Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was the son of two
pianists, James Edward and Daisy Kennedy Ellington. At 1805 13th St. NW&nbsp;in Washington, D.C., one of his childhood homes, Ellington&nbsp;began his love for music that would inspire his career. At the age of seven, Ellington started to learn piano. His interests spread quickly to other instruments, and he studied everything from classical methods of composition to the styles and manners of local ragtime jazz musicians. During these formative years, Ellington played his first public concert on U Street and was a regular performer in poolrooms and other establishments. He got his nickname "Duke" from a friend, for the elegant manners Ellington displayed. He wrote his
first composition, "Soda Fountain Rag" (or "Poodle Dog Rag") while working at the
Poodle Dog Cafe. By the time he was writing music, he and his family lived up the street at&nbsp;1816 13th St. NW.&nbsp;He started his career in Washington, playing for dances, society balls and embassy parties.In the 1920s, Ellington moved to New York, where his international reputation for a unique sounded started to take shape.&nbsp;Ellington perfected his style and gain national fame for his work and his orchestra, which often played at the Cotton Club in Harlem. In the 1930s, his orchestra toured Europe. Among his compositions were "It Don't Mean a Thing
(If it Ain't Got That Swing)," "In a Sentimental Mood,"
"Solitude," "Mood Indigo" and "Take the 'A'
Train."

The Edward "Duke" Ellington residence. For a map of places where Ellington lived and performed in the city, please click on the link titled "Duke Ellington's Washington." 

Learn more about Ellington with this popular biography by Terry Teachout. Click the link below to learn more about this book. 

More Info

Video

Terry Teachout, Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington

Book

Internationally renowned jazz composer Duke Ellington was born in 1899 in Washington, D.C., and spent part of his youth in this house. Though Ellington opposed the construction of labels to place music into categories such as "jazz," he was among most influential in creating and popularizing that genre of music. From Ellington's perspective, however, his unique sound was simply "American music." 

Edward "Duke" Ellington Residence

Contributor

Explore a selection of nearly three dozen of D.C.'s historic homes on this tour. Whether hosting parties, producing literature or art, or bearing witness to important social, business, and political decisions, these homes offer so much to learn about the history of D.C. This tour will introduce you to notable individuals and the places they called home, and often explore the architecture and the stories of people who lived or worked at the estates or work to preserve these properties to this day. Many of the stops on this tour are private homes or organizations, but some are open for tours and may require advanced booking, so please check in advance if you are interested in a tour.

The Hillwood estate was originally a mansion that was built
in Georgian-style architecture, and was bought by Marjorie Post in 1955.
Marjorie herself was born to Ella and Charles Post, the founders of the Post
cereal company, and inherited a business and entrepreneurial work ethic from
her parents, which led her to become a vastly successful businesswoman. At the
age of 27, Marjorie inherited the company and soon after was married and formed
a family. It was during this time that Marjorie began to develop a taste for
late 18th-century French art, which was popular among the upper class
in New York at the time, through the influence of art dealer Sir Joseph Duveen.
Several marriages later, Marjorie visited the Soviet Union as an ambassador,
where she discovered imperial Russia’s decorative arts, which she added to her
ever-growing artistic tastes.

After divorcing her third husband, Marjorie bought Hillwood
in 1955 in order to serve a dual purpose: to be a fashionable home with plenty
of staff, and to also be a location where she could display her sizeable
artistic collections. Hillwood soon became the site of innumerable parties
among the upper class in Washington, DC, as well as garden tea gatherings and
formal dinners. In addition, Hillwood was also made host to Vietnam veterans in
the 1960s and 1970s, where they could attend tea gatherings with live
entertainment. After Marjorie Post’s passing, Hillwood was formed into a
permanent museum, which strives to bring Marjorie’s passion for excellence,
hospitality, and fine art to those who visit the estate.

Since its purchase in 1955 by the businesswoman, socialite, philanthropist and collector Marjorie Merriweather Post, Hillwood has served to function once as a place of residence, and forever as a museum to educate and awe those who visited it. Hillwood is known largely for its sizeable decorative arts collection that focuses heavily on the House of Romanov, a collection of French decorative art, and acres of sculpted gardens. Included in the collection are, among other pieces, Fabergé eggs, 18th and 19th century French art, and one of the country's finest orchid collections. Hillwood's mansion and gardens opened to the public in 1977 and are maintained by the Post Foundation.

Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens

In the 19th century, settler Isaac Pierce was a
prominent developer in the Washington, DC area. Pierce owned land around the
Rock Creek area, and around 1800, he built a house for himself there. Pierce
dies in 1841, but he left most of the property to Abner Pierce, his son. Abner
died soon after his father in 1851, and as a result, the property passed to Abner’s
nephew Pierce Shoemaker. Shoemaker made use of the land, but he tore down Isaac
Pierce’s home and built one of his own in 1876.

Though there is no official documentation to support the
claim, the Cloverdale home, which was reportedly built in 1910, was the result
of Shoemaker’s daughter Clara Neuman conducting a vast remodeling of the home.
It seems as though the property remained in the Shoemaker family for years, but
it is not entirely known for how long. Records also do not indicate when
ownership of the Cloverdale residence was transferred to the Chinese Government,
who now own the building and run it as the Education Office of the Chinese Embassy.
On August 9th of 1990, Cloverdale was added to the National Register
of Historic Places.

Cloverdale is a historic home located in Washington, DC’s Forest Hills Neighborhood. Originally constructed as a home in 1810, the building was remodeled numerous times while retaining its Colonial Revival style of architecture. In August of 1990, the home was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the building is no longer a home, but the Education Office of the Chinese Embassy.

Cloverdale

The Tregaron Estate, first completed in 1912,
represents a long history of estate building in Washington, D.C. It was built
in what the National Register of Historic Places called “a period of transition.”
Unlike the flat swamplands near the Potomac River, the Rock Creek area was
hilly and forested, converted over eighteenth and nineteenth centuries into
natural parks, farmlands, or summer estates for D.C.’s wealthy. The countryside
around the estate became suburbs of the growing city of D.C.: Cleveland
Park, named for President Grover Cleveland, and Woodley Park, a named for the Woodley estate.&nbsp;Both neighborhoods are&nbsp;distinguished by their diverse
architecture, commercial buildings along Connecticut Avenue, and beautiful
greenery. As one of the last estates built in D.C., the Tregaron Estate stands
as a testament to this history and its preservation. The land that would eventually become the
Tregaron Estate has its roots in a neighboring property: the Twin Oaks Estate.
In the 1880s, the founder of the National Geographic Society and first
president of the Bell Telephone Company, Gardiner Greene Hubbard, bought a
large plot of land with the intention of building a summer home for himself and
his family. These plans came to fruition in the form of the Twin Oaks Estate,
which was built between 1888 and 1889. After his death in 1897, Hubbard’s estate
was divided between his two daughters; his daughter Roberta was given the Twin
Oaks Estate, and his daughter Mabel was given the twenty acres of undeveloped
land separate from the estate. Mabel, wife of Alexander Graham Bell and advocate
for science and deaf activism, held on to the land for a number of years before
eventually selling it to financier James Parmelee in 1911. Upon buying the
land, Parmelee and his wife, Alice Maury Parmelee, decided to build a year-round
home on the property for their retirement. The Parmelees harnessed the talents of architect
Charles Adams Platt and landscaper Ellen Biddle Shipman in their estate. Platt
was an artist by education and approached architectural and landscape design
with the same artistic eye. He believed, in his own words, that “the essential
truth in country house architecture is that house and garden together form a
single design.” He designed what the Parmelees called the Causeway Estate, named
for its long, winding driveway off Klingle Road. Visitors would enter the
estate and journey along the naturally hilly topography until they crested a
hill and were greeted by the grand Georgian Revival mansion, completed in 1912.
The Causeway was the only private residence Platt designed in D.C., though his
legacy also lives in the Freer Gallery and Coolidge Auditorium in the Library
of Congress. Platt also sought the expertise of Ellen Biddle Shipman, who
planned gardens, ponds, and paths for pedestrians and horseback riders across
the twenty-acre estate. Shipman established a landscape business and spent
years refining the Causeway grounds. The Parmelees recreated on the grounds and
began a tradition of exhibiting art in the mansion. They were active in the art
community, James serving as an advisory member of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, member
of the National Gallery of Art Commission, and member of the National Cathedral
building committee. The Parmelees lived in the estate until their
deaths in the 1930s. They are buried in the National Cathedral. In 1940, Joseph Edward Davies, an American diplomat and lawyer, and his wife Marjorie Merriweather Post,
owner of the Post cereal company, purchased the Causeway Estate. Davies renamed
it after his father's home in Wales, Tregaron, meaning “village of the three
wells.” Davies came to Washington after his work in Democratic campaigns in
Wisconsin and important western states caught the attention of Woodrow Wilson. He
was the founder and first chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and assisted
Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. He returned to private law
practice, specializing in international and business law, until serving as the
vice-chairman of the Democratic National Committee during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s
second campaign. Most significantly, as the Cold War was heating up, Davies
served as Ambassador to the Soviet Union between 1936-1938 and Ambassador to
Belgium and Envoy to Luxembourg between 1938-1939. Following his service,
Davies and his wife moved into the Causeway Estate, where he built a Russian
dacha in 1945. Marjorie Merriweather Post, married to Davies from 1935-1955, was
the only child of Charles William Post, founder of the Postum Cereal Company.
Post took over her father’s business and expanded the company into the General
Foods Corporation. She lived a luxurious lifestyle thanks to her individual and
familial success, gaining fame as a socialite, collecting art and jewelry, and building
the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, which she willed to the United States government
as the Winter White House. Post filled the Tregaron mansion with Russian art
and artifacts while married to Davies. After their divorce in 1955, Davies
remained at Tregaron until his death in 1958. Post then established the Hillwood
Estate, which she donated to the Smithsonian after her death in 1973. Today, Hillwood is maintained by the Post Foundation and houses&nbsp;much of the art originally displayed at Tregaron.


























