-813: The Long-Bell Lumber Company, suffered financial setbacks in the late 1920s, the house was sold. Major (later General) George S. Patton rented Woodley in 1928. Henry L. Stimson purchased Woodley in 1929, and was its last private owner-resident. He served as Secretary of State during the Hoover administration, and was the Secretary of War for both Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman during World War II , until his retirement in September 1945. When Stimson and his wife Mabel bought Woodley, they added cloakrooms (now little offices) on either side of
3268-754: The North Branch to form the Potomac. This stretch encompasses the section of the Potomac River from the confluence of its North and South Branches through Opequon Creek near Shepherdstown, West Virginia . Along the way the following tributaries drain into the Potomac: North Branch Potomac River , South Branch Potomac River , Town Creek , Little Cacapon River , Sideling Hill Creek , Cacapon River , Sir Johns Run , Warm Spring Run , Tonoloway Creek , Fifteenmile Creek , Sleepy Creek , Cherry Run , Back Creek , Conococheague Creek , and Opequon Creek . This section covers
3354-437: The Potomac and its North Branch since both states' original colonial charters grant the entire river rather than half of it as is normally the case with boundary rivers. In its first state constitution adopted in 1776, Virginia ceded its claim to the entire river but reserved free use of it, an act disputed by Maryland. Both states acceded to the 1785 Mount Vernon Compact and the 1877 Black-Jenkins Award which granted Maryland
3440-512: The Potomac as its principal source of drinking water with the opening of the Washington Aqueduct in 1864, using a water intake constructed at Great Falls. An average of approximately 486 million US gallons (1,840,000 m ) of water is withdrawn daily from the Potomac in the Washington area for water supply , providing about 78 percent of the region's total water usage, this amount includes approximately 80 percent of
3526-986: The Potomac from just above Harpers Ferry in West Virginia down to Little Falls, Maryland on the border between Maryland and Washington, DC. Along the way the following tributaries drain into the Potomac: Antietam Creek , Shenandoah River , Catoctin Creek (Virginia) , Catoctin Creek (Maryland) , Tuscarora Creek , Monocacy River , Little Monocacy River , Broad Run , Goose Creek , Broad Run , Horsepen Branch, Little Seneca Creek , Tenmile Creek , Great Seneca Creek , Old Sugarland Run, Muddy Branch , Nichols Run, Watts Branch , Limekiln Branch, Carroll Branch, Pond Run, Clarks Branch, Mine Run Branch, Difficult Run , Bullneck Run, Rock Run , Scott Run, Dead Run, Turkey Run, Cabin John Creek , Minnehaha Branch, and Little Falls Branch . The Tidal Potomac River lies below
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3612-411: The Potomac, including bass , muskellunge , pike , walleye . The northern snakehead , an invasive species resembling the native bowfin , lamprey , and American eel , was first seen in 2004. Many species of sunfish are also present in the Potomac and its headwaters. Although rare, bull sharks can be found. After having been depressed for many decades, the river's population of American shad
3698-948: The Potomac. As it flows from its headwaters down to the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac traverses five geological provinces: the Appalachian Plateau , the Ridge and Valley , the Blue Ridge , the Piedmont Plateau , and the Atlantic coastal plain . Once the Potomac drops from the Piedmont to the Coastal Plain at the Atlantic Seaboard fall line at Little Falls , tides further influence
3784-408: The Presidency in 1837. When he came into office, the country was plunged into its first depression so he could not do what all his predecessors had done: move away from the heat of Washington during the summer. Instead he rented Woodley because it was on cooler heights above the city and because it was considerably cheaper to run. Lorenzo Thomas was a Union general who played a number of roles during
3870-419: The Secretary of State. This was unsuccessful, allegedly because it was feared that other cabinet officers would desire official homes. Stimson also reportedly offered to Andrew Mellon as the site for the National Gallery of Art if its Constitution Avenue location could not be secured. Ultimately, in May 1938, Stimson gave Woodley to his alma mater, the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts (for whom he
