Lyttonsville
Lyttonsville | |
|---|---|
Neighborhood | |
  Lyttonsville Location in Maryland | |
| Coordinates: 39°00′05″N 77°03′45″W / 39.0015146°N 77.0626211°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. Established in the 1850s, it is among the oldest neighborhoods in Montgomery County and is a notable example of a community created by free African Americans before the Civil War. Today, Lyttonsville is a 68-acre[1], predominantly residential neighborhood mostly composed of modest single-family homes.
Location
Located in the Silver Spring CDP, Lyttonsville is bordered by East-West Highway (Maryland Route 410) to the south, beyond which is the neighborhood of Rock Creek Forest and, further south, Washington, D.C. Rock Creek Park and Chevy Chase are located to the west, Forest Glen Park to the north, and Woodside and Downtown Silver Spring to the east.
History
Before the establishment of Lyttonsville, the area was home to large tobacco plantations, including Edgewood and the Highlands. The landowners included the prominent Carroll and Brent families.[2]
In 1853, Samuel Lytton, a free African-American man, purchased property and established the community of Lyttonsville, one of the first Black communities in Montgomery County. Lytton is often erroneously referred to as a freed slave, but there is no historical evidence that he was ever enslaved.[1] Two churches and a two-room schoolhouse were long the heart of the tight-knit community. In the 1870s, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad built the Metropolitan Branch line past, or perhaps through, the neighborhood. A bridge over the tracks eventually at Talbot Avenue eventually connect the area to Silver Spring.[3]
There was little change or development in the area during the first half of the 20th century. In 1918, the bridge over the railroad was replaced with the one-lane metal Talbot Street bridge.[3] The neighborhood lacked running water and paved streets until the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the Montgomery County government acted after 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 the County embarked 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 most in need of assistance. The county seized much of Lyttonsville, including 60% of the residential area and one church, using eminent domain. The land was sold to developers, who built apartment complexes, an industrial park, a Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission service center, and a Ride On bus depot.[1]
By 2012, the community had become ethnically and racially diversified. Although descendants of some of the original residents still live in the neighborhood, 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.[4]
Transportation
Lyttonsville is served 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
References
- ^ a b c "Lyttonsville, one of Montgomery's oldest neighborhoods, braces for change". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
- ^ "History of Greater Lyttonsville" (PDF). mcatlas.org. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
- ^ a b "Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties Form / Inventory No. M: 36-30" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. April 3, 2001. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- ^ "Neighborhood profile: Lyttonsville". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
External links
- Scarred by urban renewal, Silver Spring’s Lyttonsville neighborhood gets a second chance, Greater Greater Washington