Following the death of Davies, the Tregaron
Estate fell into a state of disrepair for decades. In 1980, the Washington
International School purchased six acres of the property and the remaining
purchased by a real estate organization. Concerned citizens established the
Tregaron Conservancy and used historic landmark designations and laws to save all
but one acre from development. The Tregaron Conservancy Today, the estate is
undergoing restoration effort by the, which uses Ellen Biddle Shipman’s 1915
plan as a guide. Visitors can walk original trails, find historic plant
species, and enjoy the woodland landscape that was carefully curated by its
designers and is now maintained by the Tregaron Conservancy.

The Tregaron Estate, also known as the Causeway, is a twenty-acre estate located between Washington, D.C.’s Woodley Park and Cleveland Park neighborhoods. Built in 1912, the Tregaron Estate was designed by famed architect Charles Adams Platt, and it remains one of his most well-known works of architectural design in Washington, D.C. The historic estate includes a mansion, carriage house, greenhouse, gardener's residence, a Russian-style dacha, and numerous landscaping features designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 for its significance in architectural and landscape design and its notable homeowners. It is also a contributing feature of the Cleveland Park Historic District. Today, the buildings are home to the Washington International School and the Tregaron Conservancy. The Tregaron Estate is in the midst of a restoration project by the Tregaron Conservancy and is open to the public.

Tregaron Estate

The name “Woodley” means “a clearing in the woods,” a homage to the beautiful local landscape and the English manor that inspired the mansion.&nbsp;Built
in 1801, the Woodley mansion is among the oldest structures in the neighborhood,
which became known as Woodley Park in the late nineteenth century. It remained
a mostly rural, wooded area until the twentieth century, when Connecticut
Avenue became an important thoroughfare and developers bought up the land. Over
140 buildings were constructed in what is now Old Woodley Park Historic
District between 1905 and 1910, and this trend of construction continued into
the 1920s and 1930s. Woodley Mansion, therefore, represents the area’s rural
past.&nbsp;

Woodley’s history is intertwined with the development of
Washington, D.C. In 1703, Colonel Ninian Beall purchased 795 acres along the
Potomac River and began cultivating industry in what it now Georgetown. In
1792, Revolutionary War veterans Benjamin Stoddert and Uriah Forrest purchased
over a thousand acres, including the future Woodley property, as part of a
larger deal with George Washington to prevent land around the new city of
Washington, D.C. from being bought by land speculators. A few years later, a
real estate bust forced Uriah Forrest to sell 250 acres to his brother-in-law,
Philip Barton Key, the uncle of Francis Scott Key.

