Evening Star Newspaper, October 11, 1936, Page 54

‘F=2 CAPITAL PROUD OF NEIGHBOR Old Buildings, Pioneer Residents and Early History Linked With Suburban Life Which Has Gained Opulence in Days of Washington Development. By John Claggett Proctor. YATTSVILLE, our little neighbor to the northeast and one of the most thriv- ing towns around Washing- ton, celebrated the golden jubilee of its incorporation yesterday in a very enthusiastic manner, though it might have done so last Spring, since its charter was signed April 7, 1885, When the metes and bounds of th: town were then given as: “Commencing at the junction of the Eastern Branch of the Potomac River and the Northwest Branch and Jollowing the Northwest Branch to Carlton’s Dam: thence in a direct line to a stone on the south side of | the public road leading to Bladens- burg: thence in a direct line to the western extremity of Avalon avenue; thence with Avalon avenue to the | western boundary of the Washington and Baltimore turnpike, thence with western boundary of said turn- «fice southerly to its intersection with the southern line of Riverdale, ex- tended; thence with said line easterly to ‘the Washington branch of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad; thence with the easterly boundary of said railroad right of way southerly to the Alexandria junction of said railroad; thence with the eastern boundary of the right of way of said Alexandria branch road to the East Branch of the Eastern Branch of the Potomac River and thence with said East Branch and adjacent limits of the corporation of Bladensburg to the place of the beginning.” | The records show that Harrison | B. Bowen, Frank A. Aman, the brother of Joseph W. Aman of Rais- ton and Lutrell avenues, and Seth A. Holton, uncle of the present Town Treasurer Willlam A. Shepherd, were | appointed judges for the first election, held the first Monday in May, 1886, and at this time the members of the board declared elected were Dr. Charles A. Wells, who became presi= dent; John Luther Shedd, Joseph A. | Aman, Jackson H. Ralston and Rich- ard P. Evans. Seth A. Holton was chosen treasurer and Fred A. Holden, clerk posed. nearly all of these men were Washing- tonians or former residents of this city, and had taken up their resi- dences at Hyattsville principally be- cause land and living were cheaper there at this period than they were in the more congested parts of the | District of Columbia. And we find that even taxes were much less there at this time, for there was in the act of incorporation a specific clause, that | only a maximum of 15 cents on $100 could be levied as a tax on real and personal property, based on the county assessments. It was a high-type class of people who formed the group of early resi- dents of this town, which, in'a few years, it scems, will constructively and substantially become a part of the Nation’s Capital itself, from the way both places are now growing though the people in Hyattsville would probably never be willing to be an actual part of the District, and thus relinquish their rights of citizenship and be debarred from the privilege of | representation in the Congress of the United States and in other wavs dis- franchised. as happens to be the plight of the people in Washington. And, no doubt, it was this political inequity also that prompted many of the early city residents to migrate to, and help build up, the town of Hyattsville, as well as other nearby towns in Mary- land and Virginia. Dr. Charles A. Wells, first president of the Board of Town Commissioners of Hyattsville, was originally a resi- dent of Bladensburg. and a highly re- spected physician there, before he moved into the new town just across the branch. Harrison S. Bowen was a clerk in the Navy Department. The Aman family, of which Joseph A. and Frank A. Aman were members, came to Hyattsville in 1873, when it was & straggling village. Seth A. Holton was a clerk in the third auditor’s of- | fice, Treasury Department. John Luther Shedd, who shares the honor with Jackson H. Ralston of being one of the two surviving mem- bers of the original board, was born at 423 Eleventh street, not far from The Star office, in 1858, and moved to Hyattsville with his parents in 1868, | when the family first occupied the old; Octagon House on Locust avenue. As | & young man he attended the Mary- | land Agricultural College, now the | University of Maryland, to which place | he frequently walked when the old gray mare was not available. It is said that at the time of his election | to the board he was its youngest | member. After many years spent in | pioneering in nearby Maryland, Mr.