Kimwood Farm House

Kimwood Farm House. A relic of a bygone era. It witnessed the transformation of Washington D.C. from rural farmland to bustling metropolis. Imagine a small black buffalo cow, her calf by her side, ambling onto the property in 1862. This seemingly mundane event cemented Kimwood’s place in history. Richard S. Jones, the original owner, advertised for the cow’s owner in the Evening Star. This notice proved the existence of Kimwood Farm House as early as 1862. The Jones family farmed the surrounding land for generations. Their lives intertwined with the history of this house. Kimwood Farm House, though altered over time, likely contains the core of the original mid-19th-century structure. Richard, his wife Sophia, and their children, Mary, Horace, and Margaret, lived and worked here. Their story is one of perseverance, adapting to the changing times. The 1850 census reveals a mystery. Two young African American children, John and Frank Eglan, lived with the Jones family. They weren’t listed in the slave census, and Richard wasn’t listed as an enslaver. What was their relationship to the Joneses? This question lingers in the silence of Kimwood’s stones. Horace S. Jones, Richard’s son, became a prominent community activist. He championed public infrastructure as the Chevy Chase Land Company began developing the area. He fought for roads, sewers, water, electricity, and garbage collection. This fight shaped the future of the neighborhood around Kimwood Farm House. The family home’s exact location remained a puzzle for years. A 1903 map reveals at least two structures on the Jones property. One lined up with the future Quesada Street, the other nestled in the middle of present-day Lafayette Park. This second location backed a tract of land owned by African American truck farmers. This land, along with part of the Jones farm, would later become Lafayette Park and the site of Lafayette Elementary School. In the early 1920s, Quesada Street was cut through. Kimwood Farm House stood askew on its lot, a testament to its age. The Jones heirs renovated the house and built three more on Quesada Street. An advertisement from 1924 showcased the newly renovated Kimwood Farm House, calling it a “truly complete and modern home.” It highlighted the mammoth trees, silent witnesses to over a century of history. The artist Kenneth Noland, a key figure in the Washington Color School movement, owned Kimwood in the 1950s. He spread his large canvases on the dining room floor, bathed in the natural light. Decades later, Helen Schrider Higgins, a potter and sculptor, raised nine children within Kimwood’s walls. She rang an old ship’s bell to call them in from Lafayette playground, a sound that echoed the past. Kimwood Farm House stands today, a weathered sentinel. It holds the stories of generations, from farmers to artists, from enslaved people to community activists. It whispers of lost landscapes and changing times, a tangible link to the roots of Washington D.C.