Forest Hills history: The physicists next door

One of them worked with Edison. One was a good friend of Robert Goddard. And one has a crater named after him on the moon.

And they all lived in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Washington, DC. Ann Kessler has been bringing our history to life for us since Forest Hills Connection launched in 2012, with articles covering such topics as the neighborhood’s first nickname, the neighborhood’s first school, and the woman who fought for Murch, Deal and Wilson and the Forest Hills playground. You’ll find more of Ann’s articles here.

Ann’s latest is a three-part series on some of the early residents of Forest Hills: The physicists next door. Here’s part one:

by Ann Kessler

It seems logical that scientists from the nearby National Bureau of Standards (NBS) would be among the first homeowners in Forest Hills. The sprawling campus was a major presence in our neighborhood for many years, beginning with its purchase of eight acres west of Connecticut Avenue in 1901. The southern and northern boundaries were Van Ness (then Pierce Mill Road) and Yuma Streets; the eastern boundary was Reno Road.

When the first two buildings, the North Building (the mechanical laboratory) and the South Building (the physical laboratory), opened in 1903-1904, 58 people were on the staff.

Hobart C. Dickinson, 4629 30th St. NW

In 1903, Hobart Cutler Dickinson, fresh from Williams College and Clark University, joined them. He soon would become one of the first homeowners of Forest Hills.

In September 1905, Dr. Dickinson purchased a one and one-half acre lot on 30th Street NW for $660 from Louis P. Shoemaker. In May 1906, he obtained a permit to have a house built at 4629 30th Street NW for $4,000 by the builder C.I. Greer, with the architect Keith and Co. designing the structure. To put these figures in perspective, in 1916 Dr. Dickinson’s salary at NBS was $3,000 and his car was a Stevens-Duryea.

Dr. Dickinson worked towards making Forest Hills a better community. From 1915 to 1917, he served as an officer in an active local organization of that time called the Connecticut Avenue Citizens Association. When neighbors organized the Forest Hills Citizens Association in 1929, the Dickinson family was one of the 45 listed as charter members. Dr. Dickinson also served on the Association’s board, advising the members on one of his areas of expertise: Traffic safety.

Dr. Dickinson was the founder of the annual Halloween parade long before there was a Forest Hills playground. In 1932, he created a haunted house on wheels with the help of neighbors, and then pulled it around the streets for excited children to see.

As a respected NBS physicist, Dr. Dickinson’s research involved heat (thermometry to be exact), airplane engines and traffic safety. He was appointed Chief of the Division of Heat and Power in 1921, a position he held until his retirement in 1945 at the age of 70. To list a few of his accomplishments:

He studied refrigeration from 1912 to 1917 in a program sponsored by the American Society of Refrigeration Engineers, working on the thermal conductivity of insulating materials and developing the calorimeter.

During World War I, he assisted in the design of the Liberty aircraft engine and built the first altitude chamber for testing airplane engines.

After the war he became interested in automobiles, helping to organize the Society of Automotive Engineers and becoming an authority on highway safety. He served as chairman of the Highway Research Board of the National Research Council for many years. After his retirement from the NBS in 1945 he was appointed by President Harry S. Truman (a former resident of 4701 Connecticut Avenue) to the Highway Safety Conference and the Traffic Safety Council.

 
Besides writing numerous scientific papers, in 1937 Dr. Dickinson published an economic treatise on his theory of econo-dynamics titled The Mechanics of Prosperity (Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins). In this work Dr. Dickinson applied the exact sciences to the world of the money economy. Using the mathematical method, he tried to make sense of the economic troubles of the 1930s, Social Security, etc. (The full text of his treatise is available here.)

The Dickinsons were still living on 30th Street at the time of Dr. Dickinson’s death in 1949.

Dr. Dickinson was just one of the Bureau of National Standards scientists to settle in nearby Forest Hills. Several others conveniently lived close to where they worked. The NBS scientists who helped found the Forest Hills Citizens Association include: Dr. Carl C. Kiess (2928 Brandywine St. NW); Joseph G. Ludewig (4609 30th St. NW); Dr. William F. Meggers (2904 Brandywine St. NW); Dr. Fred L. Mohler (2853 Brandywine St. NW); and Dr. Harold L. Stimson (2920 Brandywine St. NW).

One of them worked with Edison. One was a good friend of Robert Goddard. And one has a crater named after him on the moon.

Tomorrow: The “neighborhood’s most fascinating character.”