Benjamin Franklin Gilbert

Benjamin Franklin Gilbert
Portrait of B. F. Gilbert
Born	1841
Died	1907
Nationality	American
Other names	B. F. Gilbert
Occupation	Real Estate Developer
Known for	Founder of Takoma Park, Maryland

Benjamin Franklin Gilbert (1841–1907), an American real estate developer, was the founder of Takoma Park, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., and the city's first mayor. Gilbert was born in De Ruyter, Madison County, New York.

Gilbert served in the New York State Assembly during the Civil War. Gilbert later arrived in Washington, DC, at the end of the Civil War and found work at the National Hotel as a clerk. He later opened a luncheon establishment named "The Temperance" located between 9th and 10th Streets in the Northwest quadrant of the city. During that time he became an associate of Alexander "Boss" Shepherd. Financial losses during the Panic of 1873 resulted in a relocation to Dunellen, New Jersey and the accumulation of a fortune in real estate.

After returning to Washington he began to acquire land for Takoma Park. His first purchase was in the spring of 1884 when he bought the 100-acre (0.40 km²) Grammar farm. Gilbert purchased most of its land himself, approximately 1,000 acres (4.0 km²) around the B&O Railroad tracks. He named the area Takoma, using the Indian word for exalted place. He was elected mayor upon the city's incorporation in 1890. He dreamed of creating "a fashionable suburb for Washington bureaucrats and a sylvan resort community where Washington's wealthiest families could escape the unhealthy summer air in the capital." Selling lots for five cents a square foot, Gilbert emphasized the beauty and peacefulness of the local environment, and was especially proud of the pure waters of the local Sligo Creek, which he thought would bring health benefits to residents. Losses due to the Depression of 1893 led to a change in Gilbert's financial standing. He declined to seek reelection as mayor in 1894.