USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Centennial history of the city of Washington, D. C. With full outline of the natural advantages, accounts of the Indian tribes, selection of the site, founding of the city to the present time > Part 5
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" The Lafayette formation, as developed in the vicinity of Wash- ington, consists of a bed of well-rounded quartz gravel, imbedded in a matrix of red sand. The gravel is coarsest and most abundant west and northwest of a line passing through the Capitol, and on some of the eminences in the direction of Tenallytown the deposit consists almost wholly of gravel, the sandy matrix being quite scant. South- east of that line, the gravel is finer and less abundant, and toward Marlborough becomes inconspicuous, the formation consisting almost wholly of the sandy element. This gravel has been largely used as a foundation for asphalt pavements and as macadam, but its value for these purposes is not fully appreciated. It is within limits to say that no better material for road making exists in the world than this quartz gravel of the Lafayette formation. Considered as a geologic deposit, this formation once extended continuously from a line passing through Tenallytown and somewhat east of Falls Church eastward to Chesapeake Bay, and also extended northward and southward for hundreds of miles; but the greater part of this ancient deposit has been washed away by the rivers and streamlets, so that it now exists only in the form of remnants, generally crowning the higher lands back from the rivers. The most valuable deposits are found in the vicinity of the Soldiers' Home, about Silver Springs, in the neighbor- hood of Tenallytown, over Wesley Heights, and along the upland searp stretching from Fort Myer to beyond Alexandria.
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
" The Chesapeake formation consists of fine materials, mainly sand with some clays, together with layers of a fine mealy substance which, under the microscope, is found to consist of the siliceous shells of minute organisms known as Infusoria. The infusorial earth of this formation has long been known at Richmond, and recent investigations by the Geological Survey indicate that the Washington beds are quite as extensive and valuable as those of Virginia. The material is used as a polishing powder ( sometimes under the name tripoli) and for various mechanical purposes. It erops out in almost all of the roads of the eastern part of the District and contiguous portions of Maryland.
"The Pamunkey formation is composed of fine green sand mixed with varying amounts of organic matter and clay, and usually con- taining a considerable proportion of the mineral glauconite. In certain parts of the formation, the glauconite is so abundant as to give the deposit the character of the well-known natural fertilizer of this and other countries usually called green sand or green-sand marl. At Upper Marlborough, at Fort Washington, and indeed generally on the portion of the western shore of Maryland contiguous to the District of Columbia, the principal green-sand bed is fifteen to thirty feet in thickness, while the other beds of which the formation is composed are also glanconitie to a greater or less extent. Green sand has been mined and shipped for use as a fertilizer in a small way; but the value of the material is not yet adequately appreciated. In New Jersey a similar natural fertilizer, derived from the same formation, has been extensively employed, with the result of transforming the barren wastes of early days into the splendid fields and vegetable gardens from which the metropolis of New York is supplied. There is no doubt that eventually the sterile fields and naked hillsides sometimes seen in the vicinity of Washington will be similarly transformed by the use of this material.
"The Severn formation is commonly a thin bed of black micaceous sands found in the eastern part of the District and in contiguous portions of Maryland. The quartz sand of this formation is com- monly sharp, and when found in sufficient purity, as is the case in several localities in Maryland, forms an excellent building sand. Some of the finer parts of the formation are used to a slight extent as molding sand.
" The Potomac formation consists of a variety of materials, includ- ing various kinds of clays and several grades of sand, besides beds of gravel and cobble stones. The finest clays are suitable for the manu- facture of pottery, but have not been utilized for this purpose in the
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NATURAL ADVANTAGES.
vicinity of Washington, except at Terra Cotta. There the material is employed in the manufacture of the so-called terra cotta or pottery tubing used largely in the city for sewers, drain pipes, culverts, etc. In New Jersey, the pottery clays of the same formation are extensively used in the manufacture of fire brick, and other varieties are used for the finer grades. of porcelain for which this country is now becoming famous.
"Another variety of clay sometimes found in the Potomac formation is of too low grade for pottery use, yet is suitable for the manufacture of common or pressed briek. This material has thus far been exten- sively used only at the Columbia Brick Works, but other works using the same material might well be established in sufficient number to supply local and other demands.
