Evening Star Newspaper, August 1, 1926, Page 81

TH SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, AUGUST 1 Rambler Finds Wisdom Was Shown ' House of Stone, Restored as Home, Is Historic Relic of Shipping Days Oldest Famliy Structure in Bladensburg Is Built of Green Granite, Brought to This Country From England as Ballast. in not a mansion but durable built to time, IS house of gls structure resist the and tempes! steep-pitched r record which carries y-making in District of Colunibia. 1f, during your motor trips about Washington, ~and the contiguous terrain, you have toured by way Bladensburg to Annapoli passed close markable of the historic houses in this part of the country, a residence agetinted, which has seen the passage of red-coated British, the rout of the militismen who opposed them, the arrivial and departure of English trading ships, the advent of the auto- mobile, the coming of radio and the modern triumph of aviation This inviting home, made of Englis granite and American field stone, ha celebrated 186 birtha Built even before “‘Bostock toric manor house at Bladensburg, the venerable dwelling now owned and occupted by Raymond Evans, a specialist of the United States Department of Agri- the o | you have | to one of the most re-| culture motion-picture laboratory, {s the oldest building still standing in that section of the M and_sub- | burbs. Rehabilitated and Improved by its present owner, it is admi | preserved, and unless you stud closely, you woulld never believe that it is almost twoscore years older than our American Government There are many extraordinary houses within the limits of a 12-mife radius from the White House. There | is a_remarkable residence of rammed | earth—a style of construction which | came into being in Krance many | centuries ago—in the highlands | section of the Upper Potomac near | Cabin John. It was built by a Govern- ment_expert who, by study and re- search, became ‘“sold” on the idea a building method which had weathered 500 to 600 vears of the acid test in France and England and Africh would prove p: can era of high-priced lumber other building material. The house as built is attractive and satisfactory. | Tt has been in service long enough to demonstrate its adaptability to | Washington temperatures. i There is another remodeled house | of the Revolutionary War period in THE FLAGSTONE WALK AND UNUSUAL DOORWAY. running water, sewage disposal and radio facilities are now included in equipment of the structure, which ¢ built during the days when most these modern conveniences were unknown to men. As a historical relic, the home is impressive and romantic. residence, it replete in all the comforts now found in homeswhich are Evans THE REBUILT LIVING ROOM, WITH OLD-FASHIONED ships was had by~means of the Anacostia River, or “Eastern Branch.” Bladensburg was a concentration port where tobacco produced on nelghbor ing estates was centralized and loaded rd foreign ships for to English o wooden safling ships which engaged {in the tobacco trade ranged from 1100 to 400 gross tons' capacity. The STONE FIREPLACE. Washington, which is also reputed to be of rammed-earth construction, end which was so substantial and solid when its owner tried to wreck it several vears ago that he found the task too diflicult, and finally re- designed the building. which will now outwear most of the homes of modern construction. In the outlying northwestern area of our National Capital there are two commodious’ residences built of Canadian spruce and cedar—throw- backs to the days when log cabins, epinning wheels and homespun clothes were the principal fabrications of colonial life. Concrete and steel, wood and stucco, brick and tile, artificial stone and plaster have all been used in the up- building of Washington homes. The architectural styles are as numerous as the articles in a mall-order cata- “Amid this multiplicity of there is none more putstanding or Interesting than the revised Evans home in Bladensburg. * k k X THE pluck and perseverance of the pioneering period which trans- formed the American wilderness lald the foundation and the first stones of this building of granite. Similar pluck and perseverance, as represented in the remarkable achievements of Mr. Fvans, have revamped the ancient stone dwelling and adapted it to pre- sent-day