Washington City Warf (Now The Warf Washington D.C.)

The sixth stop on the Henry Brown freedom tour brings us to Washington D.C. and the waterfront. The City Warf was built in 1805 on the ancestral lands of the Anacostans, Piscataway and Pamunkey peoples. European settlers began farming the area after the arrival of John Smith in 1608. By 1791 the area that is now the Warf was established as district. It was been mapped out by Pierre L’Enfant to include a seaport and a maritime community. L'Enfant was also the original architect of the city plan for Washington D.C. The original plan for the entire city, including the waterfront, was mapped out in 1791. The Warf Market was first opened in 1805. By the time that Henry "Box" Brown made his trip through the port in March 1849, it had become a vibrant port and market. It continues to be a lively market today. 

The Potomac River trade route has a long history of importance. The area that is now Washington D.C. was surrounded by a dozen tribes that thrived along the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. The Native Americans recognized the importance of these waterways for travel and trade. It was not surprising that European colonists quickly made it a primary port. Within forty years of the Europeans settling in the area, the indigenous peoples' population greatly declined due to disease and war.

Prior to the Warf being built in 1805, the port offered a smaller scale market for goods. However, after the Warf was built, the volume of goods and size of the market grew quickly. More boats were able to be accommodated at the Warf and there was more space and opportunities for local merchants and farmers to sell their products. The cost of the Warf in 1805 was $2000, which would be the equivalent of approximately $53,000 today. It is difficult to imagine that a Warf could be built for that amount today. The current DC Warf and its waterfront location is valued exponentially more in today's real estate terms. In 2022 Phase 2 of the DC Waterfront Project that included a renovation of the Warf cost $3.6 billion dollars. However, the value of the history of the site cannot be quantified in how it impacted the Underground Railroad route from Virginia to the north.

Henry Brown's boat trip up the Potomac lasted approximately four hours and he arrived in late afternoon at The Wharf in the City of Washington. Brown was taken by wagon from the steamship to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station located at 2nd Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. Later Henry Brown recalled that when being loaded the driver was concerned with handling the box as it had been marked “this side up with care”. However, another answered him that “it did not matter if he broke all that was in it, the railway company was able enough to pay for it”. With that, Brown felt himself begin to tumble form the wagon. The porter threw or dropped the box with violence to the ground and it rolled down a small hill, turning over two or three times. The box landed on the end where my head was and I could hear my neck give a crack and if it had been snapped asunder, and I was knocked completely insensible.” By six pm that evening, the time it was loaded on the on the train, Henry was again placed with his head facing down. However, at the next train stop, as short time later, the box was set upright again. He recounted that there were a significant number of stops along the route to Baltimore. Fortunately for Henry, he would remain in proper position for the rest of his journey. This would include two additional trains. The first being the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad that he would be transferred to at eleven pm. At one A.M. in Baltimore he would have to take a barge across the Susquehanna River. He then would get on the last train (again with the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad) at five A.M. This train would take him to his final destination in Philadelphia.

https://www.wharfdc.com/wharf/history/ Accessed 3/30/2024.

The Journey of Henry “Box” Brown Teachers Guide https://housedivided.dickinson.edu

https:/www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Chales_L'Enfant. Accessed 4/7/2024.

https://www.aa.org/about ala/Indigenous-Tribes-of-Washington-DC. Accessed 4/7/2024.

Brown, Henry. Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown. Manchester, England. Lee and Glynn, 1851.

Ruggles, Jeffrey. The Unboxing of Henry Brown. Richmond, Virginia. Library of Virgnia, 2003.

Still, William. The Underground Railroad: Authentic Narratives and First-Hand Accounts. Garden City, New York. Dover Publications, 2007.