Originally published in the February 2023 edition of Greet Del Ray.
When Lt. William Reatus Harmon (10th Cavalry) passed away in 1886, he left behind his sons William E. and Clifford as orphans. Young William left medical school in Louisville, Kentucky to help support his younger brother by working in their uncle Charles Edric Wood’s store in Lebanon, Ohio. Wood quickly realized that the older Harmon brother was a particularly adept salesman. When William developed a scheme to sell real estate, Charles decided to provide the financial backing, and the three of them formed Wood, Harmon & Company.
William recognized a growing trend in America. Well to do families wanted to move away from the filth and crowds of the city and live in homes comfortably spread apart with a small yard or garden. William planned to buy a large tract of land just outside of a major city and divide it up into individual lots for single family homes. With Charles’ backing, William purchased their first tract of land in 1887, and they developed the subdivision of Branch Hill next to the rail lines northeast of Cincinnati. Their business plan proved wildly successful, and they eventually expanded into one of the biggest real estate companies in the world, with multiple subdivisions in 31 different cities.
Charles E. Wood moved to Washington, D.C., in 1893, and bought tracts of land just outside of Washington and Alexandria. The former he subdivided into the community of Woodmont, which is now a part of Bethesda located just off Wisconsin Ave. The latter he subdivided into the communities of Del Ray and St. Elmo, which went on sale May 5 th , 1894. After succeeding with these communities, Charles bought more land in Virginia and created the subdivision of Clarendon in 1900. Charles permanently resettled to Washington, D.C. and became involved in a variety of business ventures, included a highly publicized 1906 plan to build the new luxury hotel across the street from the Willard Hotel. Although this plan never materialized, Charles continued to be a successful businessman, serving on the board of directors for several companies and financial institutions. Charles and his wife Eurnie lived comfortably at 2031 Florida Ave, NW until his death on February 17 th , 1908.