LATE 19th AND EARLY 20th CENTURIES
The Conclusion of the Josiah Henson Story
The Historic Structure Report continues the story of Josiah Henson when he returned to the Luxmanor area in 1877, and the fate of the Riley property as the 19th century closed:
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In the winter of 1877, Henson explained nostalgically “a strange, inexpressible longing came over me to see again the home of my boyhood ... So, on the 24th of December, 1877, we started for the South.” After a visit to the White House with President and Mrs. Hayes, Henson:
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... went to my old home. Fifty years, lacking only a few months, had passed since I last saw the old place. Fifty long years! since the day when I left the master’s house to return to my family in Kentucky, walking with a swinging step and a jubilant heart, because my great object in life was gained (as I thought in my credulity), my freedom papers being safely stowed away in my bag ... I did almost unconsciously expect to see the old place somewhat as I had left it. Notwithstanding all I had heard of the great alterations which had taken place, since coming South, I still pictured to myself the great fertile plantation,with its throngs of busy labourers sowing the seed, tilling the ground, and reaping the valuable harvests as of yore. I saw the “great house,” well furnished and sheltering a happy, luxurious, and idle family; I saw the outdoor kitchen, where the coloured cook and her young maids prepared and carried the dinners into the house; I saw the barns and storehouses bursting with plenty; the great cellars filled with casks of cider, apple-brandy, and fruit; and plainer than all I saw the little village of huts called the niggers’ quarters, which used to be so full of life, and alas! so full of sorrow ... when we drove at last up the grass-grown road to the house, I saw it standing there all alone, without a single barn or stable or shed to bear it company, and it was in such a dilapidated condition that the windows rattled and the very door sprang ajar as we drove up and stopped before it ....
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On this, his final visit to Maryland, Henson’s mother was ever on his mind. “Then I spoke of the last thing which was on my mind, the desire to visit my mother’s grave.” Riley’s widow [Matilda] said
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... she knew where it was well, and directed her son-in-law to conduct me there. So we went out, and bent our steps toward a little collection of mounds, slightly raised above the surrounding level, but enough to show that they were the final resting-place of many who had passed away from this life and its sorrows. And there, a little removed from the others, was that of my poor, dear old slave-mother; of her who had first pointed me heaven-wards; whose early prayers were my salvation. I bowed myself to the ground, and hid my face in the grass that grows thickly over that beloved form. I wept, and prayed, and made new resolutions that in the days which may yet be before me, I may so live as to honour the memory of her who bore me ....
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* * * When Matilda died, June 26, 1890, the property passed to her daughter Frances [Fannie] Ruben Riley Mace. The Riley house and surrounding property remained in the family for three quarters of a century after Isaac Riley’s death. In a pair of oral history interviews, Frances Mace Hansbrough, granddaughter of Francis Ruben Riley Mace, recalled visiting the property as a child, during the 1910s and 1920s. Although the property was still owned by descendants of Isaac Riley, the house was rented out during this time. While residing in Georgetown, Mrs. Hansbrough would travel with her family on weekends to Montgomery County in order to visit the family’s “home-place.” Her father, Samuel Viers Mace, continued to maintain a garden on the property .... [HSR]
Development as the Century Turned
After 1890, street cars made the land around Rockville Pike accessible, and in the early 20th century, the North Bethesda area was on a trolley line that connected Georgetown and Rockville. The route ran along what is now Fleming Avenue, which is east of Wildwood Shopping Center off current Grosvenor Lane. [PD] Today, a hiker-biker trail runs along a portion of the old trolley route. [P]
