North Chevy Chase lies on the site of Clean Drinking plantation, a much larger colonial land grant visited by George Washington as reported in his diary.
Residential development of the area began in the early 20th century when William H. Walker laid out a community and began selling lots. The area was crossed by the Chevy Chase Lake & Kensington Railway, a two-mile streetcar line built in 1895 to connect the new town of Kensington to the northern terminus of the Rock Creek Railway streetcar line from the District of Columbia.
In 1924, residents incorporated it as a special tax district.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, 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.
