USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Picture of Washington and its vicinity, also, the Washington guide, containing a congressional directory, and much other useful information, 1850 > Part 2
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The extent of the city is from north west to southeast about four and a half miles, and from east to southwest about two miles and a half. The whole area of the city is three thousand and sixteen acres, and its circumfer- ence is fourteen miles. The positions for the public edifices are generally eligible and con-
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venient. The streets of the city run north and south, and east and west. These streets are crossed diagonally by spacious avenues, which bear the names of the different States as far as they reach, and are from one hundred and thirty to one hundred and sixty feet in width. The other streets vary in width from seventy to a hundred feet, and are named numerically as they run from north to south, and alphabetical- ly when from east to west. Some of the ave- nues are planted with trees, and many open spaces and squares are preserved, and, with the very large reservation extending from the capitol to the river, will afford ample space for walks, and when properly laid out, cultiva- ted and adorned, will contribute essentially to the pleasures as well as health of the citizens.
It is a historical fact, that even as far back as 1663, more than a century before the Rev- lutionary war, the site of the city of Washing- ton was laid out, and called Rome. A gentle- man by the name of Pope was the proprietor of the soil, and the Tiber ran through his tract. The stream still flows at the foot of the Cap-
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itoline Hill, and has its ancient name of fame. Here, also; even when these names were not remarkable among the people of those days, and when they were not looked upon as pro- phetic, the Indians of many tribes congregated and deliberated in council. Here they regula- ted their wild government, made treaties, and declared war. The legend is true, and Gene- ral Washington, it is supposed, was aware of the fact.
How singularly, then, has this location be- come the seat of a great empire. There is a romance around every, even the most common incidents of life; and here we find it. Here, where the name of Rome, the mighty mistress of a world dead but unforgotten, was a famil- iar word-where even the common tillers of the soil recognized its sound, and applied it to the mighty forest lands that then were here, when in going and returning to their daily work they crossed the Tiber-how strangely has it happened that here, an empire greater than the mother of empires herself, has been established-that on the land called Rome a
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capitol is built, a senate house and a forum- that here a bridge spans the Tiber-that here is the mansion of a chief magistrate, and all the forms and more than the shadow of a vast republic.
Every one will peruse with interest the fol- lowing sketch of Washington as it was in 1800, from the pen of the late Hon. John Cot- ton Smith, then a member of Congress from Connecticut :
"Our approach to the city was accompanied with sensations not easily described. One wing of the Capitol only had been erected, which, with the President's house, a mile dis- tant from it, both constructed with white sand- stone, were shining objects in dismal contrast with the scene around them. Instead of re- cognising the avenues and streets portrayed on the plan of the city, not one was visible, unless we except a road with two buildings on each side of it, called the New Jersey avenue. The Pennsylvania, leading, as laid down on paper, from the capitol to the presidential mansion, was then nearly the whole distance a deep
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morass, covered with alder bushes, which were cut through the width of the intended avenue during the then ensuing winter. Between the President's house and Georgetown a block of houses had been erected, which then bore, and may still bear, the name of the Six Buildings. There were also two other blocks, consisting of two or three dwelling houses, in different directions, and now and then an insulated wooden habitation ; the intervening spaces, and, indeed, the surface of the city generally, being covered with shrub-oak bushes on the higher grounds, and on the marshy soil either trees or some sort of shrubbery. Nor was the desolate aspect of the place a little augmented by a number of unfinished edifices at Green- leaf's Point, and on an eminence a short dis- tance from it, commenced by an individual whose name they bore, but the state of whose funds compelled him to abandon them, not only unfinished, but in a ruinous condition. There appeared to be but two really comfortable habitations in all respects within the bounds of the city, one of which belonged to Dudley
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Carroll, Esq., and the other to Notley Young, who were the former proprietors of a large proportion of the land appropriated to the city, but who reserved for their own accommodation ground sufficient for gardens and other useful appurtenances. The roads in every direction were muddy and unimproved. A sidewalk was attempted in one instance by a covering formed of the chips of the stones which had been hewed for the capitol. It extended but a little way, and was of little value; for in dry weather the sharp fragments cut our shoes and in wet weather covered them with white mortar. In short, it was a 'new settlement.' The houses, with two or three exceptions, had been very recently erected, and the operation greatly hurried in view of the approaching transfer of the National Government. A
