Lyttonsville

Lyttonsville
Neighborhood
Lyttonsville Location in Maryland
Coordinates: 39°00′05″N 77°03′45″W
Country	United States
State	Maryland
County	Montgomery
Unincorporated community	Silver Spring
ZIP Code	20910
Area codes	301, 240

Lyttonsville is a mostly residential neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland. It is an historically African-American neighborhood located within the Silver Spring CDP, on the border with Chevy Chase. One of the oldest neighborhoods in Montgomery County, it is a notable example of a community created by free African Americans prior to the Civil War.

Location

Lyttonsville is located in Silver Spring. It is bordered by East-West Highway (Maryland Route 410) to the south, beyond which is the neighborhood of Rock Creek Forest and Washington, D.C. further south. Rock Creek Park and Chevy Chase are located to the west, Forest Glen Park is located to the north, while Woodside and Downtown Silver Spring are located to the east.

History

Prior to the establishment of Lyttonsville, the area was home to large plantations growing tobacco. During the early 1800s, there were several tobacco plantations, including Edgewood and the Highlands. The landowners included the prominent Carroll and Brent families.

Lyttonsville is a predominantly residential neighborhood mostly composed of modest single-family homes. Lyttonsville is named after Samuel Lytton, a free African-American man who purchased property in 1853 and established the community of Lyttonsville. Samuel Lytton is often erroneously referred to as a freed slave, but there is no historical evidence that Lytton was ever enslaved. Two churches and a two-room schoolhouse were the heart of the tight-knit community. Lyttonsville is among the first Black communities established in Montgomery County, and descendants of some of the original residents still live in the neighborhood. There was little change or development in the area during the first half of the 21st century. Residents did not have access to running water or paved streets until an effort was made by the Montgomery County government during the late 1960s and early 1970s, following years of lobbying by residents. Racist county policies "enabled poverty to set in and enabled environmental racism to run rampant through the community", according to the chair of the Montgomery County Historic Preservation Commission. By the time that Montgomery County decided to embark on an urban renewal plan in the 1960s, Lyttonsville was "already suffering from substantial disinvestment, environmental pollution issues, and was desperately in need of assistance." Montgomery County urban renewal documents consistently identified Lyttonsville as the area in the county most in need of assistance. Much of Lyttonsville was seized by the Mongtomery County government using eminent domain, replacing the houses that were torn down with an industrial park, a Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission service center, and a Ride On bus depot. Other houses were replaced with apartment complexes. 60% of houses and a church were seized by the county. The seized property was sold to developers.

By 2012, the community had become ethnically and racially diversified. Lyttonsville is now home to residents from around the world, including Africa, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere. The arrival of the Purple Line's Lyttonsville station by 2027 is expected to transform the neighborhood.

Transportation

Lyttonsville is serviced by Metrobus numbers J1 and J2, as well as by Ride On numbers 1, 2, 5, and 11. Washington Metro service is available on the Red Line in nearby Downtown Silver Spring, Forest Glen, and Wheaton. By 2027, Purple Line service will be available at the nearby Lyttonsville, 16th Street–Woodside station, and Silver Spring stations.

See also

• Forest Glen Park, Maryland
• Rock Creek Forest
• Talbot Avenue bridge

External links

• Scarred by urban renewal, Silver Spring’s Lyttonsville neighborhood gets a second chance, Greater Greater Washington