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
When the Marine Band was formed in 1799, the position of leader was given to the drum major, with a fife major as his second in command – and responsible for the training of the fife-players. It was not until 60 years later that the band was reorganized and a true leader was put in […]
Although public schools have been part of the fabric of the District of Columbia since 1804, it was not until 60 years later that the first purpose-built school was erected in the city. The site selected was at the intersection of Pennsylvania and South Carolina Avenues, SE, a location that continued to contain schools until […]
Digging through old documents is one of the great joys of a researcher, and the thrill of finding a new fact – or at least the hope of finding one – keeps you going through long stretches of irrelevant words. Unfortunately, sometimes the finds can turn out to be false, and lead to great disappointment […]
On April 14, 1876, the Emancipation statue in Lincoln Park was unveiled. Thousands of people, including the President, attended. The person chosen to give the main oration that day was Frederick Douglass. Given the amount of work he had done for the cause of emancipation since escaping from slavery in 1838, he was an obvious […]
In writing these columns, and those I do for the Hill Rag, the toughest part is always working out what should be left out. Often the most interesting stories I come up with simply don’t fit in the context of the current column and must therefore be left out. In broadening the column I wrote […]