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Francis Griffith Newlands Memorial Fountain

Coordinates: 38°58′3.4″N 77°4′37.74″W / 38.967611°N 77.0771500°W / 38.967611; -77.0771500
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Francis Griffith Newlands Memorial Fountain
Francis Griffith Newlands Memorial Fountain is located in District of Columbia
Francis Griffith Newlands Memorial Fountain
LocationChevy Chase Circle, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
Coordinates38°58′3.4″N 77°4′37.74″W / 38.967611°N 77.0771500°W / 38.967611; -77.0771500
Built1938
ArchitectEdward Wilton Donn
NRHP reference No.07001058 [1][2]
Added to NRHPOctober 12, 2007[3]

Francis Griffith Newlands Memorial Fountain is a historic fountain located in Chevy Chase Circle, on the border between the Chevy Chase neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C., and Chevy Chase Village, Maryland. Named for Francis G. Newlands, the fountain was erected in 1938. Today, it is controlled and operated by the National Park Service as part of nearby Rock Creek Park.

Namesake

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The fountain honors Newlands, a U.S. senator and land developer. In the late 1880s, he and his business partners purchased more 1,700 acres (690 ha) of land along present-day Connecticut Avenue, which his Chevy Chase Land Company used to develop whites-only neighborhoods on the D.C.-Maryland border that Newlands named "Chevy Chase" to honor his Scottish ancestral homeland.[4] In 1902, Newland sponsored the Newlands Reclamation Act, which allowed the federal government to begin irrigation of the West. He was an outspoken white supremacist, antisemite, and segregationist who advocated the repeal of the 15th Amendment to deprive African-Americans of the right to vote.[5]

History

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The fountain was designed by Edward W. Donn Jr. in 1933, 16 years after Newlands' death, and erected in 1938. The project was funded by Newlands' widow, who spent $12,000 (about $270,000 today) on it.[6]

The fountain, a 60-foot circle made of sandstone and concrete, sits in the center of Chevy Chase Circle. It throws a two-inch jet of water 30 feet in the air.[6]

In 1990, the Land Company refurbished the fountain to recognize the 100th anniversary of the founding of Chevy Chase. The fountain was rededicated and recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.[7]

Proposed renaming

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In December 2014, the Chevy Chase Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) considered a proposal to rename the fountain due to Newlands' white supremacist views. On December 8, the Historic Chevy Chase DC Board voted to support changing the name to Chevy Chase Fountain; a report chronicled the debate.[8] The descendants of Newlands opposed the renaming.[4] The ANC voted 4-2 (1 abstention) to table the motion and consider it later.[9]

A bronze plaque at the fountain contained an inscription reading "His Statesmanship Held True Regard For The Interests Of All Men." In 2020, the ANC voted to have the plaque removed.[10]

On February 23, 2021, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., introduced a bill to require the National Park Service to rename the fountain. Designated H.R. 1256 and named the Francis G. Newlands Memorial Removal Act, it was referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands of the House Natural Resources Committee on March 23, 2021.[11] On April 19, 2022, the Montgomery County Council adopted a resolution proclaiming its support for the bill.[12]

See also

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Further reading

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References

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  1. ^ "National Register of Historical Places - DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (DC), District of Columbia County". www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  3. ^ "Francis Griffith Newlands Memorial Fountain". LandmarkHunter.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Bill Turque (February 17, 2015). "Senator's descendants urge no change in name of Chevy Chase fountain". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  5. ^ Rowley, William D. (Summer 1974). "Francis G. Newlands: A Westerner's Search for a Progressive and White America" (PDF). Nevada Historical Society Quarterly. 17 (2). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 31, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Senator Newlands Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  7. ^ Aaron Kraut (December 1, 2014). "D.C. Residents Want Name of 'Racist' Taken Off Chevy Chase Fountain". Bethesda Magazine. Archived from the original on October 6, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  8. ^ "The Newlands Chevy Chase Fountain Debate, 2014-15". Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  9. ^ Aaron Kraut (December 9, 2014). "D.C. Group Tables Discussion of Newlands' Name on Chevy Chase Fountain". Bethesda Magazine. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  10. ^ "D.C. neighborhood votes to remove plaque honoring white supremacist senator". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  11. ^ Norton, Eleanor Holmes (March 23, 2021). "Actions - H.R.1256 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Francis G. Newlands Memorial Removal Act". www.congress.gov. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  12. ^ Herron, Patrick (April 19, 2022). "Montgomery County Supports Removing the Name of Francis G. Newlands, a White Supremacist, From Memorial Fountain in Chevy Chase". The MoCo Show. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
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