USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > The chronicles of Georgetown, D.C., from 1751-1878 > Part 3
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Just opposite the town is Analostan Island, with its beautiful trees and verdant fields, embracing near one
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AND ITS SURROUNDINGS.
hundred acres, and is denominated Mason's Island, being the former residence of the late General Mason, who entertained Louis Phillipe when on a visit to the United States in 1798. James M. Mason, late Con- federate Minister to Europe, was born here. The dwelling, in which so much princely hospitality was exhibited, was burnt down during the civil war. The island is now used as a pleasure resort. A stone cause- way connects the Island with the Virginia shore, which was erected in 1805, at a heavy expense, for the pur- pose of improving the channel of the river by throw- ing the whole body of water on the eastern side of the island.
Just above the town, on the north bank of the river, is located the former "Columbian Foundry," belonging to the late John Mason, formerly called Foxall's Foun - dry, where was manufactured cannon, shot, and shell that were used in the late war with Great Britain. Since Mason's death the property has been sold, and is now used for milling purposes and a distillery.
Further up the Potomac, three miles above the town, is the "Little Falls," a great place of resort in the summer season for fishing parties, also for picnics, and for persons seeking pleasure and amusement. The water has a fall here of thirty-three feet, and a narrow, contracted channel, through which the water shoots with great impetuosity.
Twelve miles above the town is the " Great Falls," just above whose waterfall a dam has been erected to supply the reservoirs and tunnels with a full supply of water for the use of the cities of the District. A
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SKETCH OF THE TOWN
description of the water works will be found in our chapter on the Washington Aqueduct.
On the heights of the town are situated some of the finest mansions in the country, occupied by citizens whose wealth enables them to retire from business and to devote their leisure in improving and embellishing their estates. " Monterey," the residence of the late Edward M. Linthicum, is a beautiful situation. This house was formerly occupied by John C. Calhoun, when Secretary of War under the administration of Monroe. Then comes "Tudor Place," the former residence of the late Thomas Peter, but more recently of Commodore Kenyon, who lost his life on board of the ill-fated steamship Princeton, on the 1st of March, 1844. Next is the residence of the late Brooke Wil- liams, where the Russian minister was captivated by the beauty of an American lady in May, 1841. The resi- dence of the late David Peter, which was formerly occupied by an English embassador, Baron Sir John Crampton, and afterwards by the minister from France, was unfortunately destroyed by fire during the war. Henry D. Cook purchased the grounds for fifty thous- and dollars, and on Stoddard Street has erected hand- some buildings. The next in order is the residence of the late Captain Boyce of the United States Navy, who unfortunately lost his life by a railroad accident in 1855. Then comes the fine mansion of the late Samuel Turner, now owned by Joseph Weaver, and is fitted up in princely style. There are several other desirable residences on the heights, occupied by John Marbury, A. H. Herr, the Worthington family, Wil-
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AND ITS SURROUNDINGS.
liam Dougal, C. T. Peck, and " Evermay," the resi- dence of the late Samuel Davidson, now of John McPherson.
Having now taken a circumspective view of the town from an elevation, let us descend into the city, and see what has been going on there. The town, being fortified by its charter, as already mentioned, then came into existence as a city. For many years a very active business was done by our wholesale and retail merchants, and numerous buildings and improvements were erected by our mechanics, which were an ornament to the town.
Education was not neglected. Several private schools were conducted in the town at different periods of time: John Kellenberger taught in a school-house near the Bank of Columbia; James Graham in a building on the lot where the residence of Phillip T. Berry stands; Matthew McLeod in a frame building on Gay Street. The Rev. James Carnahan taught a classical school, of high repute, until 1823, when Rev. James McVean conducted his classical and mathemati- cal academy on West Street, which was afterwards con- ducted by Rev. Mr. Simpson, from 1849 to 1857. Miss Lydia English taught a ladies' seminary at the corner of Washington and Gay Streets. William R. Abbot conducted a classical academy on West Street until his death in 1852. A Lancasterian school was con- ducted by the late Robert Ould on Beall Street, in the building occupied by the late MeKenney Osbourn. A school was also taught on High Street by John Me- Leod; also, at another period of time, by Rev. William 5
اميتاج المحلي
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WHO FRAMED THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION.
