Town 1924 minute book

Nothing needs to be said about the weather this Berwyn Heights Day, except it was ill suited for the occasion. Regardless, an intrepid crew of Historical Committee members set up a tent and exhibits and chatted with residents who came out to celebrate.

The highlight was a tour of the Berwyn Heights museum. A half dozen participants crowded into the small room to listen to a presentation by Kerstin Harper on the museum’s holdings. Committee member Sharmila Bhatia pointed out that a significant number of the artifacts were donated by the Lofgren family. The latest addition were a recently-mounted set of long-handled tools. The tools were once used by the Berwyn Heights Association to erect poles for street lights after Pepco got around to bringing electricity into the community in 1921. Other artifacts from the Taylor Lofgren house include a wooden Waugh Avenue street sign (which served as a stopper board in a wood stack before it was rescued), and a 1910 United Realty map of the Berwyn Heights subdivision showing the original street names.

Ms. Harper said the extent of the BHHC collection is not obvious from the artifacts displayed in the museum, as it comprises many documents, photos, maps and books stored in a cabinet, or in electronic format. A series of minute books from the Town’s early years were found stashed away in a Town safe a couple of years ago. The BHHC scanned them and will make the electronic copies available to anyone interested in reading them.

1903 photo of St. Ann’s published in the Washington Times

This year’s exhibit featured the Edward Graves’ mansion (see puzzle ‘varges snowmain’ in April Bulletin), better known as St. Ann’s orphanage. The mansion was raised in 1958 to make way for Berwyn Heights Elementary School. Next to James Waugh, Graves (1845-1910) was the founder of the Charlton Heights suburb, who most influenced its development. He had the land subdivided in 1887, served as treasurer of the Charlton Heights Improvement Company (CHIC) – the real estate company for the development – and bought back half of the land when CHIC went out of business in 1892. Unlike for Waugh, for Graves Charlton Heights was not the main source of income. He was co-owner with his uncle Benjamin Charlton of the prosperous Havenner Bakery in north-west D.C. He and his wife Katherine kept selling lots and leasing homes in the development until around 1907.