Evening Star Newspaper, July 20, 1930, Page 74

s THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JULY 20, 1930. Southwest Washington Rich in Landmarks Mary Catharine (Harvey) Dyer, born in 1848 at her father's residence, at 916 B street southwest. BY JOHN CLAGETT PROCTOR. HAT the old resident still looks upen as South Washington, or “The Island,” was all that part of the city that laid to the south of the Washington Canal, which once lazily flowed approximately along B street northwest, the James Creek Canal, the last part of which has just recently been filled in, serving as its eastern boundary, its western line being formed by the Potomac River; and this—through a stretch of imagination—con- stituted what the old resident called “The Island.” David Burnes and Notley Young owned all the land in this area when the District of Columbia was laid out, and both had their homes on their respective estates, the Burnes’ cabin being on the site now occupied by the Pan-American Union Building, at the corner of Seventeenth and B streets northwest, while Notley Young’s residence stood somewhere close to the old home of George White, near the river front; and, indeed, may have actually been the older part of this identical dwelling, still standing. Today there are many cld homes and many old families still living on “The Island” as a reminder of an earlier Washington, when its beautiful vistas were not obscured by the rows and rows of block houses that we not only see in the Southwest today, but, indeed, all over the entire city. In the early days of the city there were quite a number of important and wealthy people who were attracted to South Washington, and though extensive building was delayed for some years, yet its growth at all times, particularly in population, was as much, and maybe even greater, than the old aristocratic families of “The Island” desired. HINES in his “Early Recollec- tions of Washington City,” tells us of a family named Jacobs that settled on Seventh street southwest at a very early date. He speaks of the place as “Spring Garden,” and writes as follows: “Among the earliest settlers of Washington was a Mr. Jacobs, a stonecutter, who lived on the east side of Seventh street between B street south and Maryland avenue, on what is now called ‘The Island.” He was the proprietor of a large plat of ground—perhaps the greater part of a square. This piece of ground was known by the name of ‘Spring Garden.’ Here Mr. Jacobs kept a house of entertainment some- thing similar to the numerous restaurants which now abound in our city. I recollect there were on the opposite side of the street at that time (1802 or 1803) seyeral larke oak trees, on which were suspended two or three swings, intended for the amusement of young people. Mr. Jacobs’ family consisted at that time of three boys—Michael, Jasper and Philip—with whom we used to associate. Mr, Jacobs did not con- . tinue there long, however, and I could never learn to a certainty what became of the family, but I think I have understood that they moved to Frederick County, Maryland. There was another person living with him or in the house adjoining by the name of Henry Orandorfl. This property, I believe, was afterward pur- chased and occupied by the late Mr. Hepburn. With some of the younger members of the family we were well acquainted, especially the sons. I think John was in the War of 1812.” Just how long “Spring Garden” coatinued is & question the writer cannot answer, but this block later on was put to a use not near so pleasant to think of, for some time prior to 1835 it became Robey’s slave pen. Some years ago W. C. Clephane, in writing of slavery in the District of Columbia for the records of the Columbia Historical Society, spoke particularly of this block, and said: “A good many of the slaves were confined in private pens. Of these, prior to 1835, the most noted was one located on the east side of Beventh street southwest south of B street, known as Robey’s pen. Mr. Abdy, an English writer, who visited this country in 1835, thus describes this place: “‘One day I went to see the “slave pen,” a wretched hovel, right against the Capitol, from which it is distant about half a mile, with no house intervening. The outside alone is acces- sible to the eye of the visitor, what passes within being reserved for the exclusive observation ef Entire Area Owned at One Time by David Burnes and Notley Young—1The Old Slave Quarters, the Spring Garden Picnic Grounds and Some of the Early Residences. Home of the late James Fraser, 1000 B street southwest, built about 1837. its owner, a man by the name of Robey, and his unfortunate victims. It is surrounded by a wooden paling 14 or 15 feet in height, with the posts outside to prevent escape, and separated from tle building by a space too narrow to permit of a free circulation of air. At a small window above, which was unglazed and ex- posed alike to the heat of Summer and the cold of Winter, so trying to the constitution, two or three sable faces appeared, looking out wistfully to while away the time and catch a refreshing breeze, the weather being extremely hot. In this wretched hovel all colors except white, both sexes, and all ages, are confined, -exposed indiscriminately to the contamination which may be expected in such society and under such seclusion.’” R. CLEPHANE also refers to a later pen in an adjoining block, and tells us that— “The slave pen in this city best remembered by our old residents was kept by one Williams, and was located on the southeast corner of Eighth and B streets southwest, just south of the Smithsonian grounds. The house sat back some distance from the street amidst a grove of trees, and was the yellow house referred to in one of the advertisements which I have read. It was a three-story brick house, covered with plaster and painted yellow. In the grounds was also an outhouse, and in this latter build- ing most of the slaves brought to this district for sale or shipment elsewhere were kept. Some of them were kept in the dwelling house in a room adjoining the kitchen. A certain BSenator during the debate on the abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia, which occurred in 1850, described these houses and grounds as ‘a most pleasant looking place, viewed from the outside. Had he gone inside, his description of the interior might have been somewhat different. The gentleman who pur- chased this property after the abolition of the slave trade had ceased to make it profitable to its owner told me that he found in the walls of the outhouse and of the room adjoining the kitchen staples driven in the walls, to which the slaves were shackeled. In this place slaves were sold, but mostly, I am informed, at private sale. Slaves were frequently sold at auction, together with