Though born in the American colonies, Key was a Loyalist
in the American Revolution and sent to England after captured in the war. While
in England, he studied law and was able to successfully return to Maryland and
rebuild his reputation. He married the wealthy Ann Plater, established a law
firm, and served as both a federal judge and a member of the House of
Representatives. His time in England gave him more than a career in the United
States; it also inspired him to build the Woodley mansion. While in school, Key
visited the Woodley Lodge in Reading, England, one of the homes of English
statesman Henry Addington. Inspired by the English manor, Key built a home that
would reflect his political and social success in Washington, D.C. Philip
Barton and Ann Key raised their family at the house and lived out their days
there. Enslaved people not only worked at the house and surrounding gardens,
but also likely built the mansion.

In the nineteenth century, Woodley served as a retreat
for prominent government and military officials, and to the enslaved people who
remained there until the 1860s, a place of labor. Two sitting presidents, Martin Van
Buren and Grover Cleveland, visited Woodley as a summer home. It was common for
presidents, and countless other Washingtonians, to exit the city’s heat and
humidity in summer, though the wooded suburbs provided shade and cooler air for
those who did not want to travel too far. Van Buren rented Woodley while in
office during the economic depression of the 1830s. Cleveland, who had sold his
D.C. home after losing the 1888 election, rented the updated Woodley mansion as
a summer home after winning the 1892 election. During the Civil War, General
Lorenzo Thomas, who owned Woodley at the time, organized Black troops in the
Union Army.&nbsp;He briefly rented the mansion to former President James
Buchanan. Thomas also freed the last of the slaves at Woodley. One of the
enslaved women was Lucy Berry, who worked as a cook and laundress at Woodley
until freed in 1862.




















Prominent politicians and diplomats called Woodley home
during the early twentieth century. William Phillips, who later served as an ambassador
to three countries, rented Woodley between 1915 and 1919 while serving as
Assistant Secretary of State for Franklin Roosevelt. Adolf Berle, a member of
the “Brain Trust” that advised Franklin Roosevelt’s planning of the New Deal, rented
Woodley in 1939. While at Woodley, Berle was told that Alger Hiss, a member of
the State Department, was passing top-secret information to the Soviets, which
would later lead to his conviction of perjury. Henry Stimson, Secretary of
State under Hoover and Secretary of War under Roosevelt and Truman, owned
Woodley between 1929 and 1950. He played a major role in World War II, mobilizing
millions of troops, approving Japanese internment, and overseeing the Manhattan
Project that created the atomic bombs.&nbsp;

In 1952, Woodley was purchased by the Maret School,
founded in 1911 by Marthe, Louise, and Jeanne Maret of France. These
well-educated and worldly educators first established the Maret French School
at 2118 Kalorama Road, emphasizing international cultures and linguistics. The
school outgrew its original space and purchased the Woodley Mansion and 7.5
acres to continue increasing enrollment and offer new programs. The Maret
School community founded the Woodley Society in 1994 to study of Woodley’s
history and promote history education.

Woodley is a Federal mansion in Washington, D.C. constructed in 1801 by Philip Barton Key. As a private residence, it was home to well over a dozen influential individuals, including Presidents Grover Cleveland, Martin Van Buren, and James Buchanan, and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. Since 1952, Woodley has been home to the Maret School, a private K-12 school founded in 1911 by three French sisters. 

Woodley

In the early 1900s, Joseph W. Babcock, a Representative of Wisconsin, gained a position in the House of Representatives on the Committee on the District of Columbia in 1893. This was soon after followed by a designation as the committee chairman, and soon both Joseph and his wife Kate were quite well off and well-known in Washingtonian society. Joseph continued his work consistently until in 1907, when he died, leaving Kate a widow. Several years later, in 1911, Kate bought two plots of land in the Massachusetts Heights subdivision with the intention of building a home on the land. She commissioned architect Arthur Heaton to design the home, and construction began in 1911. The home was completed soon after in 1912. Once construction on the building was finished, however, Kate never moved into the house, and instead sold it off to National Metropolitan Bank vice president Tucker Sands in 1917. It is unknown whether or not Kate’s intentions were to sell the building from the start, or if she merely changed her mind about the home after its construction.

After being sold to Tucker Sands, the building would change hands a number of times in the following years. Sands also never lived in the home, instead opting to rent it out for the few years he owned the building, and in 1919, he decided to sell the building, this time to Augustus Canfield Macomb, a U.S. Army Colonel. The home remained in the Macomb family for decades afterwards, until it was sold to the Republic of Cape Verde for use as their U.S. embassy in 1982. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 10th of 1995.

