Robert Pohl worked for many years as a computer programmer but recovered from that and became a full time stay-at-home dad. With his son now in school, he has expanded his horizons and become a self-taught historian. He has written books about his house as well as Emancipation in the District of Columbia. You can reach Robert at Robert[at]thehillishome.com
In writing about the post-Civil War renumbering of the city’s houses last week, I briefly mentioned Mayor Sayles Jenks Bowen, pictured on left. While his connection to Capitol Hill is tenuous, he deserves a second look for his ability to get into trouble. Good trouble, as the case was. Born in Scipio, New York in […]
As described last week, the house numbering scheme in Washington D.C. through the 1860s was a bit of a mess. And the post-Civil War period in Washington was about nothing if not cleaning up messes – often those created by the huge number of people who had moved to the nation’s capital during that struggle. […]
A few weeks ago (and, I’m sure multiple times in the past) I referred to a street as “F street north,” which of course makes no sense in the current street numbering scheme. I thought it might be wise to have a quick explainer as to how houses used to be referred to and how […]
Last year, in writing about the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, I wrote about the only veteran I could find at the last minute. I was told that there were, indeed, more, and this year I want to look at one of them: a young man with the mellifluous name […]
Looking through events other than those ending in death and which happened at the Washington Navy Yard in 1853, I came across a short article entitled “Resignation and probable Appointment.” In it, it stated that a James B. Elliott, “the efficient Engineer of the Copper Rolling Mill” had resigned. There is no “James B. Elliott” […]