"Some of the sand beds of the formation yield an excellent grade of sharp sand, the best building sand, indeed, of the District. In grad- ing the northern part of the city, it has long been a common practice to remove the entire thickness of the Columbia formation (using the upper part for brick making, screening the lower part for sand and for gravel, and removing the bowlders and cobbles for street making) and then carry the excavation several fect or yards beneath the grade level for the purpose of extracting the valuable building sands of the Potomac formation, and finally filling these sand pits with the refuse from both formations.
" West of a line passing through the Capitol and the town of Laurel, the Potomac formation contains considerable quantities of well- rounded quartzite pebbles and cobblestones, which are often accumu- lated in considerable beds. These, like the similar materials of the Lafayette formation, form the best of road material, and have been largely used for that purpose. The roadside gutters of the Soldiers' Home, Arlington, and other public parks and reservations, and of many suburban streets and country roads, are lined with cobblestones taken from this formation.
"In the early history of Washington, the formation now known as the Potomac was well known as a source of building stone. The principal quarries lie beyond the limits of the District, near the mouth of Acquia Creek, a tributary of the Potomac from the Virginia side. The formation here consists of a peculiar sand consisting of quartz crystals, feldspar crystals, scales of mica, and other minerals derived from the disintegration of granitoid rocks, the whole forming the mate- rial which geologists call arkose; this arkose being locally cemented or lithified in such manner as to form a firm tough rock known
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
commercially as the Acquia Creek sandstone. The central portion of the Capitol and many others among the older buildings of Washington are built of this material. Of recent years it has not been extensively used, partly by reason of the development of the brick industry and partly by reason of increased transportation facilities, but it remains a valuable resource. In some other localities within and near the District, the sands and gravels of the Potomac formation are cemented by ferruginous solutions so as to form sand ironstone, sometimes of considerable extent and of sufficient firmness to form a strong and durable building stone. The greater part of the wall surrounding the grounds of St. Elizabeth's Asylum is built from the sand ironstone of this character; and the same material is extensively used in the eastern part of the District and contiguous portions of Maryland for founda- tions, bridge abutments, etc.
"In the neighborhood of Baltimore, the clays of the Potomac form- ation have long been known as the source of the famous iron carbonate ores of Maryland. These 'ore banks,' as they are locally known, have long been wrought, and workings extend almost to the District line, and, recently, prospecting has been commenced in the southern exten- sion of the formation, below Washington, in Virginia. This ore is one of the finest in the world, but hitherto has generally been extracted only in limited quantities, for the purpose of mixing with lower grade ores from other parts of the country.
"The Newark formation, or Triassic red sandstone, occupies a con- siderable area in Maryland and Virginia a few miles west of the District boundary. It is the same formation as that yielding the brown stone so extensively used in New York, Philadelphia, and other Northern metropoles, and the quality of the rock in this latitude is fully equal to that of the New Jersey and Connecticut brown' stone. The largest quarries thus far opened are at Seneca, nine miles above Great Falls. The material is unlimited in quantity. Within the past decade it has been largely used in Washington, and might easily be shipped to Baltimore and other cities of Eastern Maryland and Virginia.
" A few miles further westward the same formation contains great beds of peculiar limestone conglomerate known as 'Potomae marble,' which forms an effective building material, particularly for interior decorative work. The columns in the rotunda of the Capitol are made from it. The same material is also extensively used about Leesburg, in Virginia, and Barnesville, Maryland, as a source of lime; for it is often of sufficient purity for burning into lime, and yields a superior product.
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NATURAL ADVANTAGES.
"The eastern part of the District and contiguous parts of Maryland and Virginia are underlain by the crystalline rock known as the Pied- mont gneiss. This formation usually consists of micaceons schists, sometimes running into steatite (or soapstone) on the one hand, or granite on the other; and, in addition, it contains dykes of the pecul- iarly hard and tough rock known as gabbro, and numerous veins of crystalline quartz. The formation extends southward through Virginia and the Carolinas into Georgia and Alabama, and northward through Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and Northern New Jersey into New York.
" The granitic portions of the formation yield granites which have been recently worked in a small way near Cabin John Bridge, just beyond the District limits. Thus far the workings here and elsewhere in the vicinity are not sufficiently extensive to fully indicate the quality and quantity of the material. Further southward, the forma- tion yields the well-known Richmond granite.