} Bhedd returned to this city and now resides at 1627 Newton street, north- ‘west. MANY will recall Jackson H. Ral- ston, one of Washington's out- standing lawyers of upward of a quarter century ago, when he decided to retire and make his home in Cali- fornia, where he now resides, for the writer is under the impression that he still lives. As early as 1878 he was working here as a printer in the Government Printing Office, and stop- ping at 1201 Eleventh street northwest. In 1883 he was a member of the firm of Hillyer & Ralston, attorneys at law, and later became associated in the practice of law with the late Judge Frederick L. Siddons. Sometime sub- sequent to 1880 he took up his resie dence in Hyattsville, and a street in the town is named for him. For a time at least Mr. Ralston believed in the Henry George theory of a single tax for revenue purposes, and worked enthusiastically to bring this about, and in 1892 had it adopted by Hyattsville, the first town or city in the United States so to approve the plan. However. in a short while this action on the part of the town was declared unconstitutional. Mr. Ral- ston was a Democrat and once ran for Congress from his district in Mary- land, but was defeated. Not long since, he was in Washington, con- ferring with the President in regard to some work abroad which the Gov- ernment desired him to attend to. Richard P. Evans, another member of the first board, was also a lawyer, shd a member of the firm of Tucker & Evans and of Evans & Burton. 5 The incorporation of the town of Hyattsville in 1886 is only one epoch its history, and we do know that %8 beginning runs back to a much ‘drlier period. at least to 1858 or 1859, ‘when Christopher Clarke Hyatt set- ] 'AS MIGHT be sup {is so marksd in large letters upon a | | and it was here that the French en- led there. t] The place is named for him. HE map of E. G. Arnold, of 1862, representing the fortifications around Washington, shows Bladens- burg, but does not show Hyattsville. As has been said, a family named Hart appears to have lived approxi- mately on the original town site at the time this map was drawn, The map also indicates the presence there of six dwellings or structures—three on either side of the railroad track— which would account for some of the old buildings still standing. However, three years later, there is| unmistakable evidence that the place | was then called “‘Hyattsville,” for it | map, the original of which is stated | to have accompanicd the report of | Brig. Gen. Richard Delafield, chief of Engineers, U. S. Army, to the Sec- | retary of War, dated October 30, 1865. | This map does not mention the name “Hart,” though it docs show that there | was a store and a post office where now stands the town celebrating its jubilee, and its nearest neighbors— | between the railroad tracks and the Northwest Branch—to have been Van Wick, Dr. Dare, W. Gibson and Bar= clay. The Agricultural College to the north is also indicated, and close by Dr. Wharton and Jackson, and a mile farther on, Forney and Mrs. Marron, the latter, maybe, the widow of Thomas Marron, the first to fill the office of Third Assistant Postmaster General. “HE Riges estate, Green Hill, fac- ing what is now the Ager road, and which recently changed hands, was then marked as the home of J. Diggs. It was Dudley Diggs, who gave a home and the comforts of life to MaJ. Pierre Charles L'Enfant, designer of Washington, when he was in need, gineer died and was entombed, and where his body remained until more recent years, when it was transferred to Arlington National Cemetery. The old Adelphi Mill, still standing on the Riggs road, where it is crossed by the Northwest Branch, was then in the name of Mrs. Logan, apparent- v a widow, having been bought in 1839 by George W. and Ann Logan. Indeed, there are still landmarks around Hyattsville to attract the at- tention of those interested in old fam- ilies and historic places. However, in the incorporated limits of the town it- self there are probably a very few buildings that were there when Mr. Hyatt decided to move from Bladens- burg. It might be interesting to know that the writer has it from no less an au- thority than E. A. Fuller, who con- ducts the Hyattsville Independent, and who has been helpful in giving in- formation for this story, that the reason assigned by Mr. Hyatt for mov- | inz from Bladensburg was the sale there of too much hard liquor. At any rate, he never