This information is based on the on the 2006 directory and the Kensington Historical Society. 

Native American people of the Algonquin tribes were the first people to live along the Potomac River and Rock Creek. European settlers arrived in Maryland in the 1600s. A farming and milling community grew over the next century.

Montgomery County was founded in 1776 and named after Richard Montgomery, a general who died during the French and Indian War. During the Civil War, the region witnessed three incursions of Confederate cavalries.

In 1873, B&O Railroad trains began stopping at Knowles Station, the site of the future town of Kensington, on their way from Washington to Point of Rocks, MD. Many of the area’s Victorian homes, designed as summer escapes for Washington’s rich, were built in the 1890s. In 1894, residents changed the name of the town to Kensington.

Before World War II, the current Kensington Estates was the Peters family farm.  Builders transformed the farm into new homes for returning veterans and government workers and their families.  Kensington Estates now includes the homes on Warner Street and Parkwood Drive, originally called Kensington Terrace.  The fire station (1946), Cedarbrook Pool (1955), Kensington Park Library and the shopping center were built during the Baby Boom era.  Families put additions on the original houses as children filled the neighborhood.

Over time, the neighborhood has changed.  Those first Baby Boom children grew up.  Kensington Elementary closed in 1982 and merged with Parkwood ES to become Kensington-Parkwood.  The library was closed, too, but reopened in 1994 in response to neighborhood demand.  Now those children and even grandchildren are raising their families here.  Many of the original houses have been replaced with larger homes.  And for the first time, multifamily residences are going up on the periphery of Kensington Estates.  

What makes a neighborhood a good place to live is not defined by the buildings, however, but by the people who live in them.  When neighbors care about one another, when they get to know each other and share their lives, the people become family and the place becomes home.  The Kensington Estates Civic Association (KECA) is dedicated to building community.  At our behest, county agencies are planting new trees here to replace those lost over time.  They are looking at traffic questions and into our aging infrastructure.  Just as importantly, we are meeting at the Block Party and other events, thanks to our members’ efforts.  Thank you for your participation, and Welcome, newcomers!

–Joan McDermott, KECA President