" Within the District, as well as beyond its limits, the steatites (or soapstones ) of the formation were wrought by the aborigines, and, to some extent, by the early white settlers; but of recent years the mate- rial has not been largely worked. The most extensive opening is on the line of Connecticut Avenue extended, in the northwestern part of the District. There are others in the National Zoological Park, and other openings, as well as unwrought veins, are known to oceur.
"The common phase of the Peidmont gneiss, known to the trade as blue stone, is extensively quarried, particularly along the southern bank of the Potomac, between Georgetown and Little Falls, for use as rubble, etc. The harder variety, known as gabbro, is also used for common masonry. It forms an exceedingly strong and durable rock, but, by reason of its hardness, is expensive to work.
"The crystalline quartz, found in veins intersecting the Piedmont gneiss in great number, has long been worked for macadam and for other road-making purposes. It is one of the most durable of mate- rials, and, unlike the softer rocks, is not ground or disintegrated into dust, but remains clean and firm for years. In Pennsylvania, this material is ground for use in the manufacture of flint ware or delf. It has not yet been thus utilized in the vicinity of the National Capital.
"In certain portions of the Piedmont gneiss the vein quartz is auriferous. The gold mines of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia, are in the quartz veins of this formation, and it seems prob- able that one of the richest parts of the entire belt is that crossing the Potomac River near Great Falls. In the early history of the
4
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
country, this belt was partially prospected, and many workings were begun; but the discovery of gold in California and in the Rocky Mountains diverted attention from the eastern mines, and they were abandoned. Recently they have begun to again attract attention, and several mines have been opened, and works erected near Great Falls."
What is written in this volume in reference to the flora of the vicinity of Washington, is derived mainly from that excellent work of Professor Lester F. Ward, entitled, "Flora of Washington and Vicin- ity," published in 1881 as a " Bulletin of the United States National Museum." To this book the reader is referred for fuller details upon this subject. The territory included is limited by the Great Falls of the Potomac on the north; by the Mount Vernon estate on the south; and the east and west limits extend only a few miles in each direction.
In the early day, there was an organization known as the Wash- ington Botanical Society, which was dissolved in 1825, and was followed by the Botanic Club, organized the same year. The Botanic Club left a catalogne, entitled, "Flora Columbianæ Prodromus." The "Prodromus" contained a description of 919 distinet names of species and varieties of plants in the vicinity. Of these names, 59 are mere synonyms for the same plant, leaving 860 distinct plants. Of these 860 plants, Professor Ward had, at the time of the publication of the bulletin, succeeded in identifying 708 as among those now found, and he thought six others probably belonged among them, leaving 146 enumerated in the "Prodromus" not found in recent investigations.
Of these 146 species, it is not to be inferred that all had disap- peared or become extinet, but, instead, were accounted for as follows:
1. The early botanists made mistakes in naming plants to the number of 43.
2. There were introduced into the catalogue the names of 12 plants not belonging to the flora of this vicinity.
3. The range was so unduly extended as to include 10 plants not belonging to this vicinity, and,
4. There were 81 indigenous plants actually extinguished.
Belonging to the fourth class are the following plants: The white baneberry, the cucumber tree, the American barberry, the water chinquapin, the Mexican poppy, whitlow-grass, the sweet white violet, milkwort, catchfly, corn spurrey, the knawel, herb Robert, indigo plant, the vetch, trefoil, butterfly pea, hawthorn, alum root, mitrewort, stone- crop, Diamorpha pusilla, deergrass, wild sarsaparilla, sunflower, tick- seed, groundsel, plumeless thistle, Lobelia Nuttallii, bellflower, black ash, Indian hemp, poke-milkweed, Maryland pink-root, American century
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NATURAL ADVANTAGES.
plant, American columbo, heliotrope, gromwell, false gromwell, hedge hyssop, Gerardia quercifolia and auriculata, blue curls, mountain mint, horse-mint, skulleap, false dragon-head, wild ginger, strawberry blite, glasswort or saltwort, knotweed of the Buckwheat family, red bay, spurgewort, three-seeded mereury, sugar berry, American aspen, downy poplar, Calla palustris or water arum, pondweed, arrowhead, Arethusa bulbosa ( named for the nymph Arethusa ), Pogonia pendula and dicari- cata of the Orehis family, lady's slipper, flower-de-luce, Allium striatum of the Onion family, birthroot, yellow-eyed grass, papalanthus or dust flower, galingale, nut-grass, Arundinaria macrosperma (a large reed or cane), joint grass, a species of millet, the white cedar, club-moss, and a certain water plant.