requirements. The house begun when George Washington was a small boy is still habitable. Tele- phone, _electricity, hot-water heat, not yet old enough to vote. Its owner salvaged it from ruin, and with the labor of his hands and the origl- nality of an amateur architect he has recreated the house of history. It 1s now fortified to withstand one or two more centurles of service. Who can tell how long it will endure? As long as its shingle roof and wooden fixtures are maintained properly this stone structure will survive. Only a powerful explosive, an earthquake or a more terrific tornado than has ever swept Washington could loosen it from its secure anchorage. 3 When Mr. Evans purchased the large lot upon which the stone house stands, its owner threw in the green granite ruins as “boot.” He did not believe that any one could repair that abandoned structure which for many vears had been occupied only by the west wind’s blast, a flurry of drifting snow or the deluge from a torrential rainstorm. Mr. Evans, however, after pains- taking examination of walls and foundation and careful inspection of roof, rafter and dormers, thought otherwi He knew that he had tackled a tough task. He knew that to remodel the stone ruin to his satisfac: tion would be not an assignment of months but a personal contract which could be fulfilled in no less time than three to four years. The spice of romance and adventure put lure into the manual job—to raise and rescue, from historic ruins, a picturesque and charming home. In the dawn days of Bladensburg communication with Englih trading jaunt from the British Isles to the colony of Virginia was a perilous trip. The salling ship which made four to five round trips a year was a master vessel. On_the journey to America a cargo of lightweight manu- factured articles was carried com- monly. The load was insufficient to ballast the ship. Hence, two to three carloads of stone from English quarries were dumped into the hold of the vessel as ballast. This mass of rock enabled the ship to ride stormy seas and to make headway against rough weather which, otherwise, would. perhaps, have wrecked the vessel or blown it far from its course. On the return trip from America to England the trading ships were load- ed to the maximum with tobacco. This cargo was heavy enough, o that no additional ballast was needed. As a result the ships would dump the rock ballast along the Bladensburg River front after each trip. A great pile of granite accumulated. 1t was from this green granite that the pres. ent residence of Raymond Evans was built, some time between 1730 and 1740, the exact date being unknown. The notable marior house at Bladens- burg was completed in 1746. The smaller cottage of stone had been in use for a number of years when the manor folks took possession of their new home. " * k k% F you have ever visited rural Wales or-Ireland vou will be familiar with the style of cottage which was “the first offspring of stonema- sonry in Bladensburg. Tt was built | dimensions, in the form of a two-floor, two-room and alcove cottage, 20 by 24 feet in with steep, sloping roof, dormer winodw, ceilings raftered with hes hardwood timber and floors made of pine boards 12 to 14 inches wide. The walls of granite were 20 inches thick, the chinks being plaster ed up with tenacious clay and the wall pointed with oyster-shell plaster. The oaken window frames and door casings were held together by hard- And even after 186 years stress and strain, these walls of stone and some of the origi- nal window frames are still in use—a remarkable tribute to the longevity of old-fashioned building material. The chimney is built of brick imported from the British Isles. There is a great brick-lined firepjace on the sround floor and another in the up- stairs room. When Mr. Evans property, six vears ago, the roof a great sieve, speckied with holes. The dilapidated doors hung on worn hinges, the glassless windows offered small resistance to the wail of the wind or the sting of snowflakes. The downstairs floor was a shred of wood- en slivers and yawning holes wrought by decay. Just another deserted cot- tage. Its new owner had just former home in. Washington. His family went West for a long visit with relatives, while Mr. Evans moved out to Bladensburg to “rough it'* fn his stonespun