Kentlands: the land, its early families and return of later generations

My Chapter from, "The Kentlands: A Home for All Seasons", by Judy Gross, May 2012

Kentlands: the land, its early families and return of later generations - pages 13 through 19

By Walter J. (Clagett)-Wolfe

Context:

Juliana “Julie” Walker MacDowell, (grandaughter of Otis Beall Kent) was a close friend of my brother, David Wolfe, and in fact, she likend their 20+ year acquaintance as mentoring friendship. Also relevant is that Juliana also wrote a chapter for this book regarding her experiences growing up with her younger brother on her grandparents Kentlands farm. Finally, at David’s memorial last January, Julie talked about Judy Gross’s writing a book about the Kentlands and that she knew nothing about the history of the land and its inhabitants. Julie asked if I would be willing to contact Judy Gross and offer to write the historical chapter for this anthology.   

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"I was asked by the author of this book to provide a history of the families - including my maternal Clagett ancestors - and their land, much of which comprises the Kentlands' village today. Therefore, to begin, I will reach back about 300 years in order to make what I believe to be important connections leading up to the inaugural construction of Kentlands.

First Residents

Before Joseph West received a colonial land grant in 1732¹, the land comprising "The Kentlands" was traversed by the Nacotchtank, a Native American people living along the shores of the upper Potomac River in the vicinity of what is now Washington, DC, Georgetown and points north². Nearby a few small villages of the Piscataway, members of the Algonquian people were scattered across the southern portions of the county. North of the Great Falls of the Potomac, there were few permanent settlements, and the Piscataway shared hunting camps and foot paths with members of rival peoples like the Susquehannocks and the Senecas³. One heavily used pre-colonial Native American trail stretched from the shores of the upper Potomac starting from where present-day Georgetown is located and went north through what today is Montgomery County (established 1776) ending in Northern Frederick County (split off from Prince Georges County in 1745). That trail is now Route 355 which we know by numerous sectional names such as Wisconsin Avenue, Georgetown Road, Rockville Pike, Frederick Road, etc.

Joseph West Sells Land to Revolutionary War Patriot, Henry Clagett

With respect to the Tschiffely-Kent estate, much of the land now comprising "The Kentlands" was purchased over a period of time by my great, great, great, great grandfather, Revolutionary War patriot, Henry Clagett - born in 1728. Henry enrolled into a company of Montgomery County known as the "Flying Camp" commencing September 19, 1776⁴ and died from an unknown disease while in military service in 1777.  Clagett’s Last Will andTestament⁵ was witnessed on July 13, 1777, and was probated on February 2, 1778, in Montgomery County.  His bequests to his children included his sons, Joseph and Zechariah Clagett, the various land holdings known as "Magruder's Chance", "Quince Orchard", Addison,” and “Clagett’s Folly."

Clagett Farm Sold to Frederick Tschiffely, 1852 

It appears that Joseph lived on his inherited land successfully farming various crops. Joseph Clagett, my great, great, grandfather (1758-1829) who served as a corporal in the War of 1812, continued expansion of his inherited farm through purchases of land parcels surrounding his property amassing about 1,000 acres by the time of his death in 1828. Joseph's last Will and Testament of 1 June 1827, divided his estate amongst his wife and their four surviving children including some property bequests to his son, Asa - my great, grandfather ⁶. Asa Clagett's older sister, Elizabeth Clagett-Jones, sold her inherited farm property, and she and her husband, Joseph Hawkins Jones, the "Joseph Clagett" properties sold to Frederick A. Tschiffely, Sr. from Washington, D.C. May 1852, for the sum of $1,340.00. The property also included some of the Joseph Clagett tracts of land called "Joseph," "The Fountains, "Quince Orchard Pruned, "Arpos, and "William and John."⁷ As will be recalled from above writings, the 300 acre land grant tract, "The Joseph" was initially granted to Joseph West on 1 July 1723, which ran west of Muddy Branch Road, and also the Road 5 to Rockville (most likely Route 28) to Darnstown which passed through the center of the tract. This was the property that Revolutionary War soldier, Henry Clagett, purchased, inaugurating the growth of the Clagett estate. However, according to the 1865 Hopkins Atlas ⁸, the Joseph Clagett estate had been divided amongst his heirs in small, unconnected parcels throughout the greater Darnstown area ⁹

