The Takoma Springs

The neighborhood in which Takoma Village is located straddles the DC and MD line. It was developed by B. F. Gilbert in the 1880s as a suburb of Washington DC. Typical of the other developments of the period, he chose the site of springs that had been well-known to American Indians and many Indian relics have been found around the springs.

Even before Gilbert bought land, the area was the site of stately homes wealthy area residents. The high water table, active springs, and fresh country air were a retreat from the city, and Gilbert capitalized on this to build a suburban neighborhood around the railroad station.

There were several fresh water springs in Gilbert’s land. He sold two to the Takoma Park Springs Company that bottled and sold the water as far away as New York.

Little Spring was close to the old Takoma Park railroad station on the northwestern side of the tracks, near Spring Place off Chestnut Street in the District. Gilbert built a park with tall tulip poplar trees around the spring. The park was destroyed when the Metro tracks were laid in the 1970′s. No one has been able to locate the spring.

The Takoma, or Big Spring, was in the rocks at the bottom of a hill at the corner of Poplar and Elm Avenues on the Maryland side. Gilbert also built a park to preserve and beautify this spring and put a bandstand over the bottling plant. When Gilbert tried to sell this plant the residents objected and eventually won rights to keep the spring and the city of Takoma Park bought the land.

Other springs included Foster’s Spring, close to the corner of Fifth and Aspen Streets, just a block from Takoma Village.