Acquired in 1963 Sherwood Forest Neighborhood Conservation Area protects the quality of a stream. It is a 5.3-acre conservation area. It is an undeveloped area. The stream flows past Westover Elementary School. Then it feeds into the Northwest Branch.
Like its neighbor to the north Sherwood Forest Manor Neighborhood Park also protects stream quality. The M-NCPPC acquired this space.
Now let’s step back in time to understand the area’s history. The land was once a 311.75-acre tract. It was called Two Farms. Later it was named Westover. Evan Thomas inherited it from his father Samuel Thomas in 1783. Thomas leased the land to Thomas Brown for 72 pounds per year. A house was built on the land in 1810. It still stands today across from Robin Hood Swim Club.
The house had one-foot-thick brick walls. The mortar was ox blood-based. Remnants of slave quarters and an icehouse remain. Occupants drank water from a spring. It was located where the Robin Hood Swim Club’s pool is now. The water was filtered through a sand-filled channel called a race. It was pumped to the house with a hydraulic ram. Then it was stored in a 40-foot-tall wood tower.
Evan Thomas sold the land to William Culver in 1816. Brothers John and Romulus Culver inherited it in 1824. John Culver lived in Kentucky. He sold his portion to Francis Valdenar in 1824. Romulus Culver later sold his portion to Valdenar in 1833.
Valdenar was a farmer and a Commissioner of Montgomery County. He helped define the boundary between Montgomery County and Prince George’s County.
Valdenar mortgaged the property in 1870. He could not meet the mortgage payments. The property was sold at a public auction in 1876. Henry and Mary Bradley bought it. They gave it to their son William Bradley later that year.
William Bradley was a successful farmer. He built an elaborate Queen Anne-style addition to the house. William Bradley died in 1897. John Bliler bought the property from Bradley’s widow Mary Bradley in 1926. Bliler defaulted on the mortgage. Mary Bradley bought back the property at a public auction in 1929.
Mary Bradley sold the property to a developer in 1950. She included a clause in the deed. It stated that she could live in the house for free for the rest of her life. The deed also stated that she could chop firewood. She could walk her dogs on the land whenever she liked. If the developer sold the land around the house she would receive half the proceeds.
The house has been listed on the Montgomery County Master Plan for Historic Preservation.
Sherwood Forest was developed by Kahn Construction Corporation. Homes were originally intended to be built in 1959. Construction was delayed until 1961. This was due to the construction of a water and sewage system. Homes were originally priced between $28000 and $45000 each. Better Homes and Gardens named one of the model homes a 1959 House of Ideas. Kahn intended the homes to be of better quality than typical homes. This was to provide long-term savings on maintenance costs to homeowners.
Today Sherwood Forest Neighborhood Conservation Area remains a vital green space. It protects the stream and provides a natural habitat. It also reminds us of the area’s rich history.