The Babcock-Macomb House is a historical home originally contracted to be built by Kate Woodman Babcock, and it is located in Washington, DC. After the death of her husband Joseph W. Babcock, Kate commissioned the construction of the home in 1911, and it was completed in 1912. Kate never lived in the house, and it changed hands numerous times over the years, and in February of 1995, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the home is currently in use by the Republic of Cape Verde as its United States Embassy.

Babcock-Macomb House

Robert Woods Bliss
and Mildred Barnes Bliss

Robert
Woods Bliss was the
son of William Henry Bliss, United States District Attorney. Born in St. Louis,
Missouri in 1875, Robert went on to attend Harvard University. After his
graduation in 1900, Bliss became a Foreign Service officer and diplomat. In
1908, he married New York City native Mildred Barnes, the daughter of Anna
Dorinda Blaksley and Demas Barnes. Mildred's father, a wealthy investor who
made his fortune on Fletcher's Castoria, a popular patent medicine of the time
1870s and 1880s. He died when Mildred was nine years old, and her mother
remarried--to William Bliss, Robert's father--in 1894. Robert and Mildred
married in 1908, moving to Paris in 1912 for Robert's career. In Paris, the
couple befriended artists, authors, historians, and art dealers including
Walter Gay, Edith Wharton, and Royall Tyler. These friendships led to the Blisses'
interest in art and book collection, patronage of the arts and humanities, and
Byzantine and Pre-Columbian studies. They went on to travel Europe and South
America, and Robert served as Ambassador to Argentina from 1927 to 1933.Establishment of Dumbarton Oaks



The couple purchased property in Georgetown (in the District of Colombia) in
June of 1920, naming it Dumbarton Oaks. The Blisses altered the existing house
(dating to 1801) and surrounding property, expanding the house in 1929 to add a
music room and working with landscape designer Beatrix Farrand to create
terraced gardens and vistas on the grounds. Mildred and Farrand worked together
on the gardens for 30 years, though other architects (including Ruth Havey and
Alden Hopkins) later changed aspects of the original design.In 1940, a wing was added for the Byzantine Collection, and the Blisses
transferred 16 acres of the property (including grounds, buildings, and the
library and art collection) to Harvard University. As the function of the
gardens inevitably changed due to the transfer, Farrand began work on the Plant
Book the following year; the book still serves, as Farrand intended, as a
guide to stewardship, maintenance, and preservation of the gardens.



Dumbarton Oaks Conversations

As a response to World War II, Robert Bliss hosted diplomatic meetings at Dumbarton
Oaks during the summer and fall of 1944. Officially called the Washington
Conversations on International Organization, Dumbarton Oaks, these meetings
formed the foundation of the United Nations charter (adopted 1945) and were
attended by the following chairmen of their national delegations: Soviet
Ambassador to the United States, Andrei Gromyko (1909–1989); US Secretary of
State Cordell Hull (1871–1955); Wellington Koo (1887–1985), Chinese Ambassador
to the United Kingdom; and Edward Wood (the Earl of Halifax) (1872–1959),
British Ambassador to the United States.Dumbarton Oaks and Harvard University

Robert Bliss died in 1962; the following year, Mildred opened the
Pre-Columbian Pavilion and The Garden Library to the public. Designed by
architect Philip Johnson, the pavilion provided a permanent home for Robert
Bliss' Pre-Columbian art collection (the National Gallery of Art had previously
housed the collection on long-term loan). The Garden Library houses Mildred's
collection on the history of gardens, including a rare book collection. Mildred
Bliss died in 1969, and Harvard University has provided fellowships, grants,
research opportunities, exhibitions and musical recitals, online access to
materials, and publications through Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and
Collection ever since.

Dumbarton Oaks includes the historic Dumbarton Oaks House museum and its associated formal garden, a 27-acre wilderness area, and Harvard University's Dumbarton Oaks Research Library. Founded by Robert Woods Bliss and Mildred Barnes Bliss, the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection specializes in Byzantine, Garden and Landscape, and Pre-Columbian studies, and includes not only books, but also images, art, objects, and documents.