The extinction of this large number of plants is due, in part at least, to the fact that, in 1880, previously and after, a considerable extent of country was under cultivation which in 1830 belonged to the primeval forest. However, the "Prodromus" was not a complete record of the flora of its time, which, according to Professor Ward, must have reached as high as fourteen or fifteen hundred vascular plants. "It would appear, therefore, that only a little over half the plants actually existing were discovered by the early botanists. If the proportion of disappearance could be assumed to be the same for species not described as for those described by them, this would raise the aggregate number to considerably above one hundred - perhaps to one hundred and twenty-five.
"The great number of present known species not enumerated in the 'Prodromus,' some of them among our commonest plants, and amounting, in the aggregate, to five hundred and thirty-five species, is another point of interest, since, after due allowance has been made for mistakes in naming them, it remains elear on the one hand that their researches must have been, compared with recent ones, very superficial, and on the other that, not to speak of fresh introductions, many plants now common must have then been very rare; otherwise they would have proven too obtrusive to be thus overlooked."
The places around Washington which are of botanic interest are as follows: The Rock Creek region, the Upper Potomac region, the Lower Potomac region, the Terra Cotta region, the Reform School region, and the Holmead Swamp region.
Rock Creek Valley, forming the boundary between Washington and Georgetown, is still finely wooded for some distance back from the creek, and thus affords a rich field for botanical research. This region is divided into six sections, the first embracing the series of
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
groves between Georgetown and Woodley Park, including several ravines. Many plants are found here that are rare elsewhere, as the Chamalirium Carolinianum or blazing-star, the Cypripedium pubescens or the large yellow lady's slipper, the Hesperis matronalis or rocket or dame's violet, the Liparis Losellii or twayblade, an orchidaceous plant. There is here also a grove of Aralia spinosa, angelica tree or Hercules' club. On the the left bank of the creek lie the Kalorama Heights and some fine open woodland. Several interesting plants are to be found in Woodley Park, including the Obolaria Virginica (so named from the Greek word ofodos, a small coin,) or pennywort, and the Spirca Aruncus or goatsbeard. At the head of one of the ravines above this is a magnolia and sphagnum swamp, where may be found the following species of plants: The Veratrum riride or American white hellebore, a plant containing veratrine, an acrid and poisonous princi- ple; Symplocarpus fatidus or skunk cabbage, so named for its odor; the Gonolobus obliquus, a twining plant with a greenish flower; the Polem- onium reptans, a blue ornamental water plant. Near Pierce's mill may be found the Aralia spinosa mentioned above, Xanthoxylum Americanum, Northern prickly-ash or toothache-tree, a shrub with yellowish-green flowers appearing in spring before the leaves; the Acer saccharinum or sugar or rock maple, the Pinus Strobus or white pine, the Carya alba or shellbark or shagbark hickory. Below the mill may be found the Pop- ulus alba or white poplar, the Acer dasycarpum or white or silver maple.
From Broad Branch to the Military Road is the fifth, and perhaps the most interesting, section in this region. Here are found the Ophioglossum vulgatum or adder's-tongue, Anychia dichotoma or forked chickweed, the Perilla ocimoides, which appears to have no English equivalent, and the Tipularia discolor or the crane-fly orchis. On a bluff above Blagden's mill grows the Gaultheria procumbens or creep- ing wintergreen, and half a mile farther up stand a few of the Pinus pungens or table-mountain pine.
In the sixth section, extending from the Brightwood Road to the north corner of the District of Columbia, the low hills are covered with a second growth of the Pinus inops or sernb pine, and Quercus nigra or black-jack. Above the Claggett estate lies the largest forest in the vicinity, and this was the first extensive tract found for the Lycopodium complanatum or ground pine, a long, creeping, evergreen plant with a resinous odor. The fame of this forest, however, now rests mainly upon its hybrid oaks. Here, also, are found Pyrola ellip- tica or shin-leaf, and the Pyrola secunda, another member of the Heath family; and the Microstylis ophioglossoides or adder's-month.
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NATURAL ADVANTAGES.