laudable desire was manifested by what few citizens and residents there were, to render our condition as pleasant as circumstances would permit. One of the blocks of buildings already mentioned was situated on the east side of what was intended for the capitol square, and, being
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chiefly occupied by an extensive and well-kept hotel, accommodated a goodly number of the members. Notwithstanding the unfavorable as- pect which Washington presented on our arri- val, I cannot sufficiently express my admiration of its local position. From the capitol you have a distinct view of its fine undulating surface, situated at the confluence of the Potomac and its eastern branch, the wide expanse of that majestic river to the bend at Mount Vernon, the cities of Alexandria and Georgetown, and the cultivated fields and blue hills of Maryland and Virginia on either side of the river, the whole constituting a prospect of surpassing beauty and grandeur. The city has also the inestimable advantage of delightful water, in many instances flowing from copious springs, and always attainable by digging to a mode- rate depth ; to which may be added the singu- lar fact that such is the due admixture of loam and clay in the soil of a great portion of the city that a house may be built of brick made of the earth dug from the cellar; hence it was not unusual to see the remains of a brick-kiln
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near the newly erected dwelling house or other edifice. In short, when we consider not only these advantages, but what, in a national point of view, is of superior importance, the location on a fine navigable river, accessible to the whole maritime frontier of the United States, and yet easily rendered defensible against foreign invasion ; and that, by the facilities of internal navigation and railways, it may be approached by the population of the Western States, and indeed of the whole nation, with less inconvenience than any other conceivable situation, we must acknowledge that its selec- tion by WASHINGTON as the permanent seat of the Federal Government affords a striking exhibition of the discernment, wisdom, and forecast which characterized that illustrious man. Under this impression, whenever, during the six years of my connexion with Congress, the question of removing the seat of Govern- ment to some other place was agitated-and the proposition was frequently made-I stood almost alone as a northern man in giving my vote in the negative."
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The laws of Maryland and Virginia passed prior to 1802, very generally prevail in the jurisprudence of the District.
The soil of Washington and its vicinity is not remarkably fertile, except along the margin of the streams, but is very capable of improve- ment, and the mildness of the climate favors a great variety of products. In addition to the great staple productions of wheat, Indian corn, tobacco, and potatoes, both Irish and sweet, al- most every variety of vegetables and fruits, not excepting the vine, may be cultivated to per- fection. With these, few if any markets in the land, are more richly supplied than that of Washington. The climate of Washington, though sometimes sudden in its changes, is not surpassed in regard to salubrity by any in the Union, if in the world.
Those who would duly estimate the beauty and magnificence of the Potomac River must ascend it, particularly from Georgetown to above Harper's Ferry, where takes place the junction of the Shanandoah with the main branch, rending asunder the Blue Ridge,
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and leaving on either side the broken and shattered rocks of immense height, as monu- ments of the force that has separated them.
The waters of this noble river are frequent- ed, particularly in the vicinity of Washington, by a great variety of the finest wild fowl, among which is the canvass-back duck, which feeds upon the Vallisneria Americana, found abundant in the swamps bordering the Poto- mac. This fowl is justly considered the greatest luxury which can be placed upon our tables. Wilson represents it in the rich, juicy tenderness of its flesh, and its delicacy of flavor, as unrivalled by the whole of its tribe, and those of the Chesapeake and Potomac as supe- rior to all others, owing to the abundance of their favorite food produced in those rivers. The favorite region for the canvass back is between Crany Island, some twenty-five miles below Washington, and Analostan Island near Georgetown. The numbers have somewhat decreased of late in the neighborhood of Wash- ington, owing, doubtless, to the number of sharp shooters, who, in the winter and spring,
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are constantly in pursuit of them. Formerly, these ducks were only shot from the shore; but of late years large numbers have been killed by persons who approach them in small skiffs, with long guns of large calibre, and who kill great numbers by a single discharge. Among other varieties of water fowl may also be mentioned the swan, the wild goose, the red-head shoveler, the black head shoveler, the duck and mallard, the black duck, the blue wing teal, and the widgeon. The swan fre- quents a section of the river about thirty miles below Washington. In the lower portions of the river wild geese are abundant. There is also found in the marshes along the Potomac a bird less than the snipe, called in Virginia the sora, and in Pennsylvania the rail, and sometimes, though improperly, in the middle States, the ortolan. It is seen but for a few weeks, arriving early in September, and departing in October. Its natural history is obscure, but it is much sought for by sports- men and constitutes a great delicacy.