house, while he made essential repairs and additions during his spare time from official Govern- ment dutles First of all, the remodeling task re- quired careful planning and intelli gent design. The additions had to be made to coincide and blend with the stone-cbttage type of building. * The attractive home which has been raised from a ruin is a reflaction of the pains and patience which Mr. Evans devoted to his difficult job, Alto- gether, he has devuted the lefsure of three years to the rejuvenation of the historic house. With the ex- ception of the plumbing, electrical wiring and telephone instailation, this hard-working householder has per- formell all the labor associated with the rescue of the cottage. * K k¥ INTER and Summer, in cold weather and warm, under favor- able and unfavorable buflding condi- tions, this Washingtonian persevered n his strange, self-selected task. He purchased the foundation of a nelgh- boring house which was wrecked, re. duced this underpinning to the original stones which formed it and then reset these rocks in the walls of the addition to his home which he raised. By em- ploying electric light extemsions, Mr. Evans prolonged his labors until far atter sunset each day. The manual work In the open air was refreshing and relaxing after the hard day in the motion picture labora- tory. . And there was engendered & pride in building as' the work pro- purchased the sold his gr 7 Mr. Evans laid a double floor of oak In the living room of the cottage, re- moved all the original plaster and re- finished the walls and cefling. He has secured remarkably effective ceiling appearance by plastering between the hand-hewn timbers and thus produc- ing the most extraordinary ‘beamed celling in this latitude. Another meri- torious assignment was the job of ‘“‘doing over” the fireplace. Directly in front of the brick-faced fireplace, which was made almost two centuries ago, he has added a stone face of granite imbedded in concrete plaster. This attractive fireplace takes three- foot lengths of wood and is about four feet deep. The fuel storage system of the re- vamped stone house is unusual. There is no basement under the house for fuel storage. Hence Mr. Evans has built wood and coal compartments outside. In each case a small door gives ready access to the room where the fuel is to be used. The coal com- partment, made of eoncrete blocks, accommodates one ton of ~coal. It adjoins the kitchen, where the hot- water heater is placed. A small con- crete-lined chute, just large enough for the coal shovel, links the storage |1 bin with the heater. Open the small door, thrust the shovel through the opening, pull it back and you have the scoop of fuel ready to fiing into the firebox of the heater. The wood ator- age is directly outside the living room. Open the small door and you have ac- cess to' the small woodpile. Mr. Evans has added a cozy, com- fortable dining room, a-commodious kitchen, a pantry, one extra bedroom and a sleeping porch to the original coftage, so that he now has a suitable and satisfactory home for his family of five. The addition has been made as an accurate replica and annex of the pioneer construction, so that it dove- tails into the general arrangement 50 well that the entire house appears as though it were built as a single unit. The dining room has a “board-and- batten” ceiling, stained nut-brown, while the walls are plastered. The casement windows are set in walls which are 12 {nches thick. The addl- tion, which s 20 by 14 feet in dimensions, has a concrete interior and an external face of stone. The roof of the entire house is covered with six-inch, cypress’ shingles. Mr. Evans tried o obtain " shingles, but bein, satisfactory m-lsrll’ finally used shingles which he' could find. m 1926—PART 5. - In Griffith Coombe Transactions His Will Was an Unusually Interesting Document and Bore Evidence of Outstanding Traits of Character. HE firet District record in which the name Griffith Coombe appears is a biil of sale, February 1, 1806, by which Willlam Burnes of Washington County sells a slave for four years' service to Coombe. It is written that Burnes sells to Coombe, for $180, “a negro man about 30 years of age known by the name of Benja- min Slye but commonly called Ben.” The bill of sale {s that Ben “‘shall faith- | fully