Wheaton, Maryland

Location of Wheaton-Glenmont, Maryland

Wheaton is an unincorporated, urbanized area in Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, north of Washington, D.C., northwest of Silver Spring. Wheaton takes its name from Frank Wheaton (1833–1903), a career officer in the United States Army and volunteer from Rhode Island in the Union Army who rose to the rank of major-general while serving before, during, and after the American Civil War.

Wheaton's boundaries are not officially defined. The United States Census Bureau has not chosen to make Wheaton itself into a Census-Designated Place, but instead combines it with Glenmont into a single Wheaton-Glenmont CDP, centered at 39°3′N 77°3′W, whose 2000 census population was 57,694. According to Rand McNally, the Greater Wheaton area (which extends beyond Wheaton-Glenmont CDP) had an estimated population of 134,800 in 2005. The United States Geological Survey, however, does consider Wheaton as a place whose center is at latitude 39°2′23″N 77°3′20″W. The United States Postal Service has assigned Zip Code 20902 to Wheaton but the Wheaton Post Office is part of the Silver Spring area. Downtown Wheaton can be found at the intersections of Veirs Mill Road (Md. Rt. 586), University Boulevard (Md. Rt. 193), and Georgia Avenue (Md. Rt. 97).

Early history

The Three Great Roads

Wheaton developed from Leesborough (named in 1826), a business district which popped near the junction of three major roads: The first is Brookeville Pike (also known as the "Washington-Brookeville Pike" and later as the "Union Turnpike", now MD Route 97, Georgia Ave) a north/south toll thoroughfare running from Washington, DC to Brookeville, Maryland and eventually to Baltimore, Maryland.

The second road, Veirs Mill Road (MD Route 586, named after a grist and sawmill built on Rock Creek by Samuel Clark Veirs in 1838), was one portion of a much longer throughfare connecting westwards to Rockville, Maryland and thence towards the Potomac River and subsequently to Virginia via ferry crossings. This was also known as the "City Road" in Rockville, and around the time of the American Civil War it was known also as the "New Cut Road".

The last of these roads was known as Old Bladensburg Road (now MD Route 193, University Boulevard) which, as it does in present day, connected Georgetown, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Bladensburg.

Mitchell's Crossroads

The business district subsequently became known as Mitchell's crossroads in the 1860s referring to Mitchell's Tavern which was located at northeast corner of Union Turnpike (renamed from Brookeville Pike) and Old Bladensburg Road. Mitchell's Tavern was thought to be over 100 years old in 1865 and stood until 1940 when it was destroyed by a fire.

In October 1869, the post office was renamed in honor of General Frank Wheaton by the area's first Postmaster George F. Plyer who served as a Private under Gen. Wheaton in 1861 during the American Civil War. Gen. Wheaton had become a local folk hero when he successfully defended Washington, DC and nearby Fort Stevens from an attack by Confederate General Jubal Early on July 11–12, 1864.

Demographic shifts

In the 1950's the area was devloped with Cape Cod, ranch houses, and split level homes owned by white affluent families. Now more of the aging housing stock is rented by a diverse population. This table shows the subsequent shift in demographics:

Wheaton MD Census data

Year	White	Hispanic	Asian	Black	Multiracial
1990	61%	13%	10%	15%
2000	38%	29%	12%	17%	6%
2010	26%	42%	12%	18%	5%

Between 2000 and 2010, Wheaton's hispanic population has increased 64 percent. In specific Wheaton neighborhoods the change has been larger. For example, in Glenmont Forest, the white population dropped 41% between 2000 and 2010 with its local elementary school having only 4% white student. That school now has two-thirds of its students receiving special English language classes.

Features

Wheaton is home to the Wheaton Regional Park, which includes a nature center; riding stables; dog park; a picnic area with carousel and miniature train; an athletic complex with tennis bubble, ice rink, in-line skating rink, and ball fields; and Brookside Gardens, Montgomery County's award-winning 50-acre (200,000-m²) public display garden. Much of Wheaton was developed in the 1950s. In the 1960s its shopping center, Wheaton Plaza (now known as Westfield Wheaton), was the largest in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. Wheaton is also home to the Wheaton Regional Public Library. The Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad is located in the Central Business District and is one of the busiest (11,000 calls in 2007) predominantly volunteer fire departments in Montgomery County. The diversity of the neighborhood is reflected by the high concentration of various ethnic restaurants located in Wheaton, as well as in the composition of the student body of Wheaton High School (school website), part of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS website) and located near the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Randolph Road.

It is served by the Red Line of the Washington Metro system. Spanning 508 feet (155m), the Wheaton Metro station has the longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere.

Since Wheaton has the highest location in the Washington, DC area, it was also the home of the first television license in the United States. Using the call sign W3XK, Charles Francis Jenkins began broadcasting from his home at the corner of Windham Lane and Georgia Ave. starting on July 2, 1928.

Points of interest

• Brookside Gardens
• The Gilchrest Center for Cultural Diversity - Named after former Montgomery County Executive Charles W. Gilchrist, opened Sept. 8th 2001, it provides services to an increasing immigrant population in Montgomery County.
• Wheaton Regional Park
• Wheaton Youth Center

External links

• Brookside Gardens
• Wheaton Regional Park
• The Gilchrest Center for Cultural Diversity