Tschiffely Family Farm Land Additions

Returning back to Frederick A. Tschiffely, Sr, it is noted from the Architectural Survey and Historical Review of the Tschiffely-Kent Farm located in the Kentlands (performed by the URS Corporation for the City of Gaithersburg, November, 2011) that he was employed as a land development office draftsman for the District of Columbia Land Office during the nineteenth century.¹⁰ After his 1852 purchase of a portion of the Joseph Clagett estate, Mr. Tschiffely, like my ancestors, grew his farm through various land purchases that surrounded his estate over the years. Upon the death of Frederick A. Tschiffely, Sr. (1814-1892), his son, Frederick A. Tschiffely, Jr. (1851-1931) inherited 159 acres of his father's farm. Frederick Jr. was a successful pharmacist, owning the Tschiffely Apothecary located at 475 Pennsylvania Avenue (still in business today, the oldest drug store in Washington, D.C.). As my Clagett ancestors and his father did, Frederick, Jr. significantly increased the size of the farm over a period of three decades.

Beginning in 1900, he built the present-day Tschiffely-Kent Mansion spending $10,000 - a small fortune then - completion was in 1903¹¹. Unfortunately, Jr. replaced his father's antebellum "Italian style" mansion to build his own grander mansion. Numerous out-buildings - all made from brick- included a barn and a two story carriage - house was added to the estate¹² By 1917 the "Gentleman's" farm included 648.8 acres.

An alternative name for the Tschiffely Estate was "The Bricks," since all the buildings were constructed from bricks. The original Clagett farm which became the Tschiffely Estate or "Wheatlands" was sold by the heirs of Frederick A. Tschiffely, Jr., to Otis Beall Kent in 1942. Mr. Kent, a successful D.C. lawyer, during the time of his ownership of the property, further enhanced the existing mansion and out buildings. He added more brick structures, such as a guest house, and bought additional farm land surrounding his estate. At one point the estate had grown to 1, 000 acres. Moreover, being a conservationist, Otis Beall Kent established a large scale working farm and agricultural school.

Another sizable, conservationist related addition to his estate, which he called "Kentlands," was the construction of several huge lakes called Inspiration Lake and Lake Helene. In concert with Kent's conservationism and generosity, in the 1960's, he donated part of his estate to the Izaak Walton League for their corporate headquarters, and to the National Geographic Society with the condition that they both maintain some of the lands as a wildlife sanctuary.

The Quarry

Another fact of interest to me was that Tschiffely Jr. permitted the State/County to run a quarry on his property to provide crushed stones for the first road system built in Montgomery County, during the first decades of the 20th century. Since my grandfather, Charles Ambrose Clagett, was a county roads crew foreman at the time, I can easily speculate that he very likely used some of the stone from the Tschiffely property. Here is yet again a possible involvement of a direct descendent of Henry Clagett connected to the land once farmed by my grandfather's Charles Clagett's ancestors, now comprising much of the Kentlands Community.

5^th Generation Clagett Oversees Mansion Restoration

Coincidently, my late Uncle Joseph Leo Clagett (Charles A. Clagett, son) was hired by Otis Beall Kent as the foreman of a four carpenter crew (his crew included Leo Clagett, Charles Carroll "Bill" Clagett, Walter Myers, Norman Tuohey and Edding Harding) to make the first restoration and  additions to the Tschiffely mansion. Their work began soon after Mr. Kent purchased the property in 1942 from the heirs of Frederick A Tschiffely, Jr.,'s crew completed the job in about eighteen months which was during the height of World War II. His daughter (my 1^st cousin – Mary Louise Clagett-Thrift) recalls that during her father's work for Otis Kent, she would be picked-up from Immaculate Catholic Girls High School in Washington, D.C. by her mother, Mary Henderson-Clagett, drive over to Otis Kent's apartment on 16^th Street, collect the payroll and drive to the Mansion to distribute the weekly pay to her father and his crew ¹³.

The Kentlands Village Vision

The modern history of Kentlands begins with the 1988 sale of 352 acres of the old Kentlands Farm from The Kentlands Foundation, Inc. and Helen Danger Kent to the Great Seneca Limited Partnership, a division of Joseph Alfandre & Company.¹⁴- Alfandre became increasingly captivated by the beauty and order of the rather formal old Kentlands farm complex and his own sense of what could be accomplished began to evolve. Perhaps, he thought, the farm complex buildings could become the heart of a neighborhood reminiscent of old-time country villages." However, his vision did not fit into the county's zoning regulations.