allowed it to be sold in Hyattsville, and it is said that noth- ing stronger than beer is sold there | now. THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C; OCTOBER 11, 1936—PART ~ FOUR. L3 which was uncovered by the present owner, dates back & number of years, but is still doing duty in furnishing water for the lawn and garden, which embrace nearly 4!, acres. This property, which is in Johnson and Wine's second addition to Hyatts- ville, on Olive street, just west of Marion, was owned by John Bowie in 1831, having been conveyed to him that year by his father, Thomas Bowie. Thirty-three years later, or in 1864, John Bowie and his wife transferred title to Joseph B. Bryan and his wife. Mr. Bryan, who was in business here for many years follow- ing the Civil War, with his brother, C. C. Bryan, conducted one of the leading grocery stores of the city, at 608 Pennsylvania avenue. For 18 years he made his home at Ravens- wood, and in 1882 sold his holdings to George J. Johnson and Louis D. Wine, and Mr. Wine lived there for & while. In 1894 Johnson and Wine trans- ferred title to Michael V. Tierney. A few years later Tierney deeded the property to Mrs. Alice Widdicombe, his mother-in-law, and apparently she The Octagon House, on Locust avenue.—Star Staff Photo. 4 | cestor, owned an estate called Jerico, | later within the boundaries of Prince Icieorgel County. Again, in 1717, he was granted a patent to the land known as Tewksbury, “on the east side of the Eastern Branch of the | Potomac.” Bazingthorp Hall, was by him. Charles Hyatt died some time during 1726 or before that date, for it was returned the property to him in 1903. recalled the place as far back as 1857, that at one time the grounds of Ravenswood extended as far eastwart as the railroad tracks, and that in the rear of the old homestead were slave | quarters and other outbuildings, 1ANOTHER building. which has the appearance of being very old, is | what is known as the Duvall House, because of its having been once oc- cupied by a member of a well-known Maryland family of that name. It was probably the home of Mary ()NE house that w: undoubtedly standing—at least in part—when the town was founded, and, perhaps, even a century before that time, was the dwelling on the property known as the Ravenswood. or the Mansion House Lot, now occupied by H. Win- ship Wheatley, a former president of the District Bar Asosciation. a native of Washington. and a member of an old local family, dating back several generations. ‘This old building of brick and stucco has been considerably modified and improved by Mr. Wheatley since he purchased it, about 20 years ago, but there is sufficient of the original structure remaining to indicate its erection at a period when the Con- stitution was still in its infancy. The old wooden joist, hewn and shaped with the ax, is evidence of its great age. An old cistern on the premises, | (Hyatt) Duvall, sister of Christopher Clarke Hyatt, who married Frederick Duvall, and had as issue Mark Duvall, . Leonard Duvall, Nancy (Duvall) Lewis, and probably others. Mrs. George Howard now resides in the Duvall House, which sits back from ; the boulevard, next to the Armory, and is between Franklin and Marion streets. It is, indeed, true that there are few people who are not proud of their ancestry and in this connection, it is a well-known fact that the people of Maryland revere their ancestors as much as do the people of any State Min the Union, and they are truly justified in doing s0. And so, in speak- ing of the Hyatt family, we are re- ferring to a worthy pioneer settled in Colonial Maryland some- time prior to 1678, for at this time Charles Hyatt, the immigrant an- that ' then that his widow, Sarah (believed mely: Seth, Susannah, Ann (d. oung), another Ann (d. young), Peter, Ann, Eliza, Penelope and William. Of these, William, the last of the children, born about 1717, married Eliza Walker and had seven sons and two daughters. One of these sons, Christopher Hyatt (b. 1751, d. 1809), married Lucy Peach, and had Mary | and William. Later he married Sarah Clarke, and had Christopher Clarke (who founded Hyattsville), and Lucretia. Christopher Clarke Hyatt tember 20, 1799; d. 1884) Catherine Culver, Culver, Catherine and others. (b. Sep- married By his second wife, Francis R. Perkins, | he had Franck, who became a physi- cian and a throat specialist in this city and married a Miss Carlton: Hattie, Charles and Albert. The widow of Dr. Franck Hyatt resides in Wash- ington with her son, Franck Hyatt, jr., and a daughter, Mrs. Conrad Reid, resides at Kensington, Md. Mrs. Nellie H. Elliott of this city, and many ! others. are descended from Christo- pher Clarke Hyatt. In connection with the Duvall House and the Duvall family before mentioned, the Hvatt genelogical tree also includes the marriage of Martha, the daughter of Benjamin Duvall (1711-1803) to William Hyatt, Jr., which shows that the Hyatt and and had by her.