Chevy Chase is the name of both a town and an unincorporated Census-Designated Place in Montgomery County, Maryland. There are also a number of villages in Montgomery County with "Chevy Chase" in their name, all of which are part of the community of Chevy Chase. This community actually spills over the Maryland-District of Columbia boundary to include a neighborhood of Washington called Chevy Chase, DC.

The area was unincorporated farmland when Senator Francis G. Newlands of Nevada and his partners began the aggressive acquisition of land in northwestern DC and southern Montgomery County. In the present day, the holdings would eventually extend along Connecticut Avenue from Florida Avenue north to Jones Bridge Road. In 1890, Newlands established the Chevy Chase Land Company to develop the land as a residential streetcar suburb.

The name "Chevy Chase" was taken from one of the absorbed plots of land. Its name in turn, according to the Village of Chevy Chase's official history, can be traced to the larger tract of land called "Cheivy Chace" that was patented to Colonel Joseph Belt from Lord Baltimore on July 10, 1725. It has historic associations to a 1388 battle between Lord Percy of England and Earl Douglas of Scotland. At issue in this "chevauchee" (a Scottish word describing a border raid) were hunting grounds or a "chace" in the Cheviot Hills of Northumberland and Otterburn.

Some people speculate that actor Chevy Chase was named after the town by his mother. However, this is most likely untrue, as his real first name is actually Cornelius.

Chevy Chase is also home to the National 4-H Center, where the National Science Bowl is held in late April or early May.

Chevy Chase also has a popular upscale shopping district, deemed the "Rodeo Drive of the East", that features some of the most exclusive shops in the Washington, D.C. area. Mazza Gallerie, across the border in Chevy Chase's D.C. side, is an upscale shopping center, anchored by Neiman Marcus. Stein Mart, Pottery Barn, J. Crew, and the Cheesecake Factory are among the shops and restaurants at Chevy Chase Pavilion. In Maryland, directly across Wisconsin and Western Avenues from the Mazza Gallerie are Saks Fifth Avenue, Brooks Brothers, the Gap, Barney's Co-op New York, Bulgari, Jimmy Choo, Max Mara, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Christian Dior, Ralph Lauren, Tiffany & Co., and Clyde's Restaurant. Many more shops and restaurants are planned to open in the area in the coming years as the Hecht Company changes hands. The shops are accessible via Washington Metro's Friendship Heights station.

SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA.ORG (JUNE 2006)