3956-419: The South Branch bends around the Eagle Rock (1,483 ft) outcrop and continues its flow northward into Grant County . Into Grant, the South Branch follows the western side of Cave Mountain through the 20-mile (32 km) long Smoke Hole Canyon , until its confluence with the North Fork at Cabins , where it flows east to Petersburg . At Petersburg, the South Branch Valley Railroad begins, which parallels
4042-399: The Supreme Court to investigate recommended the case be settled in favor of Virginia, citing the language in the 1785 Compact and the 1877 Award. On December 9, 2003, the Court agreed in a 7–2 decision. The original charters are silent as to which branch from the upper Potomac serves as the boundary, but this was settled by the 1785 Compact. When West Virginia seceded from Virginia in 1863,
4128-459: The Virginia side of the river, it was not completed until 1802. Financial troubles led to the closure of the canal in 1830. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal operated along the banks of the Potomac in Maryland from 1831 to 1924 and also connected Cumberland to Washington, D.C. This allowed freight to be transported around the rapids known as the Great Falls of the Potomac River , as well as many other, smaller rapids. Washington, D.C. began using
4214-484: The battles of Antietam (September 17, 1862) and Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863). Confederate General Jubal Early crossed the river in July 1864 on his attempted raid on the nation's capital. The river not only divided the Union from the Confederacy, but also gave name to the Union's largest army, the Army of the Potomac . The Patowmack Canal was intended by George Washington to connect the Tidewater region near Georgetown with Cumberland , Maryland. Started in 1785 on
4300-514: The beginning, the plan was to sell it to the Maret School in a real-estate swap for Maret's existing property on Kalorama Street and sundry other property the school held. Local residents objected strongly to the estate being used as a school, protesting both its change of character, and potential noise and traffic issues. A Citizens Emergency Committee to Save Woodley was created to lobby the city zoning board to deny Maret's use request, as well as an additional request to use add apartments to 10 acres of
4386-416: The catching near Fletcher's Boat House of a Striped Bass estimated to weigh 35 lb (16 kg) was seen as a further indicator of the continuing improvement in the health of the river. The average daily flow during the water years 1931–2018 was 11,498 cubic feet (325.6 m ) /s. The highest average daily flow ever recorded on the Potomac at Little Falls, Maryland (near Washington, D.C.),
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#17327753788344472-481: The deed to the land, that only a single-family detached house costing a large amount of money could be constructed. The Chevy Chase Land Company did not include explicit bars against non-white people, known as racial covenants, but the mandated cost of the house made it impractical for all but the wealthiest non-white people to buy the land." Houses were required to cost $ 5,000 and up on Connecticut Avenue and $ 3,000 and up on side streets. The company banned commerce from
4558-445: The drinking water consumed by the region's estimated 6.1 million residents. As a result of damaging floods in 1936 and 1937, the Army Corps of Engineers proposed the Potomac River basin reservoir projects , a series of dams that were intended to regulate the river and to provide a more reliable water supply. One dam was to be built at Little Falls, just north of Washington, backing its pool up to Great Falls. Just above Great Falls,
4644-415: The eastern side of Lantz Mountain (3,934 ft) in Highland County. From Hightown, the South Branch is a small meandering stream that flows northeast along Blue Grass Valley Road through the communities of New Hampden and Blue Grass . At Forks of Waters , the South Branch joins with Strait Creek and flows north across the Virginia/West Virginia border into Pendleton County . The river then travels on
4730-421: The estate. Initially denied their rezoning request, Maret finally received permission to operate a school in the building in June 1951, after Maret agreed to only use the first floor of the building as a school and to make no external changes to the building. In August 1952, a "major part" of the mansion was reported destroyed in a three-alarm fire, as it was being remodeled for use in the fall semester. The damage