discharge the duties of servant to the said Griffith Coombe for and during and until the full term of four years without loss of time other than that which may be occasioned by reason of sickness or other bodily infirmity." It shall be the duty “of the sald Grif- fith Coombe to manumit, liberate and set free the sald negro man, Benjamin Slye, otherwise called Ben. free from further servitude after the expira tion of the sald four vears.” It is written in the bill of sale that if Ben run away, the time between his leave taking and recapture shall be added to his term of servitude. The record index for 1806 shows that Griffith Coombe bought a slave described as “negress Nice.” Griffith Coombe's first realty tran: action in Washington was July 9, 1807 when he bought a lot In square 690, now covered by the House Offic Buildifig. The seller of the lot w. Thomas Law and the lot began 1°1 feet from New Jersey avenue “on a line with the lot bought by Henry Ingle from Danfel Carroll of Dudding- ton.” The deed contains a jungle of metes, bounds, and useless words, and the Rambler, being dumb in the head from heat and other natural causes, did not work the puzzle of where Grifith Coombe's lot was. He thinks, though, if thinking ls per- missible in the rambles, that the lot was on the north side of C street southeast, 121 feet east of New Jersey avenue. By the way, Thomas Law lived in a tall, thick, brick house at the north east corner of New Jersey avenue and C street southeast. If you have come to the age of discretion and wisdom you remember that the house I am pointing to was the home of Judge Joseph Holt during and after the Civil War. He dled there August 1, 1894. Judge Holt was born in Breck- inridge County, Ky., 1807, and was Postmaster General in 1859 and Secre- tary of War, 1860, in President Buchanan's cabinet. In a reference book at hand, I read that Holt was the only member of Buchanan's cabinet not a_Confederate sympathizer, éx- cept Lewls Cass, who resigned as Secretary of State under Buchanan because the President would not strengthen the garrison 6 Fort Sumter. Lincoln made Holt judge advocate general of the Army with the rank of colonel and he was pro- moted to brigadier and brevetted major general “‘for distinguished serv ice in the Bureau of Milltary Justice. He was retired in 1875, Holt was judge advocate of the military com- mission which convicted Mrs. Surratt, Herold, Payne and Atzerodt, and of the court which tried Gen. Fitz-John Porter for alleged inaction in the second battle of Manassas. * % % % OU were told by the Rambler last Sunday. on authority of a paper by Madison Davis, that Griffith Coombe lived at the corner of Georgia avenue and Third street southeast. In the Washington Directory of 1843 his ad- dress is given as the west side of Third between N and O. near N, south- east. It is the same place. Georgia avenue is now Potomac avenue, being given that name when Seventh street extended was named Georgia avenue. Madison Davis sald: “It was one of the first houses in Washington. It was bullt before the seat of govern- ment was moved from Philadelphia.” That may be. The property was bought by Griffith Coombe from James D. Barry in 1818. Robert Barry of Baltimore was a co-purchaser with Coombe. The deed is dated May 27, 1818, and James D. Barry sells to Grif- fith Coombe and Robegy Barry of Bal- timore lots 1, 2 and i in square 771 for $10,000, “together with the three- story brick dwelling house, outhouses, wharf and warehouse thereon erected.” Square 771 is between Second, Third, N and Potomac pvenue southeast. I think the wharf which Griffith and Robert Barry bought in 1818 had been known from that time to Some time before 1800 as Barry's wharf, and within the memory of persons who, I hope, read the rambles, was known as Guinand’s wharf. Leon William Guinand was an im- portant man in_ South Washington, and it was probably he who first thought of building the Anacostia and Potomaoc herse-car railroad, which ran from the navy vard gate to Union- town, and was extended from Eighth street southeast to Seventh street southwest along M street and extended from Uniontown through Anacostia to Hillsdale. On the day of the filing of the deed from James D. Barry to Griffith Coombe and Robert Barry for the brick house and whart at Georgia ave- nue and Third street deeds were filed under which Griffith Coombe bought from Matthew Brown for $3,500 lot 1, square 686, and from Daniel Car- roll of Duddington lot 2 in the same square for $1,498.50. That square, bounded by B and C north and Dela- ware avenue and First east, is covered by the Senate Office Building. The old Griffith Coombe lots are at the south- st corner of the square. 