| Duvall families were early closley re- lated and undoubtedly had consider- | able property interest in common in taining four rooms, has been appro-|the names: and around Hyattsville. THE Hyatt Mansion house (now a tourists’ home), which stands on another early tract of land patented | the west side of Rhode Island avenue at Hyatt avenue, was probably erected ' by Christopher Clarke Hyatt soon after he settled the town, judging by its | construction, and the Rogers House, Early home of B. F. Guy, pioneer resident of Hyattsville, Baltimore street on Mansion avenue. —Star Staff Photo. Mr. Wheatley, in speaking of the ( to have been Sarah Tewksbury). flled‘; just to the north, and known as Pir- property, said that he had it from an | the inventory of his estate. Like s0 wood, where lived the celebrated in- old resident named Hickey, who lived | many early settlers of this country, | ventor, Dr. James Harris Rogers, was in the general neighborhood, and who | Charles and his wife became the par- | likely built at even a later date. ents of a large family of nine children, } | The old Octagon House on Locust |tracks, is one of the unique houses {of this section. It is owned by the Rogers family and was formerly oc- | cupied by one of its members, but is | now occupied by two families named | | Clark. | In 1922 Frank J. Metcalf, in reading an article on the Octagon Houses of Washington, before the Columbia His- torical Society, went a little outside i the city to give an interesting account | however, is not so very old—looking at it through the eyes of an old-timer. But here is what Mr. Metcalf said about this particular building: “Our next call was at the house itself, where we were met by the wife of the owner, Mrs. William S. Rogers, who invited us in and gave us a de- scription of its arrangement. Each | side has a length of about twelve feet, and the first floor is divided into two parts only, the partition being not quite in the center of the two opposite sides. The entrance is into a spacious hall, from which the stairs ascend to {the second and third stories. The main room {s bounded by three sides of the octagon and the larger part of the fourth and fifth sides. The two upper floors are divided into two good sized rooms. and a third one which is smaller. The roof is surmounted by ‘a small observatory, also octagonal in Firwood, home of the late Dr. . J. Harris Rogers, noted electrical inventor. Boulevard, next to the Hyatt house. YATTSVILLE’S 50 YEARS TIME OF VIGOROUS GROWTH- On the Baltimore —Star Staff Photo. shape. Thus there are seven rooms in the house, not including the halls, | “A long and narrow addition, con- | | priately referred to as the Trailer. This makes it better suited for a fam- ily dwelling, especially if the family is large—and the present occupants number ten. The owner thought that this addition, which appears as of stone construction, though really a pebbledashed exterior, was built be- fore the octagon, but another in- formant was sure that it was a more recent portion, and was added for in- | creased quarters. “This octagon house is easily reached | by the electric cars from Washington, | by getting off at the Melrose crossing, | before coming to the Baltimore & Ohio station at Hyattsville, We next consulted Mr. Harry W. Shepherd, cashier of the First National Bank, who as soon as he had learned the| object of our visit, called Dr. Wells' lpmperty there. Perhaps, maybe some! ’I‘HE people of Washington are in- of them even took part yesterday in| terested in Hyattsville, where s the jubilee; let us hope so. Here are | many of our former friends and resi- dents reside. Indeed. for the same C. C. Hyatt, Gen. Albin Schoepf, | reason, we have a fond attachmen: a brigadier general in the Union Army | for all the towns close to the Dist during the Civil War; Ben Holliday, | of Columbia. But, to the writer, ther H. Wallis, R. K. Elliott, James Hughes, | js always a returning of the mind t E. R. McKean, W. P. Prime, W. B.