1908 Town of Potomac 1929

When the Washington, Alexandria & Mount Vernon Railway announced plans in 1892 that included tracks between Washington, D.C. and Alexandria, the flat, open land north of Alexandria became a logical site for a new community. The development firm of Wood-Harmon bought two large plots of land in 1894 —- a larger one called "Del Ray," from the estate of John Lloyd, and a smaller one called "St. Elmo" —- separated from each other by a racetrack. The Town of Potomac, Virginia was chartered in March 1908, bounded on the east and by the Washington & Alexandria Turnpike (now U.S. Route 1), on the north by Old Georgetown (now Glebe) Road and Braddock Avenue (now Ashby Street), on the west by the electric rail line (now Commonwealth Avenue), and on the south by Bellefonte Avenue.

Del Rey and St. Elmo are early examples of commuter suburbs, since one of the first inter urban electric railways in the country provided a rapid means of travel for workers going between Washington and Alexandria. The Town of Potomac was also one of the first recipients of federal highway funds in 1915 when modernization of Mount Vernon Avenue met the needs of an emerging automobile culture. Ease of transit between Potomac and Alexandria was no doubt a factor in the decision of the City to annex the town. The first annexation effort in 1915 failed, but