The shad and herring fisheries on the Poto-
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mac are sources of wealth to their owners, and of great public benefit. Rock fish are excellent and abundant, oysters plenty and of the finest quality, and, to the taste of many, the sturgeon is worthy a place on the choicest table.
Among the numerous Halls designed and adapted for public meetings, are Odd Fellows' Hall, on seventh street, between the General Post Office and Pennsylvania avenue ; Jackson Hall, on Penn. av., between 3 and 4} streets; Temperance Hall, on E st, bet. 9th and 10th; Apollo Hall, fronting Penn. av., bet. 13 and 13} sts .; Concert Hall, on Penn. av., bet. 6th and 7th sts. ; Carusi's Saloon, on the corner of C and 11th sts .; Washington Hall, on Penn- sylvania avenue, corner of 6th street ; and the Washington Assembly Rooms on Louisiana avenue, near the City Hall ; all of which are spacious and convenient edifices.
The City Hall, after a handsome plan by George Hadfield, was commenced in 1820, but is in a very unfinished condition. It stands on Judiciary Square, at the north termination of
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four and a half street. The circuit and crimi- nal courts hold their sessions in this hall. In the eastern wing are the rooms of attorneys and the different officers connected with the court. In the western wing are the offices of the mayor and corporation. A beautiful model of what this hall is to be when finished, adorned by porti- coes, pillars, and piazzas, is deposited in the western wing, and the design is that the whole edifice shall be stuccoed so as to resemble marble. The proposed length of the front is two hundred feet. :
The City Post Ofice is in a convenient building on seventh street adjoining the Gene- ral Post Office. It is open daily, from eight A. M. to nine P. M., except when assorting the mail, and on Sunday, when it is open from eight to nine A. M., from twelve to one, and from eight to nine P. M.
The Washington Asylum for the destitute is a large and convenient brick building, situa- ted near the Congressional burying ground, and surrounded by an ample garden cultivated by such of the inmates as are able to labor. It is
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under the management of a Board of Com- missioners. An intendant, matron, and other necessary agents are appointed by the Mayor and Board of Commissioners, who have adopt- ed judicious regulations for the conduct of the Institution. One hundred and ninety-six desti- titute and infirm persons were relieved in the asylum during the year ending June 30, 1847.
A City Hospital has recently been opened near the City Hall, under the care and attend- ed by the gratuitous services of the medical society, and the Mayor recommends that some aid be extended to it by the Corporation.
The Jail of the city is a large brick build- ing of Gothic form, three stories high, colored to resemble stone, and is well adapted to its purpose. It is situated a little to the north of the City Hall.
The Orphan Asylum was erected nearly twenty years ago, on what is called Mauso- leum square, and was largely indebted for its existence to the generosity of the late admirable and truly christian lady Mrs. Van Ness. A society of benevolent ladies was formed in 1815
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for the purpose of giving protection and aid to orphans, and Mrs. Madison was appointed first directress. Mrs. Van Ness became her suc- cessor, and for several years devoted herself, with remarkable zeal and liberality, to the in- terests of those sheltered beneath the wings of this society. The association was incorporated by act of Congress in 1828. On the same square with the asylum stands an imposing mausoleum erected by General John P. Van Ness, in which are interred the remains of David Burns' family, and since, those of the family of General Van Ness, including those of his lamented daughter, Mrs. Middleton, and his accomplished lady. This mausoleum is said to be a copy of the temple of Vesta at Rome.
