Shreve’s Store on Lee Highway in Cherrydale was the second general store in Cherrydale, the first being Nelson’s. In addition to being a store it was also, for a time, the Cherrydale Post Office.
Double track trolley lines in front of the store ran to Great Falls in one direction and Rosslyn in the other. The tracks, which followed what is now Old Dominion Drive, were removed in 1935.
According to an article in the Sun newspaper, there was a water trough for horses in front of the store, which was filled from a nearby pump. When the pump was eventually electrified, the horses were so scared by the new device they wouldn’t drink!
As Lee Highway was not paved in the early years, the Shreve family often hitched their own road grader to their horse to smooth out the street.
The photograph above was taken circa 1910.
What About You?
What do you remember or have heard about Shreve’s or other stores in Cherrydale? We want to know!
The DC Public Library’s Washingtoniana has a 1910 Willard R. Ross (1860-1948) real-photo postcard of Shreve’s with one of the steam locomotives parked out front!