Berwyn Heights Association

Elwood J. Taylor built this house in 1909. An electrician for the C&P Telephone Company and a one-time president of the Berwyn Heights Association, Taylor was part of a generation of D.C. professionals who settled in Berwyn Heights in the 1910s after streetcar service began to reach the town. Residents founded the Berwyn Heights Association on January 28, 1915 to maintain walks and streets and make other useful improvements. Its first meeting was held at the home of Fred H. Benson, who served as president until 1921. The association acted as a forerunner of today's town government, providing essential public services with money raised through public entertainments, especially a two-week summer carnival that attracted hundreds of visitors. By 1923, the association determined that taxing powers were needed to sustain the community and petitioned the Maryland legislature to re-charter the town. A new charter took effect on April 9, 1924, and the first board of commissioners was elected that May.

Berwyn Heights, Maryland · United States