4816-480: The expansion of the Washington streetcars system. Newlands and his partners founded The Chevy Chase Land Company in 1890, and its holdings of more than 1,700 acres (6.9 km ) eventually extended along the present-day Connecticut Avenue from Florida Avenue north to Jones Bridge Road. Newlands, an avowed white supremacist , and his development company took steps to ensure that residents of its new suburbs would be wealthy and white; for example, "requiring, in
4902-513: The government for huge prices. In 1797, the 250-acre (101 ha) wooded estate was purchased by Phillip Barton Key , the uncle of the author of "The Star Spangled Banner," Francis Scott Key . In 1801, Key commissioned the Federal-style design based on the Woodley Lodge in Reading, England . The word "Woodley" means "clearing in the woods." In 1938, Henry Stimson gave Woodley to his alma mater Phillips Academy, Andover , though he and his wife continued to live there. In 1950, Andover sold
4988-446: The home for his daughter Sally Long Ellis in 1921. Her husband Captain Hayne Ellis had seen action in the Spanish–American War, the Philippine Insurrection and the Boxer Rebellion. Eventually promoted to Admiral, he would later become Commander of the Atlantic Squadron. Among the guests who visited Woodley during those years were General John Pershing , commander of the American Expeditionary force in World War I. When R. A. Long's company,
5074-464: The house and grounds to the private Maret School . In 1952, Maret moved to the new campus from its 1923 building at 2118 Kalorama Road NW. Maret has used the house as a learning center, a library, a business office, admissions office, and the head of school's office. Over the years, many prominent people have lived in the house, including: Philip Barton Key , born into a prominent family of Maryland planters, sacrificed his inheritance to fight for
5160-551: The junction of Grant , Tucker and Preston counties in West Virginia. From the Fairfax Stone, the North Branch Potomac River flows 27 mi (43 km) to the man-made Jennings Randolph Lake , an impoundment designed for flood control and emergency water supply. Below the dam, the North Branch cuts a serpentine path through the eastern Allegheny Mountains. First, it flows northeast by the communities of Bloomington , Luke , and Westernport in Maryland and then on by Keyser , West Virginia to Cumberland , Maryland. At Cumberland,
5246-440: The last of the Woodley slaves: Lucy Berry and her two small sons, George and Lorenzo. It is not known whether Lorenzo Thomas fathered these two sons. Lucy Berry, the last of the Woodley slaves, was born in Charles County, Maryland, in 1822 on a tobacco plantation called Equality. In 1853, she was bought by Lorenzo Thomas and installed in Woodley as his cook and laundress. In April 1862, Lucy Berry and her two small sons were freed by
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#17327753788345332-454: The much larger Seneca Dam was proposed whose reservoir would extend to Harpers Ferry. Several other dams were proposed for the Potomac and its tributaries. Operational Non-Operational Planned, but never built When detailed studies were issued by the Corps in the 1950s, they met sustained opposition, led by U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas , resulting in the plans' abandonment. The only dam project that did get built
5418-473: The nation's capital was to be located on the river. The 1859 siege of Harper's Ferry at the river's confluence with the Shenandoah was a precursor to numerous epic battles of the American Civil War in and around the Potomac and its tributaries, such as the 1861 Battle of Ball's Bluff and the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown . General Robert E. Lee crossed the river, thereby invading the North and threatening Washington, D.C., twice in campaigns climaxing in
5504-408: The portico. It was widely reported at the time that Stimson had paid $ 1,000,000 (equivalent to $ 17,744,186 in 2023) for Woodley, but later reports put the sale cost at around $ 750,000 (equivalent to $ 13,308,140 in 2023) or $ 850,000 (equivalent to $ 15,082,558 in 2023). Later reports said that Stimson attempted to give Woodley to the federal government to serve as the official residence of
5590-413: The property in 1951, turning it into the group's Youth Conference Center. For decades, the center hosted the National 4-H Conference, an event for 4-Hers throughout the nation to attend, and the annual National Science Bowl in late April or early May. The National 4-H Club Foundation sold the center in 2021 for $ 40 million; as of 2022, it is to be replaced by a senior living development. Chevy Chase