Allen. A ladies' school was also conducted by Miss Searle ; and a military academy by Captain Cobb, on Prospect Hill. We mention these places where the juveniles received the first rudiments of education, leaving to a future chapter a more extended notice of the institutions of learning.
WHO FRAMED THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION.
As a matter of some importance to the rising gen- eration to know who framed the original Constitution of our country, we transcribe from the tombstones at " Kalorama," as follows: " Abraham Baldwin, a Sen- ator in Congress from Georgia, died 4th March, 1807, aged 52 years. His devotion to his country his great- est fame, her constitution his greatest work." Abra- ham Baldwin was a member of the convention to draft the Constitution of the United States. After his death the original manuscript of the constitution was found among his papers.
Joel Barlow, patriot, poet, and philosopher, died December 26, 1812, aged 57 years. Henry Baldwin, Judge of the Supreme Court, died April 21, 1844. Ruth Baldwin, his wife, died May 29, 1818, aged 62 years. George Bomford, Colonel U. S. A., died May 25, 1848, aged 66 years. Clara, wife of Colonel Bomford, died 10th December, 1855, aged 74 years. The remains of Commodore Decatur were subse- quently transferred to Philadelphia; his widow, Mrs. Susan Decatur, resided for many years near George- town College. She died June 21st, 1860, aged about 70 years, and was buried in the family lot of the Fenwick's, within the college grounds.
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WILLIAM WIRT.
Any reader desiring to peruse a history of the Deca- tur duel, will refer to George Alfred Townsend's book, entitled " Washington Outside and Inside ; " he will there learn " how hard it is to be a duelist and live, and how hard it is to be a duclist and die."
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WILLIAM WIRT.
We cannot refrain from mentioning that William Wirt, the author of the " British Spy," and Attorney General of the United States, for twelve years, under the administrations of Monroe and Adams, received the rudiments of his education in Georgetown. From his life I make the following extract : " In 1779 I was sent to Georgetown, eight miles from Bladens- burg, to school-a classical academy kept by Mr. Rogers. I was placed at boarding with the family of Mr. Schoofield, a member of the Society of Friends. They occupied a small house of hewn logs at the east- ern end of Bridge Street. Friend Schoofield was a well-set, square-built, honest-faced, and honest-hearted man; his wife was one of the best of creation. A deep sadness fell upon me when I was left by the per- ' son who accompanied me to Georgetown-when I could no longer see a face that I knew, nor an object that was not strange. I remember the sense of total desertion and forlornness that seized upon my heart, unlike anything I felt in after years. I sobbed, as if my heart would break, for hours together, and was utterly inconsolable, notwithstanding the maternal tenderness with which good Mrs. Schoofield tried to comfort me. Almost half a century has rolled over
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WILLIAM WIRT.
the incident, yet full well do I recollect with what gentle affection and touching sympathy she urged every topic that was calculated to console a child of my years. After quieting me, in some measure, by her caresses, she took down her bible and read to me the story of Joseph and his brethren. It is probable I had read it before, as such things are usually read without understanding it; but she made me so compre- hend it, that, in the distress of Joseph and his father, I forgot my own. His separation from his family had brought him to great honor, and possibly mine, I thought, might be equally fortunate. I claim some sense of gratitude. I never forget an act of kind- ness, and never received one, that my heart has not impelled me to wish for some occasion to return it. So far as my experience goes, I am pursuaded, too, that doing an act of kindness, and still more repeated acts to the same individual, are as apt to attach the heart of the benefactor to the object, as that of the beneficiary to the person who does him the service. It was so in this instance. I went to see Mrs. Schoo- field after I became a man, and a warmer meeting has seldom taken place between mother and son.
" I passed one winter in Georgetown, and remember seeing a long line of wagons cross the river on the ice. I conjecture that it was the winter of 1779-'80, and that these wagons were attached to the troops which were going south. I remember, also, to have seen a gentleman, Mr. Peter, I think, going out gunning for canvass-backs-then called white-backs-which I have seen in those days whitening the Potomac, and which,
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LUDICROUS SCENES.
when they arose, as they sometimes did, for half a mile together, produced a sound like thunder."
I mention this, being struck with the different state of this game now on the Potomac.
LUDICROUS SCENES.
