Wheaton Attractions & Activities - The Best Holiday Destinations for 2020
Very few visitors know of Wheaton, much less make it out to this Maryland suburb of D.C. in Montgomery County. It has D.C.'s best ethnic dining scene period amidst what is probably the most diverse neighborhood for 100 miles in any direction. The Washington City Paper's 2009 critics' choice for best Thai in the whole metro area went to both Nava and Ruan. And it has the legendary Peruvian pollo a la brasa joint: El Pollo Rico.
Wheaton, MD originated during the 1700s. It was named after Union General Frank Wheaton, who defended nearby Fort Stevens and D.C. in the Civil War in July 1964. The land was originally owned by the Carroll family and named after Balamona after the Carroll holding in Ireland.
At the cross section there were three roads that cut through the farmland, a there a small business section was created. The north/south being Brookeville Pike, now Rt. 97 Georgia Ave, ran from Washington D.C. to Baltimore. Veirs Mill Rd. was used a coach road with sections of plank road, which ran from Wheaton to Rockville. Lastly, the third road was Old Bladensburg Rd., now University Blvd, that connected Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Bladensburg.
Before 1947 only 29,000 people were living in Wheaton on farms and large estates, however in 1950 and 1960 the number of residents increased tremendously, which led to the widening of Georgia Ave, also known as the “Avenue of Progess”. Since then there has been a tremendous amount of businesses that have blossomed such as the Wheaton Plaza Shopping Center in 1959, and Wheaton Regional Park in 1958.
However because Wheaton is so close to the large Silver Spring area many residents were unhappy because of their loss of identity, therefore in 1965 the community residents of Wheaton and Kensington gained permission to use Wheaton, MD for specific zip codes such as 20902 and many others.
The area has developed extremely since its humble beginnings and is now known as a central business area with a diverse community surrounded by major roads and transit systems.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Wheaton
