When researching the early history of Capitol Hill and the Navy Yard –particularly the neighborhood surrounding the Yard–, I discovered that there was one name being used that I was unfamiliar with: Navy Yard Hill. Today, I will look at this usage. In the early years of Washington D.C., there were clearly two neighborhoods on what […]
I have previously written of the changes made to the names of streets on Capitol Hill, in particular how both B Streets were renamed Constitution and Independence Avenue. Today, I will look at a different sort of street name change. While the most important street on Capitol Hill in its early days was, without doubt, […]
Paging through old newspapers, you often come across classified ads that would not have been out of place in the Agony Column of the London Times, which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had his creation, Sherlock Holmes, describe as “a chorus of groans, cries, and bleatings! A rag-bag of singular happening! But surely the most valuable […]
The late 1850s were a quiet time at the Washington Navy Yard. However, occasionally there was some excitement –whether it was random street violence, as we saw last week, or deserting Marines, as we have today. On February 24, 1858, the Washington Evening Star printed a Lost and Found notice regarding a missing Marine. Under […]
The recent uptick in crime in our neighborhood has everyone from Chief Lanier on down concerned; but as someone who likes to take the long view, I want to… well, take the long view on this. And point out that it’s been going on for a long, long time. Rezin Nathaniel Pumphrey was just another […]