Some ludicrous scenes have taken place in our leg- islature. On the 26th of September, 1810, an ordi- nance was passed authorizing Richard Parrott to make a rope to survey the width of the Potomac River. The rope was made according to order, and on a day ap- pointed, the surveyor, with the fathers of the town and a number of citizens, assembled to span the vast Poto- mac. The rope was made fast on one side, and all hands got hold of the end on the other, and such a pulling rope never had before; but, alas, for the onward pro- gress of human legislation, the whole town could not draw the rope into a straight line. The attraction of gravitation prevailing here, caused the rope to describe a curve in opposition to the surface of the earth; it swagged into the water, got a ducking, and was then drawn ashore. Thus ended rope surveying.
On the 24th of January, 1825, the corporation pass- ed an ordinance to purchase a steel triangle, which was swung in a steeple built upon the town house. This triangle was used to triangulate the town with its music every night at ten o'clock. It carried the sound of time through the town as fast as the magnetic wires carries news to Baltimore; and when the town officer commenced triangulating, the darkies would move off in parallel lines for home ; but sometimes
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DUELS.
they would come in contact with a triangular watch- man who would ensconce them in the watch-house until day. The triangle lasted but a short time. On account of the laws of gravitation prevailing here and elsewhere, the treacherous cord by which it was swung gave way one night while the system of triangulation was in full blast, and the triangle leaped through the steeple on the roof of the house, and, bounding from thence to the ground, broke up into fragments. Thus ended triangulation. The old system of blow- ing tin horns at ten o'clock was re-established, and the watchmen were ordered to cry the hour to time the citizens through the darkness of the night.
DUELS.
It was about the year 1826, as well as the chroni- cler can remember, that the duel between John Ran- dolph and Henry Clay took place, one afternoon, on the banks of the Potomac, above the Fall's Bridge. Randolph was a man of talent, but nearly a madman. He vilified Clay, who was Secretary of State under John Q. Adams, by attacking him in the Senate- styling him a black-leg. On the word being given, Mr. Clay fired without effect. Mr. Randolph fired his pistol in the air. The moment Mr. Clay saw that Randolph had thrown away his fire, he instantly ap- proached Mr. Randolph, and said: "I trust in God, my dear sir, you are untouched. After what has oc- curred, I would not have harmed you for a thousand worlds." This was a bloodless duel, and, probably, for- tunate for our country it was so. Both were distin-
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DEPRESSION IN BUSINESS.
guished men; but the duel fought upon the same ground on the 16th of February, 1844, between Julian May, a citizen of Washington, and J. W. Cochrane, terminated fatally to one of the parties. They fought with rifles, and Cochrane fell at the first fire, shot through the head. In June, 1836, a duel was fought between two young men of the Navy-Daniel Key, son of the late Francis S. Key, and J. H. Sherburne, both being midshipmen, in which Key was killed; and in February, 1838, Jonathan Cilley, of Maine, and W. T. Graves, of Kentucky, had a duel with rifles, in which Cilley was killed. This last duel caused Con- gress, on the 20th day of February, 1839, to enact a law against dueling. (See volume 5, statutes at large, page 318.) The author of " the Star Spangled Ban- ner" had another son killed on the 27th day of Feb- ruary, 1859, by Daniel E. Sickles. The chronicler mentions these events, as Philip Barton Key, Daniel Key, and Julian May were his school-mates.
DEPRESSION IN BUSINESS AND BEGINNING OF THIE CANAL.
The business of our town began to languish ; houses ceased to be built; and many of those that had been erected were without tenants. What was the cause of' this was a question which presented itself to the in- quiring mind. Our merchants and mechanics were industrious and willing to work; but business was slack. This was due to the rapid growth of Washing- ton, whose citizens purchased the productions of the soil from the people of the surrounding counties, and who, in return, sold them goods on their way for home.
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BEGINNING OF THE CANAL.
They passed through our town without stopping to pur- chase. Affairs went on this way for many years, until Washington grew to be a large city; and by building towards our town her prosperity has diffused itself into our city, like a stick thrown into a pond of water, it makes a ripple until it reaches the shore. Both cities must now flourish, being in conjunction. The pros- perity of one is the prosperity of the other.
