In the
Washington metro area, Wheaton is located in
Montgomery County 15 miles north of Washington, D.C. between Aspen Hill and
Silver Spring on Hwy 182. Wheaton took its name from Union general Frank Wheaton, who helped defend
Washington from his post at Fort Stevens; the fort still stands on Georgia Avenue. Wheaton also was home to Charles Francis Jenkins, owner of more than 400 patents and perfecter of the home television set; Jenkins delivered the nation's first television broadcast in 1923.
