The Placenames of Chevy Chase, Maryland is now available for purchase!

CCHS' new, richly illustrated book is as much about the personalities who inhabited the early streetcar suburb as about how its shaded streets got their names.

The Placenames of Chevy Chase: An Anecdotal Stroll Through the Centuries and Neighborhoods of Chevy Chase draws from CCHS' collection of vintage photographs, maps and oral histories to present Chevy Chase, MD as a microcosm of 20th-century America – beginning as a rural retreat from crowded Washington, DC in the late 1800s, and, with the push north after two World Wars, becoming a late-20th-century inner suburb.

Placenames includes little-known facts about Chevy Chase that could make even the daily commute more interesting. For example, who knew songstress Kate Smith began her career performing at an amusement park near where Chevy Chase Market now stands? Or that a World War I training camp for women occupied the east side of Connecticut Avenue at Underwood Street? These fascinating facts and many more await within the pages of The Placenames of Chevy Chase.

To order, please send check made payable to the Chevy Chase Historical Society, P.O. Box 15145, Chevy Chase, MD 20825. Member price per book including tax is $16. Non-member price per book is $20, including tax. If you buy both the DVD and book, the Non-member price is $30 and the Member price is $20.

May 2 Congressional Cemetery Tour

The Chevy Chase Historical Society’s History-Go-Round will host a May 2 walking tour of Congressional Cemetery in Southeast Washington, DC, led by an organizer of the burial ground’s recent renaissance. Capitol Hill resident Patrick Crowley will describe the cemetery’s founding in 1807 and the dark days in the late 20^th century when drug dealers and undergrowth threatened the final resting place of the Capital city’s founding fathers. Crowley and other private citizens formed a nonprofit association which has restored much of the 34-acre landmark.  

The 90-minute walking tour on Wednesday, May 2, will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the gatehouse of Congressional Cemetery, 1801 E Street, SE. The cemetery is less than two blocks from Metro’s Potomac Avenue and Stadium Armory stations, and parking is available at the cemetery for those who drive.  The tour will be followed by a box lunch in the board room of the Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery. Cost of the tour and lunch is $20, payable by check in advance. Space is limited and reservations are required. To reserve, call 301-656-1779 or email  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it