| hy-gone days when he uses the name Prime, Henry T. Scott, (?) Aman, |« James O'Neil, J. Q. Shipley, W. W. Danenhower, John E. Lowe, Francis Gasch, Eli S. Prime (?) Noerr, Charles Bennett, Miss Maruty, Joseph B. Bryan, William P. man, | ward past that town when riding o | Shedd, Seth Holton, Reuben Middleton heirs, John T. Mercer, B. F. G Charles Wells, R. K. Elliott, E. P. Goodman, Thomas W. Smith, Mrs. Joseph L. Danenhower, Joeph A. Scaggs, E. P. and W. B. Cottrell, (?) Sibley, Mrs. M. L. Middleton Thirty-six years ago, Hyattsville elected as its first mayor, Michael V Tierney, who was then practicing law in Washington with his brother, E. E Tierney, and in regular order he has which stood for man: venue, to the east of the railroad | of this peculiarly shaped house. which, | on the phone, and finding that he was at home, went with us and in- troduced us. Dr. Charles A. Wells has been a life-long physician in Hyatts- ville, having begun his practice in Bladensburg. and he is the father of Walter A, Wells, a Washington physi- cian. From his well-stored memory the following facts, some of which have been verified by other informants, are here recorded: been succeeded by the following mayors: Dr. Charles A. Wells, Dr. Joseph R. Owens, John J. Fainter, William P. Magruder, Roger Bellis Harry W. Shepherd, Oswald A. Greager, Edward Devlin, John G. Holden, William A. Brooks, Matthew F. Halloran, T. Hammond Welsh, J Frank Rushe, Irving Owings, Dr. H. T. Willis, Lemuel L. Gray. and Dr. H. T { willis, again, the present mayor. northeast corner of New Jers and C streets. now Canitol grounds. Indeed, the thrill reachinz Hyattsville is still enjoyved by all Washingtonians when returming to the especiall, Y have been awa for any length of time. f date. no one has ever proven contrary that there is “no place like home.” 1 of D ta to the “The builder of this octagon house was Henry T. Scott. a druggist of Bladensburg. The name of a Mr. Swain is connected with the early his- tory of the place, and as he was a brother-in-law of Mr. Scott, it is probable that he may have done some of the work upon it. Mr. Scott lived here for about a year keeping bach- | __(Continued From First Page) elor'’s hall; he afterward married and {opened a drug store in Bladensburg. | When he moved from this house he | bought and occupied a farm not far away. As near as can be ascertained without searching the county records, | this house was put up in the year 1853 or 1854. A school for young ladies was kept here by Miss Mary Ann Keech. assisted by one or two of her sisters, but when their brother Alexander died the family left Hyattsville. ‘The house was next owned by a Mr. McCutcheon, from whom it was bought by William P. Shedd. One of | the latter’s daughters married William | Shepherd, and his family occupied | the home until about fifteen years ago. | when it was sold to William S. Rogers. Mr. Harry W. Shepherd, grandson of William P. Shedd, is the cashier of the First National Bank. and lived in this house during his boyhood. In the yard there is a rustic arbor of octagon shape, but of more recent construction.” alongside which, it is claimed. the river once flowed and upon which part of Braddock's army is said to have landed on its way to fight the French. Not far from this rock, upstream and on the other side of Rock Creek, near where it empties into the Poto- mac. was said to have been another old-time river landing. It is claimed that if Braddock's army had landed in this neighborhood it would have | done so at this last landing. By so doing it would have been saved the necessity of crossing Rock Creek to get to the road that led out of George- town to the West. This place on Rock Creek was called “Saw Pit Landing” and is of historical interest because, being used as early as 1700 as a disembarking piacs for immigrants, trappers and traders. it established Georgetown as one of the earliest trading posts in the English colony. j THE territory of the District of Co- lumbia never became a scene of conflict during the Revolutionary War. And at no time did any of the armies. Colonial or British, pass through it on their expeditions or campaigns to and from the South. The American forces were generally brought down from the North to a point on Chesa- peake Bay cpposite Annapolis. From there they were ferried over to the mainland and crossed Maryland to the Potomac below Alexandria, where they were transported over to the Vir- ginia shore, The site of Mason's ferry is occu- IT WOULD, of course, be interesting if we knew the names of all the pioneers of Hyattsville; those who built it up and who paved the way for the hustling, businesslike. beautifu! town