To improve the trade of the town, a charter was ob- tained from the State of Virginia on the 24th of Sep- tember, 1824, assented to and confirmed by Congress on the 3d of March, 1825, and also by the State of Pennsylvania, to make and construct a canal from Georgetown to the Ohio River. Our citizens sub- scribed liberally to the stock, believing it would eventu- ally pay a dividend to the stockholders, some of them subscribing as high as five thousand dollars, and pay- ing all their installments. It was considered that the canal, if it did not pay directly on its completion, would indirectly pay by increasing the business of the town and increasing the value of property. On the passage of the charter by Congress, the citizens of the town were in high glee ; bon-fires illuminated the streets at night, and everybody thought that prosperity had come upon us.
Friday, the 4th of July, 1828, was a gala day for Georgetown. The President of the United States, ac- companied by the heads of the departments, the Diplo- matic Corps, the president and directors of the Chesa- peake and Ohio Canal, and the corporate authorities of the three cities of the then District of Columbia,
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BEGINNING OF THE CANAL.
assembled early in the morning at the Union Hotel, on Bridge Street, when a procession was formed and moved on to the excellent music of the Marine Band to High Street wharf, where they embarked on board the steamboat Surprise, and other boats, and coursed their way up the Potomac until they reached the ter- mination of the old Potomac Canal, where they landed and marched a few hundred yards to the canal-boats prepared to receive them. After being seated in these boats they glided along until they reached the point of destination, where the old powder magazine for- merly stood. On landing from the boats the proces- sion formed a large circle, in the centre of which was the spot for the commencement of the work. The president of the Canal Company addressed the Presi- dent of the United States in a brief speech. After he concluded, he handed to John Q. Adams the spade by which the sod was to be turned. The President, on receiving the implement, stepped forward and ad- dressed the multitude in an eloquent and able speech, from which I take the following extract:
"Friends and fellow-laborers : We are informed by the Holy Oracle of truth, that at the creation of man, male and female, the Lord of the Universe, their Maker, blessed them, and said unto them: ' Be fruit- ful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.' To subdue the earth was, therefore, one of the first duties assigned to man at his creation ; and now, in his fallen condition, it remains among the most ex- cellent of his occupations. To subdue the earth is pre-eminently the purposes of the undertaking, to the 6
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BEGINNING OF THE CANAL.
accomplishment of which the first stroke of the spade is now to be struck. That it is to be struck, by this hand, I invite you to witness."
Attending this action was an incident which pro- duced a greater sensation than any other event that occurred during the day. The President, in attempt- ing to run the spade into the ground, struck a root which prevented its penetrating the earth. He tried it a second time with no better success, when a wag in the crowd cried out that he had come across a " hickory root." Thus foiled, he threw down the spade and hastily stripped off his coat and went to work in earnest. The people around on the hills who could not hear, but could see and understand what was go- ing on, raised a loud cheering, which continued for some time after the President had overcome the difficulty. The excavation of the canal was immediately put under contract. During the excavation of the canal through the town, some accidents occurred : In un- dermining a heavy bank of carth between High and Congress Streets, it suddenly fell and destroyed the lives of two men. On the section between Market and Frederick Streets a sand blast was fired by a con- tractor, when large rocks were hurled through the air. One rock struck the dormer window in the house of Doctor Charles A. Beatty, on Water Street, and smashed it to pieces; another rock, weighing one thousand and forty-five pounds, struck a horse at the corner of Potomac and Water Streets, producing in- stant death. The indignation was so great against the contractor that he fled the town. The work progressed
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CHANNEL OF THE RIVER.
so rapidly that, by the 4th of July, 1831, the water was let in from the first feeder to the Columbian Foundry. The number of locks on the canal are sev- enty-three; being one hundred feet long, fifteen feet wide, with eight feet lift; are built of cut stone and laid in cement. The distance from our town to Cum- berland is one hundred and eighty-four miles, to which point the canal is finished. In subscribing to the stock of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, at one hund- red dollars per share, the United States subscribed to ten thousand, the city of Washington to ten thousand, Alexandria to twenty-five hundred, and Georgetown to twenty-five hundred shares, which, with private sub- scriptions, amounted to three million five hundred thou- sand dollars-at that time thought to be sufficient to complete the canal to Cumberland. When the reader peruses the chapter on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, in this work, he will see that the estimate was far below the actual cost. The cities of the District employed Richard Rush to negotiate a loan of one million and five hun- dred thousand dollars on the credit of the citizens of Washington, Alexandria, and Georgetown, to meet their subscription towards the work; which money was obtained in Holland, of the house of Messrs. Crom- melins at Amsterdam.