The St. Vincent Asylum enjoys a very liberal patronage from the members of the Catholic church.
The Market Houses are four in number. The Centre Market, on Pennsylvania avenue, is probably not excelled in the abundance and quality of its supplies by any in the Union.
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Hotels and Boarding Houses in Washing- ton are numerous and excellent. Among them may be named the National Hotel (Coleman's), Gadsby's, the City Hotel, the United States, Fuller's, Tyler's, all on Pennsylvania avenue, and Beers' Temperance Hotel on 3d street. Owing to the great number of strangers who visit Washington during the sessions of Com- gress, the demand for accommodations is great, and new and well directed efforts are annually made to supply it. Those who are best com- petent to judge on the subject, are of opinion, that the number of hotels at present is rather deficient than excessive, and it is probable that each successive year will witness a large aug- mentation in the number of persons who may resort to Washington for purposes of business, improvement, or pleasure.
Public Schools .- These are four in number. The salary of the principal teacher in each is eight hundred dollars, and they enjoy a high reputation, though it is to be regretted that they are not capable of giving accommodations to all the applicants. An additional number
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of primary schools is demanded, and probably will soon be established. In these schools more than five hundred pupils have been in- structed during the last three years, and at the annual examinations, which have been thorough, they have exhibited a most com- mendable degree of improvement.
Many Schools and Seminaries for the edu- cation of both sexes exist in different parts of the city, several of them of a high and well established character, where instruction in all the usual branches of knowledge can be ob- tained for a reasonable compensation. Public attention is strongly directed to these institu- tions, and perhaps in no other city are there to be found superior advantages of education, which are annually on the increase. There are also several excellent boarding schools.
The Washington Library is owned by an association of citizens, and was incorporated by Congress in 1814. The number of volumes belonging to this library is above six thousand, and many of the works are valuable, and em- . brace a great variety in the departments of let-
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ters and science. Shareholders are entitled to take books from this library under certain re- strictions; and a Board of Directors, who elect annually a president, treasurer, and librarian, manage the affairs of the Institution. This library is open daily from three to six P. M., in a building owned by the company on elev- enth street west, a few doors south of Pennsyl- vania Avenue.
From Taylor's Waverly Circulating Li- brary, and Force's Juvenile Circulating Li- brary, many popular and instructive books are furnished to subscribers.
Mr. Charles King's Gallery of Paintings on twelfth street, near F, will be found in a neat edifice erected for it by the excellent artist its proprietor, and is highly attractive, embra- cing in two apartments more than two hundred and sixty paintings, among them portraits of distingished persons and a number of them works of great merit. Mr. King has exhibit- ed much taste in the arrangement of his paint- ings, and many of them, the productions of his own pencil, are admirably executed.
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Mr. Fendrich takes excellent portraits in crayon, and is a lithographer of great skill. Mr. Gibson has been much distinguished by one or two panoramas, and some paintings of high excellence. Miss Milligan has executed some very beautiful pictures. Mr. William Mc Leod, a young landscape painter, has by the force of his own genius risen to distinction, and several of his productions give assurance that he will soon be acknowledged to be eminent in his chosen department of art. Mr. J. Wilson cuts very beautiful cameo likenesses, and one of President Polk, is, for accuracy and finish, equal to any thing of the kind that has been produced. Mr. William J. Stone has shown great ability in sculp- ture and intends to devote his life to the art. Various accomplished artists generally visit and reside in the city during the winter season.
Mr. J. Montandon has constructed chro- nometers of extraordinary accuracy. Mr. Chauncey Warriner is the inventor of the self- acting meteorological register, which includes
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' in one and the same instrument a chronometer, rain gauge, tide measurer, thermometer, bar- ometer, and a contrivance to measure and mark the velocity of the wind. This ma- chine registers its own operations and is very ingenious. Mr. Warriner is at present occu- pied in making improvements in the machines for the telegraph company, and has shown remarkable mechanical powers. Mr. Thomas Lamb has produced many excellent specimens of fine cutlery, and his razors are unsurpassed by those of any manufacturer, either in this country or in Europe.