4 have the will of Griffith Coombe, attested February .8, 1845, and filed for probate October 2, 1845. The original or antique spelling of certain words in this document will strike you. I assume it was written by a jawyer. I make that assumption be- cause of the cumbrous English and useless words. Part of the paper fol- “The last will and tistement of Grifith Coombe of the City of Wash- ington. ‘!'I give and bequeath ‘all my estate real and pursonal whatsoever and wheresoever wherof I im now or may be at the time of my death, in any manner entitled to have, claim or de- mand (no charge or convirsion which I may at any time hereafter make in or of the form or body of my estate or property real or mixed to be taken as any revoeation in whole or in part iof ‘this my wil) unto my wife Mary Coombe hur hures and assigns for- ever. In trust nevertheless to and for the uses, intents and purposes fol- that is to say: “First, to and for the sole use of my sald wife for and during the turm of hur natural life. “Second, in trust to be given and disposed of by hur at hur said death to and among my chlldlren and ';‘0“:::{ ldren, proportions to -wit: > e ren G, Coombe-his hures and assigns in the proportion of one-h of the whole; other one-quarter of the whole in trust for the seperate use and mantenance of my daughtér Julianna Barry wife of James D. Barry clear and-independent of all controle and intermedling of hur hus- band and of all responsibility of his and ingagements for and dur- debts JOHN P. VAN NESS SCHOOL, FOURTH AND M STREETS SOUTHEAST. Ing the natural life daughter and at hur death and among such children as shee may leave and in such proportions as she may be of my sald|ticket when you could buy car tickets six for a quarter, My feeling is that Griffith Coombe was not of that wretched tribe. He made money and by deed or will or any writing in the | was tenacious of it, but he lived well nature of a will u seal appoint and direct.” The testator mentions his grand daughter, Juliannia H. Butler. The er hur hand and [ and honorably, as his fiscal state jus tified. Griffith Coombe appeared in public | alton; affairs in Washington in 1805 as ment of 1802-3 the property owners were: Square 770, John Keagler, Wil- son Bryan, Richard C Ephratm Miles, Charles McDonal and Willlam Howard Craig, Benjamin Waters, Thomas Law and Daniel Carroli of Duddington square 801, Dr rroll Dudding square 802 Carroll, E el € Daniel VIEW OF L STREET SOUTHEAST BETWEEN THIRD AND FOURTH STREET: word “tistement” appears several times in the paper. Witnesses to the will were W. Gunton, James Adams and Hugh B. Sweeny. W ET no man of much schooling and no education mock the spelling in the will. Orthographic standards vary with the seasons. There are fashions in spelling as in pronunciation, skirts and pants. The man who wrote_ that will, or directed'the writing of it, was a man of uncommon wisdom and of judgment, which many of us lack— the judgment which ‘succeeds in get- ting and holding on to property. He was a man of influence in Old» Wash- ington. His influence was not got by having himself appointed on 700 com- mittees which can do nothing, nor by getting his name in the newspapers without any excuse at all. My impression of this strong-minded 'and industrious man is that he was not what the world calls a philan- thropist, who is sometimes a man wha gives away $100,000 which he cannot spend and with the object of getting $200,000 in advertising. I also get the impression that Griffith Coombe was free enough spender toward his fam ily and other friends, and that he was not a tightwad. Fellows—not brethren—there used to be prominent citizens in Old Washington who own- ed mortgages on other people's prop- erty that they itched to foreclose, who would walk 10 blocks on a hot day rather than spend a pasteboard car “LADY MET BY THE RAMBLER ON M member of the Second Chamber of the Fourth Council. Robert Brent was mayor, Thomas