There was once a Maryland settlement so sporadic, unplanned, and unorganized that it really didn’t have a name. Despite being on the outskirts of the national capital city, this little junction town was only a rest stop for travelers, who passed through on their way to the Potomac ports. In 1871, thanks to a local postmaster, it finally got its official name. Bethesda, I’m looking at you.

An early resident of Bethesda, Maryland once described it as merely “a wide spot on the road.”^[1] Surrounded by farms and tobacco plantations, this wide spot was on an important, well-traveled trade route between northern Maryland towns and ports on the Potomac River.

Read more at “What’s in a Name? Bethesda” on the Boundary Stones website (WETA).