An old road that disappeared from DC is revealed through hidden clues

[mahatmakanejeeves]

I thought this looked familiar. They'd run it before.

An old road that disappeared from DC is revealed through hidden clues

HISTORY By Eric Fidler (Contributor) April 9, 2020

Milkhouse Ford Road was an old country road dating to the 18th century. It connected Broad Branch Road in what is now Chevy Chase to the neighborhoods now known as Brightwood and Fort Totten. Adjacent landowners built the road, which was the only northern crossing of Rock Creek in the early days of the District. American soldiers crossed the road on their way to the Battle of Bladensburg during the War of 1812.

The earliest and most extensive layout of the road’s route appears in the topographical map of the District that German-born cartographer Albert Boschke published 1861.

When neighborhoods went up in Chevy Chase, Brightwood, and Petworth, old and windy roads didn’t fit into DC’s street grid. Slowly over time, property developers turned stretches of the road into residential lots. You can see the road’s path, along with its slow demise, on various historical maps of the city.

By overlaying the Boschke map over maps from both the 20th century and today, we can trace the path of the road with a few adjustments to account for the inevitable inaccuracies of his 19th century mapmaking.

nd really, you don’t even have to look at old maps to find the road. A pair of hiking boots and an observant eye will reveal the road to anyone curious to find it. Here are some of the sites and anomalies that show us the path of the long-gone road.

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This article was first published on January, 8 2015. It’s interesting to look back at the region’s history, so we are sharing it again.

[mia]

1. Fording the creek

I grew up in this area and have fond memories of my father driving across the creek. We never tried this at night, although othes did.