Bethesda: A Social History by Jean B. Lee

Excellent sheets.

The subject of this massive (8.5 x 11 inch, 784-page) volume is somewhat larger than its title suggests. It actually covers most of Washington’s Maryland suburbs north of the District of Columbia, east of the Potomac River, south of the Beltway, and west of Rock Creek Park. Naturally, the coverage of these communities varies according to their size, their history, and the quantity of their records. And it is not exclusively a social history, as it also deals with transportation, politics and economic developments.

Author William Offutt, scion of an old Maryland family and a former teacher of History, English, and Geography in a historic local school, takes his readers from prehistoric times up to 1945. A brief overview of the volume indicates the topics and the attention Offutt gives them: Prehistory to 1860 (28 pages), Civil War (38 pages), suburban growth, circa 1867-1920s, (72 pages), growth of individual communities, circa 1870s-late 1930s (280 pages), pre-World War II Boom (75 pages), World War II (303 pages).

In his account, Offutt treats a wide range of subjects: development of particular neighborhoods, improvements in transportation (the C&O Canal, the B&O Railroad, various street car lines), local clubs and other organizations, the Chautauqua movement, schools, churches, stores and businesses, amusement parks, government agencies, prominent (and not-so-prominent) families and persons, and society (including high school fraternities and sororities). He does not mention Nancy Reagan as a resident of Battery Park (at what is now 7818 Glenbrook Road); but the future First Lady lived in the area only briefly, and attended school in the District of Columbia. Offutt gives extensive attention to the World War II years and their impact of local communities (rationing, air raid drills, blackouts, wartime industries, etc.) He describes some of the more unfortunate aspects of local history, such as slavery, segregation, and restrictive covenants, but does not discuss their consequences. (Although the Supreme Court had struck restrictive covenants down in 1948, as late as 1960, several Bethesda area communities continued to insist that home buyers sign them, pledging not to sell or rent houses to African Americans, or Jews–or Armenians, Persians, or Syrians.)

The book’s 11 appendices occupy 43 pages and include (1) addresses and construction dates of Bethesda homes constructed before World War II; (2) lists of newspaper articles about Bethesda’s history and its notable women; (3) a list of families living in Bethesda in 1915; and (4) a list of Bethesda area men who died in military service during World War II. The volume is illustrated with many photographs and maps. Unfortunately, some of these were generated from digital images that suffer from the effects of compression.

Offutt quotes extensively from the interviews he conducted. Some readers may not be interested in all the details he provides (e.g., the names of cows treated by an early 20th-century veterinarian, or the name of the person who donated prizes for the recreation center’s ping pong tourney), others, however, will appreciate such details. I have read Bethesda from cover to cover. But, since this book is encyclopedic in scope, I suspect that many will read only those sections relating to specific communities, periods, or organizations. Such readers will naturally have recourse to the volume’s index. The 17-page index is very useful; but it is incomplete–some material is not indexed.

As indicated, this book is intended as a history of Bethesda and its environs. But it will also be of interest to persons studying such general subjects as the Civil War, the growth of suburbs, the influence of street cars and automobiles, political reform movements, and the effect of the Second World War on American civilians. Offutt has written other books–closely related to Bethesda is his another of his books, Seth: a novel in four parts, about three generations of a Montgomery County family who lived in this area from the 1860s through the 1950s.

For Offutt, this book was evidently a labor of love. In his research, he clearly immersed himself in local newspapers, relevant monographs, local town records, community and organizational publications, Federal, state, and county records, and the holdings of the Montgomery County Historical Society, the Rockville Public Library, the National Archives, and other repositories. In addition to these sources, he interviewed 170 persons, and he lists another 56 individuals who assisted in various ways. Offutt has done well in weaving the information from these disparate sources into a fairly cohesive narrative. And his contributions do not end there. Commercial presses would be unlikely to publish a book like this (expensive to produce and difficult to market). Instead, this volume was published by The Innovation Game–apparently Offutt’s own operation, since it shares his mailing address. That would mean that he himself not only researched and wrote the book, but also undertook or arranged for designing, typesetting, indexing and producing it. So, in every sense, this book is very much the product of one man. He has done a great service for those interested in the history of the Bethesda area.

Fascinating to read about the history of the area.