it is today. But naturally, this is impossible, for, try as we m: would be bound to omit some wi even playved an important role in its development. But there is. in the Public Library, a plat of the place dated 1879, and here appear the names of many persons who were residing in the town at this time, or owning' PARTIES OA SATORDAYS AND SONDAYS AND HIKE TO SOCH CLACE AiLL, FATTERSONS WOODS, oW ECKINGYON GOOD HOPE.) = H-BET. 13814-N.W. G.H.LAFETRA, CROPRIETOR gAG(N SOHKN AN CooLD FIND THOSE WERE THE HAPPY DAYS! 7 Joe),'efz(ury‘o CHESTNUTS ANO NOBODYS GEEN SEM,WE NEAR n:\ “Back to the Wo o - YEAR H,m WHATA YA THINK “THIS FENCE AND SIGNS FOR, S\DES, =\<SPose TAYLOR %mnsar;{ or A ClLaEe by CAN LOARD LP IN. FINE MINTS HESTNOT TREESFMOSY ANYWHERE SUST OOY SIOE TTHE CTY LIMITS AND HOW WE OSEO Yo FormM ANUTTING ERMANTOWN, (N s AS, GREE i NS -/\J 5‘.‘? ods” i bk Munskiold 000 REMEMBER P ONSWER TO LAST WEEKY: QOESTION, HERE WAS EAGLE CARK 2 AONSWER, EVENTH & FLAe AVE.ON THE PRESENT ST OF RIFFITA STADIVOM. e T WEEK A WHAT O IN POTOMAC GORGE | pied by the Virginia end of Kev ridge. Established in 1748 by John Mason. who owned and lived on Ana- lostan Island. near by. it was a land- place of great importance to col- Maryland. the District of Colum- nd Virginia. Escorted by a cavalcade of Alex- andrians. George Washing came up the Post Road from Alexandr: this ferry and crossed over the to Georgetown on his way no become the first President of United States. Greeted in George- town by the “acclamations of a large crowd,” he was escorted through that place by a “corps of gentlemen far a< a tavern on the post road h way to Baltimore. NE of the most momentous epi- sodes along the banks of the Poe tomac in this section was the cers mony attending the bezinning of the construction of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. The interesting pro- ceedings are best described by an ac- count given at the time. “On Jui 4, 1828, at an early hour bers of the Corporations ton. Georgetown, Alexand vited guests assembled Union Hotel in Georgetown the President of the United ed, escorted by a troop of ¢ at Tilley At 7:30 States having assembled about 8 o'clock on in Geo “The company, at street Band to High street (Wiscon nue) wharf, where they embar the scene of celebration in especially prepared boats, accompa v great rse of citize crafis or moving in union along banks of the river. “On disembarking. Gen. Mercer | president of the canal company, pre- sented a spade to Presic Adams, who proceeded to address the com- ny in a very stirring, patrioti “On attempting to use the spad~ it struck a root which prevented from penetrating the earth. He made another attempt to insert the im- plement, with no better success | Whereupon he stripped off his coat and went to work in earnest, “As (he President concluded his remarks, a national salute was fired by a detachment of United States artillery on the grounds. “After other speeches had been made, and other spades had turned other sods, the procession again formed and returned to the boats by way of the canal back to tidewater, where they embarked. Here a col- | lation was served and several toasts appropriate to the occasion were drunk. The boats finally arrived at Davidson’s wharf in Washington, | where the procession disembarked.” The canal project, commenced 1828, completed in 1850, abandoned | 1924, cost $11,000,000, and was th last important historical event in the early days along the Potomac in th2 District of Columbia. ilo Gas a Menace. An investigation into the tragic death | of three persons in Maryland, who 1 succumbed to gas in a silo, has brought a warning from the Department of Agriculture that similar tragedies are | likely to happen unless proper precau- tions are taken. ‘The greatest danger comes, the Bu- reau of Chemistry engineers say, when large quantities of carbon dioxide gas are generated during the fermentation | that always takes place when corn en- silage is placed in the silo. This fer- mentation, which begins immediately after the ensilage is put in, may con- tinue for several days. The excess | amount of carbon dioxide often lowers the oxygen content of the air to such a point that persons entering the silo will suffocate. ‘The pit silo, with its lack of ventila- tion, is the source of greatest danger. The air in the above-ground silos may be regulated by keeping one of the many doors open near the surface of the silage. Care should be taken t7 open the doors as near the silage level as possible after it has had time to settle. |