A PORTRAIT

OLD GEORGE TOWN

A Portrait of Old George Town

GRACE DUNLOP ECKER

1951

THE DIETZ PRESS, INCORPORATED

Richmond, Virginia

SECOND EDITION Revised and Enlarged

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF MY FATHER AND MOTHER GEORGE THOMAS AND EMILY REDIN DUNLOP AND MY AUNT, ELLEN DUNLOP ALL THREE OF WHOM LIVED LONG, USEFUL AND UNSELFISH LIVES IN GEORGETOWN

GEORGE TOWN GHOSTS

By WILLIAM TIPTON TABLOTT

_The ghosts of Georgetown when they meet In haunted house or moonlit street With pride recall the functions gay When down the Philadelphia way The Federal City overnight Moved to its bare and swampy site, For Georgetown then a busy mart, A growing seaport from the start, Where a whole-hearted spirit reigned, Threw wide its doors, and entertained With wines and viands of the best-- The Federal City was its guest._

_In memory of the good old days, Whose ways to them were modern ways, Congenial ghosts across Rock Creek, With formal bows and steps antique, Rehearse a spectral minuet Where once in bright assemblies met-- Beruffled belles looked love to beaus In powdered wigs and faultless hose; Or merchant ghosts survey the skies And venture guesses weatherwise Regarding winds that will prevail To speed their ships about to sail._

_Still in the shaded hillside streets A trace of old-time welcome greets The passer-by who has a flare For scenes of old. No longer there A buoyant Georgetown stands alone, The Federal City having grown Until their boundaries overlap; So that, deleted from the map, Though once the Federal City's host, Georgetown itself is now a ghost._

Foreword

It is not at all in my mind to write a history of Georgetown. Several have been written, but I do want, very, very much, to paint a portrait of this dear old town of my birth where my parents, my grandparents, great-grandfathers and one great-great-grandfather lived, and which I love so dearly.

A portrait, partly of its physical features, its streets, its houses and gardens, some of which still exist in their pristine glory but, alas, many of which have gone the way of so-called progress. In place of the dignified houses of yore, of real architectural beauty, stand rows of cheap dwellings or stores, erected mostly in the seventies and eighties when architecture was at its worst. In 1895 it was that the old names of the streets were taken away and from then on we've been just an adjunct of Washington.

Not only of its physical side do I wish to tell, but I want to paint a picture of the kind of people who lived here, from the beginning up through the gay nineties--nearly one hundred and fifty years. Of the kind of things they did, their work, their play, their thoughts and their beliefs, for the character of the town, like human beings, was formed largely by their beliefs, and these old Scotsmen--for they were greatly in the majority--laid a great deal of stress on their Presbyterian form of Christianity. Witness the oath that had to be taken by the Flour Inspector on February 24, 1772: "I, Thomas Brannan, do declare that I do believe that there is not any trnsubstantiation in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper or in the elements of bread and wine, at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatsoever."

And yet, with this strong prejudice, they cooperated and lived on friendly terms with the Roman Catholics who, very soon after the taking of this particular oath, founded their college and established their convent for teaching young girls.

Dr. Balch counselled well when he besought his people: "Let us resolve to be social rather than fashionable, and generous instead of extravagant."

All down through the years and to this day I think that has been the hall-mark of the real Georgetonian. A great deal of fashion has come to Georgetown, as in the early days of the bringing of the government when Washington City was a waste and almost entirely one big mud puddle, and the foreign ministers and many high in our government sought the comfort and dignity of this town, which was then far from young.

Again in later years there has been an exodus across Rock Creek of men and women high in the government; in the diplomatic corps; in industry; in literature and the arts; lured hither by the quiet dignity of the old-time atmosphere.

There are today living in Georgetown descendants of nearly every one of the original makers of the town, and all through these years the old friendships still persist and flourish.

* * * * *

It is impossible for me to express my thanks to all the people who have helped me and made it possible to write this book. I want to mention Mrs. Gilbert Grosvenor; Miss Williams of the Peabody Room of the Georgetown Branch of the Public Library; Miss McPherson and Mr. John Beverley Riggs of the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress; Mr. Meredith Colket and Mr. O. W. Holmes of the National Archives; Dr. H. Paul Caemmerer, Secretary of the Commission of Fine Arts; Miss Pennybaker, of the Real Estate and Columbia Title Insurance Company; the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association and Mr. C. C. Wall, Superintendent of Mount Vernon. Also the various people who did the typing and helped secure the photographs.

And last but not least the friends of the old regime who have given to me freely of the history and traditions of their ancestors. They are too many to name, but to each one I owe a real debt of gratitude. Especially to one, my life-long friend, am I indebted. Without her unceasing interest and encouragement this Portrait might never have been done.

GRACE GLASGOW DUNLOP ECKER.

CONTENTS

Page

DEDICATION v

GEORGE TOWN GHOSTS vii

FOREWORD ix

Chapter

I. BEGINNINGS OF A TOWN 3

II. THE ORIGINAL TOWN AND ITS PEOPLE 13

III. THE TAVERNS, SHOPS, AND SCHOOLS 24

IV. THE STREETS OF GEORGE TOWN AND SOME OF THE HAPPENINGS 40

V. WASHINGTON AND L'ENFANT IN GEORGE TOWN 51

VI. BELOW BRIDGE STREET 65

VII. ALONG BRIDGE (M) STREET 80

VIII. HIGH STREET, PROSPECT AVENUE, THE COLLEGE, THE CONVENT, AND THE THRELKELDS 104

IX. ALONG FIRST STREET (N) FROM COX'S ROW TO HIGH STREET (WISCONSIN AVE.) 125

X. GAY (N) STREET--EAST TO ROCK CREEK 135

XI. THE THREE PHILANTHROPISTS 161

XII. THE SEMINARY, WASHINGTON (30TH) STREET AND DUMBARTON AVENUE 179

XIII. THIRD STREET, BEALL (O) STREET, WEST (P) STREET 208

XIV. STODDERT (Q) STREET 224

XV. TUDOR PLACE AND CONGRESS (31ST) STREET 261

XVI. EVERMAY, THE HEIGHTS AND OAK HILL 281

BIBLIOGRAPHY 311

INDEX 313

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Early George Town Frontispiece

PAGE

Rev. James McVean 6

Henry Foxall 73

Home of Henry Foxall 75

Old Presbyterian Church 84

General James Maccubbin Lingan } } Benjamin Stoddert } 88 } Uriah Forrest }

William Marbury 94

Philip Barton Key } } 96 Mrs. Philip Barton Key (Elizabeth Plater) }

Home of Francis Scott Key 100

Francis Scott Key 102

Benjamin Stoddert's House 110

Home of Dr. Charles Worthington 114

John Threlkeld 122

Colonel John Cox 124

Old Dr. Riley's House 139

3017 N Street. The House that Thomas Beall Built 145

John Laird } } 147 James Dunlop, Senior }

Major George Peter } } Judge James Dunlop } 152 } William Redin }

Edward Magruder Linthicum 162

William Wilson Corcoran 164

George Peabody 175

Miss Lydia English 184

Dr. Grafton Tyler 188

Home of Judge Henry Henley Chapman 193

Old McKenney House 195

St. John's Church 198

Bodisco House 203

Christ Church 211

A portrait of Old George Town