My older brother, David B. (Clagett) Wolfe (1933-2011) who was president and founder of Community Management Corp., based in Reston, Virginia, was introduced by my older brother, Charles R. AKA Rick (Clagett) Wolfe to Joseph Alfandre in 1988 (Rick knew Joseph Alfandre's father). David Wolfe added his expertise about Traditional Neighborhood Design planning techniques with Alfandre (also known as Neotraditional new town planning) that are now generally referred to under the rubric of the New Urbanism. The New Urbanism is the concept of building a walkable, mixed-use city neighborhood or new town, from the onset, in order to provide an attractive alternative to the automobile dominated urban sprawl.

Alfandre sought the services of land planners, Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, best known for their recently completed project at Seaside on the Florida panhandle, a Neotraditional resort village. According to my brother, Rick, David assisted Alfandre to bring the Duany/ Plater-Zyberk (DPZ) team to Maryland and to incorporate New Urbanism concepts into the final Kentlands community strategic planning process. After trips with Duany to a number of U.S. and European traditional towns, Alfandre became convinced that a Neotraditional town could work at the Kentlands. He hired Duany's firm, DPZ, to create a vision, the Kentlands Vision, of a new-old community - Neotraditional neighborhood -- at Kentlands¹⁵." After David Wolfe's input, Alfandre and DPZ negotiated with Montgomery County, Park & Planning and the City of Gaithersburg governments to create a totally new zoning category known as the "Village Cluster Plan." By the way, this was the fourth time a direct descendent of Henry Clagett (1728-1777) was associated with the future of the former Clagett farm that morphed into the Kentlands community.

In the new zoning process, Alfandre's development company donated the mansion, the surrounding ten acres, and all of the out buildings to the City of Gaithersburg. And to its credit, the City of Gaithersburg has invested funds over the past two decades for improvements to the mansion, land maintenance, and the surrounding out buildings

The Kentlands Charrette

I recall attending with my wife, one Sunday afternoon in June of 1988, the weeklong planning Charrette at the old Kentlands Barn. My brothers David and Rick, with his wife Rosemary, my 84 year old mother, Rose Clagett-Wolfe were all there that Sunday afternoon. Being a history minded person, I was fascinated by the mansion and the surrounding early 20^th century farming structures. Just a few years later, I had the pleasure of attending a wedding reception in the grand old mansion. In attendance that Sunday afternoon for the Charrette, was Joseph Alfandre, Gaithersburg city officials, and scores of town planners and other professionals, and the interested public, Duany and his wife and business partner Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk (DPZ). The copy approvals were quick to follow and Alfandre formalized the community in December of 1988 by creating the "Kentlands Citizens Assembly." At that time, Joe appointed five developer builders as its offices and trustees. DPZ maintained a presence in a converted farm building as the Kentlands 'Community Architect' to oversee the development. A formal groundbreaking ceremony was held in October 1 989, and the new Kentlands Neotraditional neighborhood was on its way.

Two Very Special Street Signs in the Kentlands Community

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The above two street sign photos were added after the publishing of the book and inserted in this chapter on June 19, 2012 by Walter Wolfe

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Tribute to David Wolfe (Joe Alfandre letter to Juliana MacDowell)

… “I do remember David's fondness for you. He was like that to all taken under his wing, including me. David was a prophet and seer in the Kentlands Orbit, and as important as Andres and Lizz to its birth. He envisioned the Duany plan before it was drafted and was spiritual guide to us. David previewed pinup sessions with me throughout the Charrette and during these private times together we crafted a program for the original Kentlands Foundation. Because the Kentlands plan remembered patterns of small town America, inventing nothing new, it was disarmingly simple. A patient elder, David spent a great deal that week in June explaining the obvious, quick with his smokey laugh, and calming fears during lonely struggles with creative endeavor. It turned out he was right about everything long before the greater community acquiesced and with provincial smugness claimed it for themselves. Truth abides well with humility, and he seemed to take his anonymity in stride. It excited David to be involved in the Kentlands commitment to building a better place to live for two and now three demographic cohort. He paid a great compliment having confidence that I would follow through. His initials are as indelibly etched on the Kentlands plans as are mine, Andres', and Ed's... I hope this gives you some insight into David Wolfe’s contributions to the birth of Kentlands. ..To do him real justice would take pages and pages, as will the rest of the story of Kentlands .... Someday I will make the effort to tell it all..."