CHANNEL OF THE RIVER, AND CONTEST FOR THE UPPER AND LOWER ROADS LEADING TO FALL'S BRIDGE.
The channel of the river, below the town, began to fill up, so that a brig or large vessel, when loaded, could not pass down the river. As the town had paid
السنة
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CHANNEL OF THE RIVER.
large sums of money into the Treasury of the United States, when a large importing and exporting business was done, Congress passed an act on the 2d of March, 1833, appropriating one hundred and fifty thousand dollars-"to enable the town to remove obstructions to the navigation of the river, and for the further pur- pose of enabling the citizens to make a free turnpike road to the District line in Virginia, and to purchase the bridge at the Little Falls of the Potomac River and declare the same free, and to keep the road and bridge in repair forever."
The Corporation of Georgetown made a contract with E. and T. P. Ellicot, of Baltimore City, to deepen the channel below the town. They brought a power- ful dredging machine to accomplish their contract, and by the year 1835, they had excavated a cut through the bar, below the town, that gave a sufficient depth of water to float large ships. The cut made through the bar was four thousand feet in length by one hundred and forty feet wide, with a depth of fifteen feet at low tide, and nineteen feet at high tide. Before the exca- vation, the depth of water over the bar was from ten to twelve feet.
The chronicler makes the following extracts from the report of the Commissioners appointed to super- vise the work on the channel :
"Statement showing expenditures in excavating the channel through the bar below Georgetown-com- menced in 1833, and continued to December 31, 1835 : Expenses in the year 1833: For prelimi-
236 31 nary surveys.
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CONTEST FOR THE ROADS.
Estimate of excavations in 1834: 38,570 cubic yards, @ 30 cents. 11,571 00
Contingent expenses: Engineers' pay dur- ing the year 1834. 816 04
Estimate of excavation, per contract of 1835: 10,068 cubic yards, @ 30 cents ... 3,020 40 Estimate of same work, being an angle of the bars : 4,815 cubic yards, @ 30 cents .. 1,444 50
Estimate of excavation during residue of year 1835: 58,294 cubic yds. @ 30 cts. 17,488 20 Contingent expenses, exclusive of pay of Engineers 680 50
$35,256 95
Leaving a balance yet due to the contractors, the Messrs. Ellicots, according to contract, as security for completion, $3,000.
January 26, 1836.
WALTER SMITH, JOHN KURTZ, WILLIAM LAIRD, Commissioners.
Considerable discussion sprang up in our Boards of Aldermen and Common Council, whether all the money left from deepening the channel should not be applied to the making of two roads to the Fall's Bridge; one by the side of the canal, and the other from the intersection of High and Seventh Streets, across the country to intersect the canal road. We had at this time a property qualification in electing the Mayor and members of the Corporation ; and the consequence was, we elected able men to the council that would have done honor to the floors of Congress : There was Thomas Corcoran, Francis Dodge, Samuel
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THE HOLLAND LOAN.
McKenney, and others, men of strong minds and able debaters. The question was debated for several weeks. Colonel Corcoran, being the advocate for the lower route, was overwhelming in his argument; and the question was finally decided in favor of the road by the side of the canal (on being submitted to a vote of the people) by a majority of five votes. On the 11th of March, 1833, the Corporation appropriated fifty thousand dollars to purchase all claim and right to the Fall's Bridge and the road leading to the same.
The friends of the upper route were not dismayed by the decision of the people, and at the next elec- tion, held on the fourth Monday in February, 1834, they elected a majority of upper route men, and on the 21st of October, 1834, they passed a bill for mak- ing the upper road, and appropriated fifteen thousand dollars out of the Congress fund to construct the same ; but the cost of the road before completion was twenty- seven thousand dollars.
THE HOLLAND LOAN, AND OPPOSITION TO TIIE ALEXANDRIA AQUEDUCT.
On the 20th of May, 1836, Congress passed an act to relieve the cities of the District from the Holland loan, incurred by their subscription to the stock of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. Washington City owed one million of dollars, Alexandria two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and Georgetown the same amount as Alexandria, making one and a half mil- lions assumed and paid by the United States.
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