I have previously written about the bridges that cross the Anacostia River, but long before these were built, there were other ways of crossing the river. Today we will look at one method that had considerable importance in the early years of the District of Columbia.
Acquila Wheeler and Elizabeth Young were married on February 26, 1778 in Prince George’s County, Maryland. While the antecedents of Acquila (who is also listed as Aquila and Acquilla in various sources) are unknown, Elizabeth was of a product of two long-established families of Maryland. Her father owned a considerable part of what was later to become Capitol Hill.
Shortly after their marriage, Elizabeth’s brother William, who was to inherit his father’s lands on the latter’s death, gave the newlyweds three small pieces of land. They were stretched along the banks of the Eastern Branch of the Potomac (today, we’d call that the Anacostia River) and covered the land between today’s Navy Yard and Congressional Cemetery. They were, however, much narrower than wide, and thus would appear to have little if no value. Moreover, much of the land was at the base of a steep bank, and the land directly along the river was marshy, and generally not suitable for any planting.
However, at least one section of this land had shown its value for a long time, as it served as the terminal of a ferry service across the Anacostia – and not just any ferry service: It connected the venerable towns of Georgetown and Upper Marlborough (the latter of which has lost its last three letters in recent years) via a road that left the ferry to the north, then wound its way around the base of what is today Capitol Hill and then to the northwest to Georgetown, following – to some extent – the path of today’s Pennsylvania Avenue.
Panting of the Eastern Branch in 1839. It’s unclear if the wharf in the center is that of the Wheelers, (LOC)
This ferry was thus vital in helping planters in southern Maryland bring their crops to a port – and thus onto ships that would transport this valuable commodity out of the Chesapeake Bay and across the Atlantic Ocean. A second road, stretching north of the ferry, connected with the town of Bladensburg.
When the ferry was established is anyone’s guess. The earliest it appears in any records is in land grant dated 1764. Since Upper Marlborough dated from the late 17th century, and both Bladensburg and Georgetown from the middle of the 18th, it seems likely that it predated this first mention by at least a dozen years.
For the next 18 or so years, Acquila plied his trade across the river, ferrying goods, people, and horses. In 1791, he had a particularly interesting passenger, a young frenchman, and friend of President Washington’s: Peter L’Enfant had recently arrived in what was to be the new capital city, and was surveying the land in preparation for creating a plan for the new city. On March 26, 1791, he wrote: “After coming upon the hill from the Eastern Branch ferry the country is level an on a space of about two miles each way present a most elligible [sic] position for the first settlement of a grand City”
Next Week: The Widow Wheeler