5676-478: The question of West Virginia's succession in title to the lands between the branches of the river was raised, as well as title to the river itself. Claims by Maryland to West Virginia land north of the South Branch (all of Mineral and Grant Counties and parts of Hampshire , Hardy , Tucker and Pendleton Counties) and by West Virginia to the Potomac's high-water mark were rejected by the Supreme Court in two separate decisions in 1910. A variety of fish inhabit
5762-407: The residential neighborhoods. Leon E. Dessez was Chevy Chase's first resident. He and Lindley Johnson of Philadelphia designed the first four houses in the area. Toward the northern end of its holdings, the Land Company dammed Coquelin Run , a stream that crossed its land, to create the manmade Chevy Chase Lake . The body of water furnished water to the coal-fired generators that powered
5848-428: The right descending bank. Except for a small portion of its headwaters in West Virginia, the North Branch Potomac River is considered part of Maryland to the low-water mark on the opposite bank. The South Branch Potomac River lies completely within the state of West Virginia except for its headwaters , which lie in Virginia. All navigable parts of the river were designated as a National Recreation Trail in 2006, and
5934-423: The river as it passes through Washington, D.C., and beyond. Salinity in the Potomac River Estuary increases thereafter with distance downstream. The estuary also widens, reaching 11 statute miles (17 km) wide at its mouth, between Point Lookout, Maryland, and Smith Point , Virginia, before flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. The source of the North Branch Potomac River is at the Fairfax Stone located at
6020-414: The river bank-to-bank from the low-water mark on the Virginia side while permitting Virginia full riparian rights short of obstructing navigation. From 1957 to 1996, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) routinely issued permits applied for by Virginia entities concerning the use of the Potomac. However, in 1996 the MDE denied a permit submitted by the Fairfax County Water Authority to build
6106-487: The river from the junction of its North and South Branches to Point Lookout is 302 mi (486 km). The river has two sources. The source of the North Branch is at the Fairfax Stone located at the junction of Grant , Tucker , and Preston counties in West Virginia . The source of the South Branch is located near Hightown in northern Highland County , Virginia. The river's two branches converge just east of Green Spring in Hampshire County , West Virginia, to form
6192-502: The river has improved with a reduction in nutrient runoff, return of fish populations, and land protection along the river. As a result, the same group issued a grade of "B" for 2017 and 2018. In March 2019, the Potomac Riverkeeper Network launched a laboratory boat dubbed the "Sea Dog", which will be monitoring water quality in the Potomac and providing reports to the public on a weekly basis; in that same month,
6278-430: The river turns southeast. 103 miles (166 km) downstream from its source, the North Branch is joined by the South Branch between Green Spring and South Branch Depot , West Virginia from whence it flows past Hancock , Maryland and turns southeast once more on its way toward Washington, D.C. , and the Chesapeake Bay . The exact location of the South Branch's source is northwest of Hightown along U.S. Route 250 on
6364-512: The river until its mouth at Green Spring . In its eastern course from Petersburg into Hardy County , the South Branch becomes more navigable allowing for canoes and smaller river vessels. The river splits and forms a series of large islands while it heads northeast to Moorefield . At Moorefield, the South Branch is joined by the South Fork South Branch Potomac River and runs north to Old Fields where it
6450-595: The sale or rental of homes to "a Negro or one of the African race." Others prohibited sales or rentals to "any persons of the Semetic [ sic ] race"—i.e., Jews . By World War II, such restrictive language had largely disappeared from real estate transactions, and all were voided by the 1948 Supreme Court decision in Shelley v. Kraemer . In 1964, Arthur Krock wrote an article for The New York Times alleging that
6536-537: The significant pollution control projects at the time was the expansion of the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant , which serves Washington and several surrounding communities. Enactment of the 1972 Clean Water Act led to construction or expansion of additional sewage treatment plants in the Potomac watershed. Controls on phosphorus , one of the principal contributors to eutrophication, were implemented in
