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BHistory
History · Cheverly

Cheverly dates to 1918, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #59 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1,314 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1940.

1918founded
2on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
21famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cheverly’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cheverly began

When was Cheverly founded?

1918

Cheverly dates its founding to 1918 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 996 in 19402020 census: 6,170108 years

How historic is Cheverly?

B

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1898.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Cheverly’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cheverly is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #59 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cheverly’s overall grade.
Founding era1918, from Wikipedia: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194016.9% of homes (±4.3) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register2 listings, 1,316 historic buildings, 2,159 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 63%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 78%

Few Maryland towns list much on the Register (a typical Maryland town has 0.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Cheverly’s 2,159 sits above most of its state (99% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 1,316 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1918.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Cheverly’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Cheverly Historic District takes in 1,314 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19003 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1979. Watch Cheverly change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Cheverly, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 1,316 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1,316
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Mount Hope
Mount HopeCheverly Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Mount HopeBuilding
All 2 listings
Cheverly Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2024

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Cheverly’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cheverly’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewThe Bellamy House, 2819 Cheverly Avenue: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Cheverly on the map, 1900 to 1979

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cheverly. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cheverly on the 1900 USGS mapCheverly on the 1934 USGS mapCheverly on the 1979 USGS map1900Washington sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cheverly.

The story

How Cheverly came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cheverly.

Read it all →

Cheverly was begun as a planned suburb in the early 1900s. The Cheverly area was first platted in 1904 for a 93-acre (380,000 m2) community called Cheverly Gardens. The land was subsequently purchased in 1918 by Robert Marshall, president of the Washington Suburban Realty Company. The Cheverly subdivision platted by Marshall was developed around the 1839 Magruder family homestead known as Mount Hope. Marshall became the first resident of Cheverly by taking up residence in the restored homestead in 1919. In 1923, the first road, now known as Cheverly Avenue, was completed and paved to connect the Pennsylvania Railroad line to Landover Road. Thirty-four developer-built houses were constructed between 1921 and 1925. Most of the early houses were mail-order homes from Sears & Roebuck and the McClure Homes Company. Marshall lost control of the Washington Suburban Realty Company in 1927. Harr…

Chapters20th century21st centuryHistoric sites

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cheverly, 1898 to 1963

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898Post officeThe Tuxedo post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1911Post officeThe Tuxedo post office closes
  6. 1918
    FoundingCheverly is established
  7. 1955Born hereDavid Trone is born here
  8. 1959Born hereLarry Spriggs is born here
  9. 1962Born hereBarry Christopher Knestout is born here
  10. 1963Born hereRichard R. Arnold is born here
By decade

Cheverly, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
The Bellamy House, 2819 Cheverly AvenueDate?The Bellamy House, 2819 Cheverly Avenue
Today4 recent
All Saints Anglican Church2024All Saints Anglican ChurchRushern Baker at Cheverly Day 20112011Rushern Baker at Cheverly Day 2011Mount Hope Cheverly Dec 082008Mount Hope Cheverly Dec 08Cheverly station from down the track2005Cheverly station from down the track
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

The Bellamy House, 2819 Cheverly Avenue
Retake this viewThe Bellamy House, 2819 Cheverly Avenue

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Cheverly’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Cheverly, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,50019401960198020002020Peak: 6,808

Between 996 and 6,808 people in every census since 1940.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cheverly’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

21 famous people were born in Cheverly

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Richard R. ArnoldAmerican educator and astronaut · b. 1963
B
Barry Christopher KnestoutCatholic bishop · b. 1962
David TroneAmerican businessman and politician · b. 1955
L
Larry SpriggsAmerican basketball player · b. 1959
A
Ashley PostellArtistic gymnast · b. 1986
Tim BradstreetAmerican artist and illustrator · b. 1967
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Tuxedo, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Landover ParkTuxedoTuxedo Colony

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Landover1 historic placeC+Bladensburg6 historic placesA−

Questions about Cheverly’s history

What year was Cheverly founded?

In 1918, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Cheverly’s post office opened in 1898, and the census of 1940 counted 996 people here.

How does Cheverly rank for history?

Cheverly is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #59 of 261 in Maryland. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Cheverly?

Two places: the Mount Hope (listed 1978) and the Cheverly Historic District (2024).

How old are the homes in Cheverly?

17% of Cheverly’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1955.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.