furniture, carpets and household goods, at the regular auction houses of the city.” Back in the seventies on the Seventh street side of this block was Nixon Brewer's feed store and William H. Baum’s coal yard, and the latter lived around the corner on B street. Naturally, all traces of these old slave gquar- ters have long since passed away, and for years both blocks have been closely built up with stores and dwellings. B street from Seventh to Fourteenth street has contained the residences of a number of well known Washingtonians for years. At 804, comparatively a new building, lived Dr. Harrison G. Dyer, the entymologist, widely known in the scientific world as a specialist in mosquitoes, but who a few years before his death, which occurred about a year ago, came into public notice because of the tunnels he dug in his backyard, purely for recreation and diversion. IGHT FOURTEEN is the old R. A. Golden home, and in the beautiful old brick dwell- ing on the southeast corner of B and Ninth streets once lived Arsenius I. Harvey, founder and president of the Harvey, Clarke & Given Coal Co., one of the earliest coal companies of the city, with wharves at the foot of Thirteenth street, and their principal place of business at one time at Maryland avenue and Thirteen- and-a-half street, now Linwood place, where they also sold groceries. Henry A. Clarke of the firm lived on B street near Thirteenth, while John T. Given, the other member of the company, lived uptown. James S. Harvey, the father of Arsenius I. Harvey, was also a resident of South Washing- ton, and for years was a wholesale merchant on the river from before his death in 1867. He was born in Prince Georges County, Md., on February 1, 1795, and married in 1817 Catherine Clarke, who was born in 1798 and died on “The Island” in 1863. Of their eight children Arsenius is said to have been the only one who lived to maturity, and he was born in Georgetown in 1819 and died at his B street home February 14, 1891, Arsenius I. Harvey married Margaret Fen- wick Bean, who was born in St. Marys County, Md., November 12, 1825, and who died in this city in 1894, and they were the parents of James S. Harvey, Mary Catherine, John Bean, Benedict Fenwick, Arsenius Thomas, Margaret Rosalie and John Raymond, all born in the old homestead, 816 B street southwest. ‘This family has numerous connections in Wash- ington. At the southwest corner of B and Tenth streets lived—and, I believe, still lives—James J. Cooper, for many years trainmaster for the Pennsylvania Rallroad. At 906, just to the west, was the home and office of Dr. Louis J. Brothers, in an old-fashioned dwelling that stood back off the street. W. A. H. Church, the John Henderson, pioneer resident of “The Island.” lumber dealer and member of the old Southwest family ot that name, has recently taken up his residence at 912 B street. Harrison G. Crook, the physician, lived at 920, in the same block, until he passed away, within the last year or so0. His daughter, Miss Mary Cook, still resides in the old home. Rev. Stephen Brown in the early eighties lived at 928 B street, and his son, Stephen C. Brown, for many years registrar of the Smithe sonian Institution, resided next door, and even at an earlier date Jane Polkinhorn, widow of Richard D. Polkinhorn, had her home at 942. In the rear of this old house, which is still standing, an early resident tells the writer that there was an improvised private school, taught by Miss Mary Hatch, which was ate tended by the children of the elite living in that neighborhood. IN the parsonage at 936 lived Dr. Huntley, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, and on the southeast corner of B and Tenth streets, where the Marvin M. E. Church South stands, once lived Dr. Hamilton Leach. The Ahern and O'Laughlin families at one time also resided on this corner, and here John Callan O’Laughlin, the writer, lived when ate tending the Jefferson School. Gratz E. Dune kum, superintendent of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., was & more recent comer to this block. On the opposite corner, at 1000 and 1002 B street, are two houses built about 1837 or 1838 by a Mr. Cameron, the contractor for erecting the Smithsonian Building. The elder Cameron lived in the corner house and the son next door, and of more recent date the corner house had been the home of James Fraser and his son, both deceased, though the elder Mrs. Fraser, now well in her nineties, and her daughter-in-law still occupy the residence. Where houses 1004 to 1008 now stand were once two light brick houses, which probably stood there until 20 years ago. One of these was built as early as 1829 by John H. Tucker, and the other soon afterward by Samuel Crown, the writer’'s wife’s grandfather, and here the writer’s father-in-law, Charles E. Crown, was born in 1836. Samuel Crown was at one time an employe of the City Post Office, and was on duty the night of December 15, 1836, when the old Blodgett Building was destroyed by fire, and it was he who gave the alarm and assisted in saving much valuable property. John H. Tucker was one of the city’s earliest letter carriers, and it is said that “during the administrations of Presidents Jackson, Van Buren and William Henry Harrison he was selected from among the employes of the Post Office Department as special messenger to con- vey the President’s messages to New York by stage, to be delivered to the postmaster in that city for publication. In the early days of the Washington City Post Office he was for many years one of the penny posts, or mail carriers.” In this same block in 1831 to 1834 lived Ann (or Nancy) Tucker Duvall, an aunt to John H. Tucker and Samuel Crown and grandmother to the late Andrew Brown Duvall. An article appearing in The Star of August 22, 1908, refers to this particular block as follows: “The triangular space within the lines of Virginia avenue, Tenth and B streets, square No. N-351, of two lots, was divided in 1796, one going to Daniel Carroll. The west lot, No. 2, went from the Government to F. D. May in 1797, and through S. Elliot, jr., and John Law it passed, till in 1828 it was vested in John A. Smith, Anthony Preston succeeding to the whole square. Three cents, the first rate of ground value, was reduced in 1807 to 1 cent, but in 1830 it was 6 cents. “In 1829 John H. Tucker, who, through his long connection with the City Post Office as a ‘penny post,’ or letter carrier, had become gen- erally known, bought in lot 1 and improved the property, making his home here many years. In 1831 Samuel Crown and J. L. Peabody owned in the square, as did Francis B. Lord in 1833 and M. O. Buck and N. Tastet in the forties. The latter, long a clerk in the office, had his residence at the and next lived John McPherson - At 1010 B street was once the Twelfth Willlam