Bordering Maryland, Chevy Chase is a northwest Washington neighborhood developed from former farmland in the late 1880s. The area’s name itself comes from the Chevy Chase Land Company, founded by Francis G. Newlands of Nevada and his partners in 1890.

What is currently the Chevy Chase neighborhood was developed fully in the early 1900s, after the Chevy Chase Lane – a streetcar line connecting the area to downtown Washington – was completed.

Chevy Chase kept experiencing major changes until it became the middle-class neighborhood that we know today. Properties in this area include a wide range of the so-called “Sears Catalog Homes”, a type of housing option that became popular in the early 20th century.

Through this housing program, more modest people could order construction materials via mail alongside instructions on how to build their home, and handle the entire process by themselves.

Today, the community of residents in Chevy Chase is mostly affluent, with the area often being listed as one of the best places to live in the state. Chevy Chase has retained that rural, suburban, close-knit, village-like feel, which can’t be said of many other historic Washington neighborhoods.

This is visible in its many locally-owned, independent businesses, as well as its beautiful theater and several parks.