Village Of Friendship Heights Celebrates Centennial

Village of Friendship Heights Parliamentarian Bob Schwarzbart with County Executive Isiah Leggett, via Montgomery CountyIn 1914, the small special taxing district known as the Village of Friendship Heights was established with about 100 homes on the Chevy Chase border with D.C.

In the century since, the Village has grown up, with nine residential high-rises that make Friendship Heights one of the most densely populated places in the area.

On Saturday, Jan. 25 and in a series of “Centennial Saturday” events throughout the year, the Village will celebrate its history.

The Village encompasses 34 acres bordered by Wisconsin and Willard Avenues with 16 properties and a sizeable population of retired residents.

It’s governed by a seven-member village council, which oversees a shuttle service, street maintenance and small parks in the area. In 1986, it opened the Friendship Heights Village Center, which serves as a civic and social center for nearby residents.

It’s where Village leaders celebrated the centennial last week with a number of other local leaders, including Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett.

The Jan. 25 event is set for 9:15 a.m. to noon and will feature historian William Offutt, who will speak about the original settler families who lived in the area, as well as descendants of the Shoemakers, one of those original families:

Please come to the Village Center to learn about the early history of Friendship Heights Village and meet members of one of the original settler families as well as residents who lived in the Village a half century ago. During the first hour historian William Offutt will speak on the very early history of Friendship Heights (mid-1850s to 1914) and Mayor Melanie Rose White will discuss the period from 1914 to the mid-1950s.

After a short break and refreshments, there will be a sharing of stories by descendents of one of the original settler families, the Shoemakers, as well as memories from residents who remember Friendship Heights when it was a community of 100 houses.

All are invited to attend and to participate. If you have stories, photos or artifacts you would like to share at the presentation, please contact Jennie Fogarty at the Center. Let us know if you plan to come by calling 301-656-2797 or stopping by the front desk.

Photo via Montgomery County

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