6622-423: The streetcars of the Land Company's Rock Creek Railway . The streetcar soon became vital to the community; it connected workers to the city, and even ran errands for residents. The lake was also the centerpiece of the Land Company's Chevy Chase Lake trolley park , a venue for boating, swimming, and other activities meant to draw city dwellers to the new suburb. Similar considerations led the Land Company to build
6708-637: The town of Somerset , the Village of Friendship Heights , and the part of the Rock Creek Forest neighborhood that lies east of Jones Mill Road and Beach Drive and west of Grubb Road. In the 1880s, Senator Francis G. Newlands of Nevada and his partners began acquiring farmland in unincorporated areas of Maryland and just inside the District of Columbia, for the purpose of developing a residential streetcar suburb for Washington, D.C. , during
6794-590: The watermen of Virginia's Northern Neck. Being situated in an area rich in American history and American heritage has led to the Potomac being nicknamed "the Nation's River". George Washington , the first President of the United States , was born in, surveyed, and spent most of his life within, the Potomac basin. All of Washington, D.C., the nation's capital city , also lies within the watershed. The First United States Congress by act of July 16, 1790 stated that
6880-478: Was Jennings Randolph Lake on the North Branch. The Corps built a supplementary water intake for the Washington Aqueduct at Little Falls in 1959. In 1940 Congress passed a law authorizing the creation of an interstate compact to coordinate water quality management among states in the Potomac basin. Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the District of Columbia agreed to establish
6966-475: Was Assistant Secretary of State and also the host of numerous dinners attended by the Roosevelts. Phillips went on to a career as ambassador to Belgium, Canada and Italy, where for six years, he tried to keep Mussolini's ambitions in check. He continued to serve in many vital overseas assignments under his old friend Franklin Roosevelt until his official retirement in 1944. Lumber baron Robert A. Long bought
7052-528: Was a Mississippi cotton planter, U.S. Representative, and Senator before 1844, when he helped to engineer the election of James K. Polk , the first dark horse candidate elected president. Polk appointed him Secretary of the Treasury. In 1867, he helped persuade Secretary of State William Seward to purchase Alaska from Russia. To keep negotiations on track, the Czar paid Walker a $ 20,000 bribe, some of which funded
7138-406: Was estimated at $ 100,000 (equivalent to $ 1,147,368 in 2023). The school opened successfully in September. Woodley Lane (later Woodley Road) in Washington, D.C., was named after the Woodley Mansion. The Woodley Society, founded at Maret in 1993, is an association of students, faculty, and alumni that studies the house's history. In 2008, the group's leader, historian Allerton Kilborne, published
7224-539: Was in March 1936 when it reached 426,000 cubic feet (12,100 m ) /s. The lowest average daily flow ever recorded at the same location was 601.0 cubic feet (17.02 m ) /s in September 1966 The highest crest of the Potomac ever registered at Little Falls was 28.10 ft, on March 19, 1936; however, the most damaging flood to affect Washington, DC and its metropolitan area was that of October 1942. For 400 years Maryland and Virginia have disputed control of
7310-574: Was invited to view Julian Bryan's horrifying photographs of the Warsaw siege. In 1948, about a year after the Stimsons had moved out, Phillips Academy listed Woodley for sale. It languished on the market for two years until 1950, when it was sold to a private group of Washingtonians, reportedly for around $ 200,000 (equivalent to $ 2,532,780 in 2023) in cash, substantially less than its listing price of $ 400,000 (equivalent to $ 5,065,560 in 2023). From
7396-555: Was president of the board of trustees). He and his wife continued living in Woodley until 1947. Adolf Berle , one of the architects of the New Deal, rented Woodley from Stimson in 1939. Once again, Woodley became the place of high drama. On the evening of September 1, Whittaker Chambers arrived at Woodley to tell Berle that Alger Hiss , a highly respected member of the State Department, was passing top-secret documents to
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