Above Georgetown is a broad and low strip of country, formerly known as the Carberry Meadows, between the canal and the river, about three and a half miles long. Conspicuous among the plants of this locality are the following: The Polygonum amphibium or knot- weed, the "hindering knotgrass" of Shakespeare, so-called because it was once thought that an infusion of it would stop the growth of an animal; the Isanthus ceruleus or false pennyroyal; the Herpestis migres- cons, a creeping plant, apparently without an English name; the Brasenia peltata or water-shield, a plant having floating, shield-shaped leaves; the Cyperus virens or galingale, and the Nesca verticillata or swamp loosestrife.
Below Ead's mills are found the following: The Ammannia humilis, the Salix cordata or heart-leafed willow, and the Salix longi- folia, another species of willow; Spiranthes latifolia or ladies'-tresses; the Samolus Valerandi, American variety, or water pimpernel. Between Ead's mills and the chain bridge are the following: The Paronychia lichotoma or whitlowwort, the Enothera fruticosa or evening-primrose, the Ccanothus ovatus or red-root or New Jersey tea, the Ranunculus pusillus, a plant of the Crowfoot family; the Utricularia gibba, a plant of the Bladderwort family.
High Island is, however, much richer in varieties than the low lands, and here are to be found the Jeffersonia diphylla (named in honor of President Jefferson ) or twin-leaf, and in some places called rheuma- tism-root; the Caulophyllum thalictroides, sometimes called pappoose- root; the Erigenia bulbosa or harbinger-of-spring, the Silene nivea or catchfly, the Valeriana pauciflora or valerian, named either after an illustrious Roman named Valerius or derived from the Latin word ralere, to be strong; the Erythronium albidum or white dog-tooth-vio- let, and the Iris cristata or crested dwarf-iris.
Above the feeder of the canal is a series of islands, as Feeder Dam Island, Box Elder Island, Larkspur Island, Sugar Maple Island, etc., the names of which are suggested by the principal plants that are found upon them. On the Virginia side of the Potomac, the flora, though less rich and varied, is yet interesting, and includes the Rhodo- dendron maximum or great laurel, which is very common on the Atlantic slope from New York to Georgia; the Iris cristata mentioned above, the Scutellaria saratillis of the Mint family, the Pycnanthemum Torreyi or mountain mint, the Solidago rupestris, a variety of golden- rod; the Solidago virgata, another variety of the golden-rod. On the Maryland side of the river, above the uppermost point thus men- tioned, is Cabin John Run, which is celebrated more by the botanist
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
for the walking-fern or Camptosorus rhizophyllus, than for its world- renowned arch that spans the run.
In the Lower Potomac region, the localities of special interest are: First, Curtis Run, opposite the Arlington estate, where are found the following: Sagittaria pusilla or arrowhead, the Discopleura capillacea or mock bishop-weed, the Cyperus arythrorhizos or galingale, a species of the Sedge family. Second, Roach's Run, where are found Scrophu- laria nodosa, a member of the Figwort family; Tripsacum dactyloides or sesame grass, the Pycnanthemum lanceolatum, a species of mountain mint. Third, Four Mile Run, where are found the Clematis ochroleuca, a member of the Crowfoot family; Asclepias quadrifolia, a species of milkweed or Virginia silkweed. Fourth, Hunting Creek and its tribu- taries, where are found the Clematis ochroleuca, the Gonolobus hirsutus, a member of the Milkweed family; the Itea Virginica, Itea being the Greek name of the willow; the Geranium columbinum or long-stalked cranesbill, the Micranthemum Nuttallii, a minute flower; the Habenaria virescens, a member of the Orchis family; the Quercus macrocarpa or burr-oak, the Carex, a member of the Sedge family; the Geum strictum, a member of the Rose family; the Galium asprellum or rough bed- straw, a member of the Madder family, and also many others. On the left bank of the lower Potomac River, below the Government Hospi- tal, is a rich botanical field, which yields the Carex pubescens and tetanica, members of the Sedge family; Gonolobus hirsutus mentioned above, Silene arenaria, a member of the Pink family; the Parietaria Pennsylvania, a wall plant; the Myosotis arvensis or forget-me-not, the Scutellaria nervosa or skulleap, a member of the Mint family. At Marshall Hall is found the Asplenium angustifolium, a fern; opposite Fort Foote, Myriophyllum spicatum or water-milfoil; and opposite Alex- andria, the Plantago cordata or ribwort, a member of the Plantain family.
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