Wheaton

Before the arrival of the Europeans, the area was settled by the Piscataway. Wheaton got its name from the Wheaton Post Office, which was named after Union General Frank Wheaton, who defended Washington, D.C., from invading forces during the Civil War in July 1864. Wheaton developed from a business district called Mitchell's Crossroads, named after Mitchell's Tavern. The business district developed at the junction of three roads, which are now called Georgia Avenue, Veirs Mill Road, and University Boulevard. Before 1947, only 29,000 people were living in Wheaton, mostly on farms and large estates. By 1960, the population had grown tremendously, which led to the widening of Georgia Ave, also known as the "Avenue of Progress". Since then, many businesses have opened including the Wheaton Plaza Shopping Center (now Westfield Wheaton), built in 1959. The massive Wheaton Regional Park (538 acres; 2.2 sq km) was established in 1958. Coming out of the 39.038734-77.0547841 Wheaton Metro Station on the Red Line, admire that escalator—it's the longest in the Western Hemisphere, and takes almost 3 minutes to ascend! The main streets running through the downtown are Georgia Avenue, Veirs Mill Road, and University Boulevard. The area where they converge is the center of commercial activity and great inexpensive restaurants. Downtown Wheaton is very compact and dense with shops and restaurants. It is easy to walk around from the Metrorail station....