The Story of Rosedale

The Story of Rosedale. From Colonial Farm to Village Green. , The Rosedale farmhouse is said to be the oldest house surviving in Washington, DC. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. , The farmhouse is a private home. , Please do not enter farmhouse grounds. , , 1740-1792 , An unknown Maryland colonist built a stone cottage on Pretty Prospects, a vast area that included today's Wisconsin Avenue, Melvin Hazen Park, Pierce Mill, the National Zoo, and upper Georgetown. , , 1793-1917 , General Uriah Forrest, a Revolutionary War hero and colleague of George Washington, purchased 420 acres of Pretty Prospects to move his family from the sweltering port of Georgetown to the green hills above the new federal city. He named his property Rosedale and built a gracious farmhouse, attaching it to the original stone cottage. There, Uriah and his wife Rebecca entertained the nation's leaders, among them John Adams. , , Debt and misfortune nearly took Rosedale from the Forrests and their descendants. Gradually, all but 8.6 acres were sold, including the land to develop Cleveland Park in the 1890s. When Rosedale finally changed hands after 124 years, the house and grounds were a wreck. , , 1917-1959 , Avery and Queene Coonley rescued Rosedale when they moved from Chicago with their 15-year-old daughter Elizabeth. They renovated the crumbling farmhouse and built a guest cottage, tennis court, and greenhouse. Mrs. Coonley worked with a prominent landscape architect to restore the 18th-century landscape. , , Avery Coonley died in 1920. Queene Coonley kept Rosedale beautiful for 41 years. She left the property to Elizabeth, married to architect Waldron Faulkner. , , 1959-2002 Youth for Understanding USA , The Faulkners sold Rosedale to the National Cathedral to build dormitories for students attending the National Cathedral School. In 1977, the Cathedral sold the property to Youth for Understanding, and international student exchange group. Under institutional use, Rosedale's historical landscape faded to a shadow of its former beauty. , , 2002-Forever , Neighbors banded together to purchase Rosedale, tear down the dormitory buildings, restore the 18th-Century landscape, preserve the land forever as Cleveland Park's Village Green. , , Rosedale is managed by The Rosedale Conservancy, a volunteer group of neighbors. The Conservancy is financially supported through the generosity of hundreds of local residents.