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 […]
Curious about your home’s history? Then join librarian and local historian Matthew Gilmore at 6:30 pm on Feb. 16 for Capitol Hill Restoration Society’s Preservation Café: House History Research at Ebenezer’s Coffeehouse (201 F Street NE). The first in a two-part series on house history research, the Preservation Café discussion will focus on researching a […]
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 […]