Rachel Carson Lived Here
Friends of Sligo Creek remembers and honors a woman who lived here where we live; who watched and enjoyed nature here, as we do; who supported a household, commuting to a federal job until she was financially able to devote herself full-time to writing.
She was a lyric and best-selling nature writer who also became the pioneering author of Silent Spring (1962) and thereby a legendary forerunner of the environmental movement.
Observe the May 27th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s birth with this brief and cogent essay by David Haskell, “Rachel Carson’s Legacy.
Takoma Park resident Bruce Sidwell wrote about Rachel Carson from a local and personal perspective.
Friends of Sligo Creek celebrated the completion of its 12th year with a special program in February 2014, inviting the Neighbors of the Northwest Branch to join in hearing Carson biographer Linda Lear talk about Rachel Carson.
- Carson Local Chronology – a table by year, local residence, books written, and other notes, by Laura Mol. See next section below.
Rachel Carson : A Local Chronology |
| Year | Age | Watershed & Residence | Employment Notes | Publication of Books & Selected Articles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | 30 |
1 Sligo Creek watershed: 904 Highland Dr Silver Spring |
July '37 move from Baltimore to Woodside Park neighborhood | Since Aug '36: aquatic biologist, US Bureau of Fisheries—Baltimore-based | Atlantic Monthly (Sept), "Undersea" |
| 1938 | 31 | ||||
| 1939 | 32 |
2 Sligo Creek watershed: 9409 Flower Ave Silver Spring |
Fall '39 move to Seven Oaks neighborhood (S of Franklin) | Transferred from Baltimore to College Park | Nature Magazine (June/July), "How About Citizenship Papers for the Starling?" |
| 1940 | 33 | Bureau of Fisheries into new Fish and Wildlife Service | |||
| 1941 | 34 | Sea I: Under the Sea-Wind | |||
| 1942 | 35 | ||||
| 42-43 | Chicago | 8-month job transfer (wartime) | |||
| 1943 | 36 |
3 Sligo Creek watershed: 7724 Maple Ave Takoma Park |
May 1st move on quick return from Chicago posting | Return to FWS office in US Dept of Interior building, 1849 C Street NW, DC | |
| 1944 | 37 | Colliers (Nov), "The Bat Knew It First" | |||
| 1945 | 38 |
4 Sligo Creek watershed: 9713 Sutherland Rd Silver Spring |
Move to northern edge of North Hills neighborhood | First appearance in the Reader's Digest | |
| 1946 | 39 | First summer in Maine, near Boothbay Harbor | Editor for FWS series, "Conservation in Action," including field research & writing for #1,2,4,5 | ||
| 1947 | 40 | ||||
| 1948 | 41 | ||||
| 1949 | 42 |
5 NW Branch watershed: 204 Williamsburg Dr Silver Spring |
Sept. moved to Woodmoor neighborhood | ||
| 1950 | 43 | ||||
| 1951 | 44 | Guggenheim Fellowship (1 yr gov't leave); then resigned federal service, June 1952 | Sea II: The Sea Around Us serialized in The New Yorker and a best-seller | ||
| 1952 | 45 | Sea I re-issued, also now a best-seller | |||
| 1953 | 46 | full-time writer | |||
| 1954 | 47 | ||||
| 1955 | 48 | Sea III: The Edge of the Sea | |||
| 1956 | 49 | "Help Your Child to Wonder" | |||
| 1957 | 50 |
6 NW Branch watershed: 11701 Berwick Rd Silver Spring |
Adopted Roger. July move to Quaint Acres neighborhood | ||
| 1958 | 51 | Mother died (Aug) | Jr edition of Sea Around Us | ||
| 1959 | 52 | ||||
| 1960 | 53 | ||||
| 1961 | 54 | ||||
| 1962 | 55 | Silent Spring (Sept '62), after June serialization in The New Yorker | |||
| 1963 | 56 | Congressional hearing (June) | |||
| 1964 | Died at home (April 14). Ashes interred at Parklawn Cemetery (Viers Mill Road) & scattered in Maine. | ||||
| 1965 |
posthumous: The Sense of Wonder |
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SourcesThe initial resource for the Carson Local Chronology was: Lear, Linda. Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature (1997, 634 pp.; 2009, 2nd ed.) Additional detail was found via: Beinecke Library [Yale University], Digital Collections. Accessed 10-23-2013
Laura Mol for Friends of Sligo Creek |