Francis Griffith Newlands (August 28, 1846 – December 24, 1917) was an American politician and land developer who served as United States representative and Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party.

[2] An avowed white supremacist,[3][4][5] Senator Newlands argued publicly for racial restrictions on immigration and repealing the 15th Amendment.

[10] Newlands helped William Sharon to reopen the Bank of California, and supervised the management of the Palace Hotel, San Francisco.

[15] In the late 1880s, Newlands and his partners began to acquire farmland in northwestern Washington, D.C., and southern Montgomery County, Maryland, in order to develop a residential streetcar suburb for the nation's capital.

[17][18] Between 1890 and 1892, the Land Company built a five-mile extension of Connecticut Avenue from Rock Creek past the District line and into Maryland.

Instead, they forbade buyers to build homes that cost less than certain amounts — e.g., $3,000 and $5,000 — effectively preventing their sale to members of minority populations with less access to wealth.

Newlands ensured the community included schools, churches, country clubs, tree-lined streets, a water supply and a sewage system.

[18] From 1894 to 1936, the Land Company operated an amusement park on the lake as a means to draw prospective buyers to the development and to keep the streetcars supplied with evening and weekend passengers.

[25] Newlands held white supremacist beliefs and spoke publicly in favor of restricting the rights of African Americans.

"[6] In a June 17, 1912, article in the New York Times, Newlands wrote, "I believe this should be a white man's country and that we should frankly express our determination that it shall be.

[31] Newlands was stricken with heart failure at his Senate office on the afternoon of December 24, 1917, and died that night at his home at 2236 Massachusetts Avenue NW.

[32] He was interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.[33] The Francis Griffith Newlands Memorial Fountain is in Chevy Chase Circle, a federal park that divides D.C. and Maryland.