Mr. Frederick Russel, a citizen of Washing- ton, has devoted much time and thought to the construction of an instrument designed to illus- trate the various motions of the heavenly bodies. He has given to this instrument the name of the Uranoscope, and the following description of its movements and uses has been published:
"The Uranascope is in the form of a sphere, of more than five feet in diameter, composed of metal rods or bars, so arranged as to repre- sent all the meridians, parallels of latitude, and
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primary circles usually marked on artificial globes. If the room in which the instrument is shown have a vaulted ceiling, and all other light be excluded from it, except that which comes from a lamp fixed in the centre of the globe, the exhibition of the various planetary phenomena will be beautifully distinct and per- fect. The meridians and circles will make de- fined shadows on the face of the vault, while the sun, moon, stars, and planets of various magni- tudes will, on the contrary, cast upon it their radiant reflection. A transparent covering, upon which are painted several hundred stars and the figures of the constellations, may be thrown over the globe at pleasure, and thus the vaulted ceiling becomes at once a perfect rep- resentation of the celestial hemisphere. By means of the machinery, its natural motion is given to the earth, and all the phenomena of the rising and setting of the heavenly bodies are brought before the beholder. Every object is seen in its appropriate place; and by chang- ing the machinery, which consists of many varieties, to be substituted at pleasure, a better
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illustration than it is possible to give in words, is shown of the precession of the equinoxes, the equation of time, the eccentricities of the comet, and many other phenomena which no other instrument could adequately explain. Besides the phenomena already mentioned, it may be used to illustrate the aspect of the hea- vens as seen from the earth in every latitude; the apparent annual course of the sun through the signs of the zodiac; the moon through her monthly course; her retrogade motion of nodes, and what are called harvest moons; eclipses in all their varieties; acceleration of the stars; comets in every form of ellipse ; the revolution of the double stars; and, indeed, a very full and accurate view of the various changes in the heavens." It is hoped that the Smith- sonian Institution or some seminary of science may enable Mr. Russel to construct his instru- ment on an ample scale and to show all its ad vantages.
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BURIAL GROUNDS.
Generations pass while some trees stand, and old families last not three oaks. "Oblivion is not to he hired. The greater part must be content to be as though they had not been ; to be found in the register of God, not in the record of man. Twenty-seven names make up the first story before the flood, and the recorded names ever since contain not one living century .- Sir Thomas Browne.
In the vicinity of the city are several neat and convenient cemetries. Holmead's Burial Ground, situated at the northern extremity of twentieth street, a little east of Rock Creek, is a quiet attractive spot, where grief may wan- der unmolested, and sad affection gather solace from the kindly aspect and gentle ministeries of nature.
The National or Congressional Burial Ground, is more imposing. This spot was se- lected in the year 1807 by a few of the citizens of Washington, and subsequently was placed under the direction of the vestry of Christ Church, an incorporated body. This cemetery is situated more than a mile east of the capitol, embraces about ten acres, commands an exten- sive view of the country, is well enclosed with a brick wall, laid out with taste, and adorned with many shrubs and trees and impressive
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and beautiful monuments. In addition to sev- eral private vaults, is one spacious and well constructed, enclosed by a neat iron railing, built at the expense and' by order of Congress, as a place of deposit for the dead whose re- mains it may be the purpose of friends subse- quently to remove. Measures have been adopted to enlarge this cemetery, and some twenty acres additional will soon be brought within its limits: It is hoped that the entire en- closure may contain not less than fifty acres, and that the whole area may be planted and adorned with the good taste and judgment which render the cemeteries of Mount Auburn and Greenwood so inviting to pensive minds. " Tis too late" says a venerable old author " to be ambitious. The great mutations of the world are acted, or time may be too short for our designs. To extend our memories by monuments, whose death we daily pray for, and whose duration we cannot hope, without , injury to our expectations in the advent of the last day, were a contradiction to our belief. We whose generations are ordained in the set-
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