Editing Chillum, Maryland (section)

==History==
Chillum takes its name from "Chillum Castle Manor," the {{convert|4443|acre|km2|adj=on}} land patent established in 1763, by [[William Dudley Digges]].<ref name="mdarchives">{{cite web|url=http://guide.mdsa.net/series.cfm?action=viewSeries&ID=S1436 |title=Maryland Indexes(Patents, Manor Index), 1634-1804, Series S1436 |publisher=Maryland State Archives Guide to Government Records |access-date=2008-10-29}}</ref>  It included lands in the present-day [[District of Columbia]] and in Prince George's County, and was composed of previously established land patents such as Henrietta Maria, Widows Purchase, Yarrow and Yarrow Head.<ref name="pgarchives">{{cite web|url=http://plato.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/stagser/s1500/s1529/cfm/dsp_advancesearch.cfm?county=pg |title=Prince George's County Circuit Court Land Surveys and Condominium Plats |publisher=Maryland State Archives Guide to Government Records |access-date=2008-10-29}}</ref> Chillum Castle Manor was named after [[Chilham Castle]], the old home of Sir [[Dudley Digges]], an ancestor of William Dudley Digges, in [[Kent]], England.<ref name="post1">"HONORS TO L'ENFANT," ''The Washington Post'', Oct 1, 1904, pg. 15.</ref>

The manor house for the Henrietta Maria parcel was named [[Green Hill (Chillum, Maryland)|Green Hill]]. It was home to William Dudley Digges and was the place where [[Pierre L'Enfant]], designer of nearby [[Washington, D.C.]], died in destitution in 1825.<ref name="post1"/>  He remained buried at the Green Hill property until being re-interred at [[Arlington National Cemetery]] in 1909.<ref name="post2">Maj. L'Enfant's Forgotten Grave," by T. Loftin Snell, The Washington Post, Jul 30, 1950, pg. B3.</ref>  The Green Hill plantation was subsequently purchased by [[George Washington Riggs]], who built the present Green Hill historic home in 1868.<ref name="post2"/>

Since this area was not served by public transportation, such as a [[tram|streetcar]], Chillum remained rural in character into the 1930s. Beginning in the mid-1930s, the area of Chillum that is close to the District of Columbia border was subdivided into lots. Developers promoted the area’s convenient access into the city as well as its water, gas, and electricity supply. The first platted developments in the late 1930s included Chillum Gardens and Oakdale Terrace. The developers of these communities sold the lots but left the construction of houses to the lot owners. Consequently, the communities were slow to develop. In contrast, the developer-built [[Green Meadows, Prince George's County, Maryland|Green Meadows]] and Brookdale Manor were platted in the early 1940s and completed by 1942. Other developer-built communities begun in the 1940s include Chillumgate (1946) and Michigan Hills Park (1940s). Several subdivisions were constructed along Riggs Road, Sargent Road, and Sligo Creek Park in the 1950s, including Sargent Knolls (1950), Bel Air Estates (1955), Parkland (1955), Carrington (1957), and Miller Estates (mid-1950s-early 1960s). The street pattern of these communities are typical of their period. They have a grid pattern of streets broken by a few curvilinear roadways and cul-de-sacs. In addition to single-family residences, two apartment communities were constructed in 1949. The Chillum Heights Apartments consist of three story brick structures containing a combined total of 1,147 units. Larger-scale apartment complexes and mid-rise structures were constructed in the 1960s.<ref name="sha">{{cite web|url=http://www.sha.maryland.gov/oppen/pg_co.pdf |title=Community Summary Sheet, Prince George's County| date=2008-05-10| work=Chillum, Maryland| publisher=Maryland State Highway Administration, 1999}}</ref><ref>''The Neighborhoods of Prince George's County''. Upper Marlboro: Community Renewal Program, 1974.</ref>