Herty register and ‘Washington Boyd treasure With the plan of pleasing members of our old families and misleading them to think that the Rambles are good reading, I will hand you the names of the Council of 1805: First Chamber— John Depsie, president: Charles Mini- fle, George Collard, William Prout, Joseph Bromley, Alexander McCor- mick, William Emack, John Mec- Gowan, John Gardiner, secretary. Sec- ond Chamber — Samuel. Hamilton, president; John Beckley, Griffith Coombe, Robert Cherry, Peter Miller, Azariah Gatton, Nicholas Voss, Phin- eas Bradley, Michael Nourse, N. B. ‘Van Zandt, secretary. Griffith Coombe did not serve again until the Twentieth Council, In 1822 and he was a member of the Twenty “(1823), Twenty-second (1824), ‘Twenty-third (1825), Twenty-fourth (1826), Twenty-eighth (1880), Twenty- ninth (1831), Thirty-fifth (1837) and the Thirty-sixth (1838). I want to jog your recollection of old property ‘owners in the part of Southeast Washington where the Coombe family lived. We will take four squares, Nos. 770, 771, 801 and 802. Square 770 is bounded by Becond, Third, M and N; No. 771 is bounded by Second, Third, N and Georgia ave- nue; No. 801 i1s bounded by Third, Fourth, 'M and N, and No. 802 is bounded by * Third, Fourth, N and Georgia avenue. Under the assess- STREET SOUTHEAST. _ z Nesmith and Thomas Law. Under assessment of 1807 I find these names of lot owners not in those squares in 1802-3: James Middleton, James Craw- ford, William Rusk, Miller. James R. Dermatt, Joseph Wheat and Thomas Wheat. Assessment of 1 Thomas Howard, Joseph Vardin's Joseph Johmson, Georg liam R. Maddox, Wililam Henry Teitzen, George W. Dawson, Thomas Law, William H. Baines, Sarah Kingsbury, Edwin Booth, Dan- iel. Carroll; square 771, Barry and Coombe wharf and warehouse (lots 1, 2 and 7), C. B. Caldwell, Griffith Coombe._ (lot 4), George Sandford, El and Elizabeth Cross, Bank of Wash- ington and Thomas Foyles; square 801, Daniel Carroll, Griffith Coombe, Wil- liam Maddox and ‘“‘the tobacco ware. house” on lots 13 and 14; square 80 George Blagden, S. N. Smallwood, Griffith Coombe, Rachel Wheat, Frank Wharton's heirs, Joseph Varden's heirs and Edward Mattingly on lot 16, with a house assessed at $3,000. Assessment _of 1844—Square 770, Charles B. Caldwell, Thomas Howard's heirs, S. V. Barry, Richard Barry, Thomas Law’s heirs, James Bennin, Henry Teitzen, Amon Wood W, A. Maddox, Sarah Kingsbury, o Baines’ heirs, George Bean, Edward Booth’s heirs and Joseph Johnscn; square 771, Griffith Coombe, William Speiden, George Sandford’s heirs, Eil Cross’ heirs and Thoma$ Foyle's heirs; square 801, Eliza Maddox, C. A. M. Maddox, - Richard Barry, Griffith Coombe, Thomas Howard's heirs, George B. Smith, Daniel Carroll and Samuel Davis; square 802, Ann Blag- den’s helrs, Thomas Blagden, N: thaniel Brady, Griffith Coombe, ward Mattingly, W. Y. Wheat. ward Mattingly was the largest owner in the square) Assessment of 1876—Square 770, Thomas and Thomas H. B. Chase, Richard Barry, Hattie A. Mills, Ho- ratio Awkward, James Fullerlove, jr.; Joseph Hymer, Appleton P. Clark, ‘Willilam E. Howard, H. A. Mathison, John G. and Joseph R. Edson, John Thomas Robey, John Jolly, Amon ‘Woodward, Isaac S. Lyon, John Keith- ley, J. Thompson Van Riswick, Abel G. Davis, Ann Bean ‘and Wildam R ; square 1771, Leon Willlam Guinand (lots 1, 2 and 7, wharf); Isaac Gross, Ann Bean and Enoch M. Nor- ris; square 801, Catherine Maddox, Alvin N. Meeker, Alexander W. Eaton, Thomas H. G. Todd, Willlam E. How- ward and District of Columbia To- bacco Warehouse lots 13 and .14, George B. Smith, John W. Woodward, Isaac Cross, Sarah Jane Cross, Francis J. or I. Austin, Thomas A. Fitzpatrick, Rebecca A. Murphy, T. Edward Clark and Julianna Barry. Catherine A. Maddox was the largest owner in square. Square 802, Laura S. Blag- den, Zadoc Williams, Thomas Hutchin- son, C. S. Wallack, in trust for Nancy and Christiana A. Jolly. * Barry's, Coombe’s and Guinand’s wharf, and the squares mentioned were taken for an extension of the navy yard several years agv, the “yard” extending from the south side of M street to the Eastern Branch. The Rambler went down Third street southeast to give you a picture of the Square No. ‘Barnes, house in which Griffith Coombe lived, or the site of it, but at M street he came against the high wire barrier