Historically, prominent Washington families, especially publishers, had established country estates in lower Montgomery County – for example, estates were founded in Silver Spring by the Washington Globe’s Blair family (in the 1840s) and the Washington Star’s Crosby Noyes (in 1882). By the turn of the century, Rockville Pike land was considered a choice location. This was reinforced by the arrival of the automobile, and the Pike was in good condition for automobile travel by the 1920s. [PD] A line of estates and country clubs stretched from Bethesda up Rockville Pike. Most of the grand houses along the Pike reflected the colonial history of the country and were designed in a corresponding Georgian Revival style. [NIH]
One of the first prominent estates in North Bethesda was that of the Grosvenor family, “Wild Acres,” which was founded at 5400 Grosvenor Lane in 1912, originally consisting of about 105 acres. Gilbert Grosvenor was born in Turkey, graduated from Amherst College in 1897, and taught briefly at a private school. He met and became engaged to Elsie May Bell, the daughter of Alexander Graham Bell who, in addition to being the inventor of the telephone, was president of the National Geographic Society. On the elder Bell’s recommendation, Grosvenor became associate editor of the National Geographic Magazine, and later was the editor from 1903 to 1954. Under his supervision, circulation grew from 1,000 to over 2 million. He is considered the father of photojournalism and his influence also extended to expansion of the national park system. Gilbert and Elsie Grosvenor were related to or acquainted with many of the leading men and women of their day. Gilbert Grosvenor died in 1966 and Elsie died in 1968. [PD]
Grosvenor’s mansion is considered a fine example of pre-Depression architecture. The residence was designed by Arthur Heaton, who was also the supervising architect for the National Cathedral. [PD]
Other prominent publishers also came to the area. Following Grosvenor’s 1912 purchase, John F. Wilkins of the Washington Post built a house in the area. Grosvenor’s estate was bordered by Pooks Hill, which was the estate of Merle Thorpe, editor and publisher of Business Week. Grosvenor’s colleague John Joy Edson, treasurer of National Geographic, built Timberlawn on Sugarbush Lane. [PD]
In addition, Captain James Frederick Oyster and Charles I. Corby, who developed methods that revolutionized the baking industry, lived in the area. Development in the early 20th century continued around train and trolley stops. However, the area remained sparsely populated through the 1920s. [W]
Rockville Pike, 1924
The 1894 map below shows evidence of continued development in the areas surrounding Luxmanor. However, the immediate Luxmanor area remains farmland. The Riley house has now disappeared from the map. The unnamed road south of Montrose Road that runs from west to east appears to be a county road that later became Tuckerman Lane. South of this road, also running from west to east, is the “Orndorff Mill Road.” At the intersection of this road with Old Georgetown Road can be seen the Mount Zion Baptist Church in the location it still occupies today. Orndorff Mill Road is the predecessor to Democracy Boulevard. Cabin John Road, running north to south on the left of the map, is today’s Seven Locks Road. [HM]
In 1919, Georgetown Preparatory School moved to its current location on 92 acres in North Bethesda. The first classes were held that year. [GP]
Georgetown Preparatory School on Rockville Pike (Library of Congress, 1950)
Also in 1919, the defining property of the Luxmanor area, the Riley house, was described in a newspaper article as --
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A quaint home, with mossy shingles, log kitchen, rough, stout chimneys and a very old-fashioned air ... It sits far back from the west side of the road. Around it cling vines and above it tall walnut trees spread their strong and crooked arms. Late roses were blooming in the garden ... In the garden of the old house is a spring, whose sweet water is famous over a wide range of country. [WS2]
The property was reportedly identified as the “Mace Place” for many years because of its association with the Riley-Maces. The great-grandson of Isaac Riley, Charlie Mace was a veterinarian and the primary resident of the house during in 1910s. In addition to Charlie Mace, the Bracket family also lived in the house in 1919. [HSR]
A look at the area at this time can be seen below in a map from 1916. Luxmanor is a series of farms west of Old Georgetown Road stretching from Montrose Road in the north (which is just above the boundary of this map) to “County Road” (now Tuckerman Lane) in the south, and then continuing south with additional farms (some of which are owned by Floyd Davis) to Orndorff Mill Road (now Democracy Boulevard). [RA]
