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Crestwood Citizens Association

1761 Crestwood Drive
202-291-4679

History
The first residents of our area were Native Americans. Algonqian Indians found quartzite stones for their weapons and tools in a quarry along the Piney Branch beginning about 3000 B.C. Various tribes prized Rock Creek as a valuable food source for fish and turtles.

Records of early European settlers include Captain John Smith's writings, which suggest he may have ventured by Rock Creek during the early 1600s. A trading post was founded at the mouth of the creek in 1703.

The first settler with title to Crestwood may have been Henry Darnall, who owened six thousand acres in Rock Creek Valley in 1688. As Georgetwoen and Alexandria developed into ports, ships could sail up Rock Creek as far as P Street. A series of eigh mills drew power from the creek to serve farmers in the valley.