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
Murder, sadly, has been part of our neighborhood from the earliest days. A particularly rough patch in this regard occurred during the 1850s. One particular murder had long-lasting repercussions, at least from a legal point of view. The whole affair began quite innocuously. It involved two young men, both employed at the Washington Navy Yard. […]
As long as people have gone to sea, boats have sunk. There have also been attempts to raise the boats – or at least their cargo. While today, submersibles, SCUBA outfits, and diving suits make this possible, the methods used in past centuries were not quite as… um, reliable. An early technology, described by Aristotle […]
While the Masons get all the press, they were hardly the only fraternal organization that flourished during the 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the others – and one of the largest – was named the International Order of Odd Fellows. Like the Masons, they were early residents of Washington D.C. in general, and the Navy […]
I have frequently written about the Library of Congress in the past, which is unsurprising in that it is a) and important institution here on the Hill, and b) a place I spend a fair bit of time, both as a tour guide and as a researcher. While you can get in as a visitor […]
I wrote last week of the first Ebenezer church on 4th Street SE. Today we will look at its replacement – a building that is still standing. It is unsurprising that a church built in 1811 would have become out of date and unusable by 1857. This is exactly what happened to Ebenezer. In spite of […]