Footnotes

1. The Full Text of the "History of Montgomery County, Maryland", from its earliest settlement in 1650 to 1879, page 43

2. “Native Languages of the Americans” of the Americans": http://www.native-languages.org/maryland.htm

3. Wikipedia, Montgomery County, Maryland

4. “During the American Revolution 1774-1783," page 647 & Archives of MD., Vol.XII pages 352, see page 74

5. Montgomery County Record of Wills, Henry Clagett, Library A folio 22, 1777-1953

6. Ancestry.com, Wolfe-Clagett Family Montgomery County land Records or Wills, Joseph Clagett, library A folio 22, 1777-1953

7. Montgomery County Land Records, Elizabeth Clagett-Jones Deed Transfer to F.A. Tschiffely, Library JGH 1, Folio 291

8. Refer to the two Darnstown District maps at the end of this chapter.

9. Hopkins Atlas 1865-map of Greater Darnstown area, survey No. MC 21/6

10.Archives of the State of Maryland, (Biographical Series)

11.Maryland Historical Trust State Historical Sites Inventory Form: Wheatlands, F.A. Tschiffely Farm Application by Joseph Alfandre and Company

13. Montgomery County Sentinel

14. URS Corporation 12420 Millstone Center Drive, Germantown, MD for the City of Gaithersburg Dept. of Planning & Code Administration November 2011

15. Interview with my cousin, Mary Louise Clagett-Thrift on 1 4 January, 2012     

 Hopkins 1865 map of Darnstown district maps (1)"
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Addendum 03/24/2013:

Passage from the Chapter: Architect And Town Planner of Kentlands, By Andres Duany

 After the permits were secured and construction began, sales were brisk and everything looked really great. Then something awful and completely unexpected happened. Out of the blue, a Canadian "raider" (that was the term at the time for a "venture capitalist") by the name of Robert Campeau, won control of most of America's store chains and brought them close to bankruptcy. Kentlands' mall developer, Mel Simon determined that he could not have the anchor stores needed for his mall in good time and decided to default on his contract with Joe. He left his million dollar deposit which Joe used to court other mall developers. The economic problems were not immediate and in the year following, Joe and I continued our attempts to entice other retail developers. But as long as the anchor stores remained unavailable, developers knew there was nothing to be done. Many remarkable designs for the shopping mall still exist in our archives.

 

From that point on, the Kentlands business plan simply did not work, the debt was too high, regardless of the fact that the residential units kept selling well right through the recession of the early 1990s. Predictably, the world of conventional planning and development gleefully presented the debacle as evidence that New Urbanism as a whole did not work. But the fact is that it was the conventional suburban part of the plan - the shopping mall portion - that remained the vulnerable one.

 

Joe Alfandre never missed a loan payment, but he knew that without the mall, the business plan did not work, so he handed Kentlands over to his lender, Chevy Chase Bank. The bank trusted him to keep going and, so, for quite some time, Joe remained in charge of the development. He was at the time to able to imprint the indelible architectural quality which marks Kentlands and he assured the elementary school and the clubhouse.

 Eventually, Great Seneca Development Corporation (GSDC), an affiliate of Chevy Chase Bank, under the direction of Jeff Campbell, took over to build out the rest. For the design of the shopping center, on the old mall area, we were consulted and we tried to make it as good as possible - but with a conventional retail developer and their uninspired architects, there was only so much we could do. The most interesting aspect of the shopping plan is that the parking lots were designed as future city blocks, ready to be redeveloped into a true town center. That transformation has already begun, and I am quite hopeful that is will accelerate when rail transit arrives. Kentlands' downtown, like all true urbanism is conceived successionally.

 At this point David Wolfe enters the picture again. Remember, he had introduced us to Joe. He had done so because he was an expert on seniors, and he knew that walkable communities were ideal for the old folks who could no longer enjoy driving around for their ordinary daily needs. But David, in a prior life had been an expert on homeowner's associations. He claimed that no lawsuit had ever occurred in one of his associations because his HOAs were truly democratic, giving residents internal avenues of appeal, well short of formal legal action. Joe listened...and the association documents for Kentlands were written to assure an unusual amount of power to the homeowners. These usually-overlooked associations are very important. I think of such documents as the software that runs the hardware of community design that we provide. After Joe left, GSDC brought in production homebuilders, who might have diminished design standards, Kentlands' highly empowered citizens prevented it. From beginning to end, the extraordinary vision and quality of the Kentlands was thus maintained. In my mind, here was some good luck to temper the misfortunes of the dead Oak Tree and the inept Canadian Raider