Dumbarton Oaks

Tudor Place was built by Martha Parke Custis Peter and
Thomas Peter. Born at George Washington’s Mount Vernon in 1777, Martha was the
daughter of John Parke Custis, the son of Martha Washington and her first
husband, and Eleanor Calvert, a descendent of Maryland’s founding family. Martha
went by the nickname Patty and grew up at both Mount Vernon and the Custises’
Abingdon Plantation. At age 17, she married Thomas Peter, a businessman whose
father was first mayor of Georgetown. The couple moved to Washington, D.C., and
lived home built by the Peter family. They had eight children, five of whom lived
to adulthood.When George Washington died in December 1799, he left&nbsp;his
step-granddaughter, Martha Peter, both money and land. The Peters sold the land
for $8,000, and in 1805, purchased a city block in Georgetown along the Potomac
River, where they built Tudor Place. They hired architect and family friend,
Dr. William Thornton, to design their home. A medical doctor by training,
Thornton taught himself the crafts of drawing and architecture. He designed a
library in Philadelphia, numerous private residences, and the innovative
Octagon House, drawing from classical styles he observed while traveling
Europe. George Washington and his colleagues selected Thornton’s design for the
United States Capitol Building; this design was modified over time by
subsequent Architects of the Capitol and after the Capitol was partially
destroyed by the British in 1814. Thornton designed for the Peters a beautiful
Federal mansion, which used symmetry, simplicity, and neoclassical flairs to
represent early America.Tudor Place was completed around 1816, and decorated with
objects from Mount Vernon. The Peters raised their children in the house, which
would stay in the family for six generations. With the completion of Tudor
Place came numerous high-profile visitors, such as Josiah and Eliza Susan
Quincy, United States Secretary of State Timothy Pickering, and the Marquis de
Lafayette. Years later, General Robert E. Lee visited Tudor Place in 1869, a
year before his death. Tudor Place remained in possession of the Peter family
through the years, and in 1890, Tudor Place gained widespread recognition when
it was written about in The Century
Illustrated Monthly Magazine because of its extensive collection of pieces
created by the late Martha Washington.As a plantation, Tudor Place was home to more than the
Peter family. Numerous slaves were brought to Tudor Place as part of Martha
Peter’s inheritance. Many of these slaves would have been separated from their
own families through t the Custis and Washington families’ wills. Slaves tended
to the large mansion, its occupants, and the eight acres of property, including
farmland and gardens. Slaves owned by the Peter family also quarried the
redstone at Seneca Quarry in Maryland that would build the Smithsonian’s Castle
in the mid-nineteenth century. Tudor Place remained in the Peter family in 1983.
Armistead Peter III and Caroline Ogden-Jones Peter established a foundation
that accepted the estate after Armistead’s death. In 1988, Tudor Place opened
as a museum for the public to learn about the Custis-Peter family and American
history and culture across two centuries. Today, Tudor Place welcomes visitors
to the mansion and the gardens. Furthermore, the collections, archives, and
grounds are rich resources for historians, archaeologists, and educators to
uncover and share stories from the past.

Tudor Place is a Federal mansion overlooking the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., connected with important individuals and families who founded the nation and its capital city. Tudor Place was built in 1816 by Martha Parke Custis Peter, Martha Washington’s granddaughter, and Thomas Peter, a businessman from Georgetown. Dr. William Thornton, the first Architect of the United States Capitol, designed Tudor Place with architecture styles inspired by ancient Rome and contemporary France. Tudor Place stayed in the Peter family for six generations until the property was deeded to a foundation in 1983. It opened as a museum in 1988 and interprets the multiple historical eras. Tudor Place is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was among the first properties designated as a National Historic Landmark. 

Tudor Place

In 1787, Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert began constructing a home for himself and his wife, calling the home “Halcyon.” Stoddert lived in the house with his family for a time, but when his wife died, Stoddert left the home and gave it to his daughter and her husband, Elizabeth and Thomas Ewell. The Ewells remained in the home until 1818, and the home would go on to switch hands numerous times until 1900. Records do not appear indicate the succession of owners in this eighty-year period. In 1900, one of Mark Twain’s nephews, Albert Clemens, bought the home. Clemens was under the impression that if he continued to renovate the house almost constantly, he would be able to prolong his life. As a result of this, Clemens would go on to renovate the house for 38 straight years, purposefully disfiguring portions of the home. The building, unsurprisingly, was disastrous to see.In 1938, Clemens died, and the house remained vacant for several years before beginning yet another chain of succession of owners for the house. In 1966, architect Edmund Dreyfuss bought the home and opted to turn the home into a commercial venture, but plans fell through, and nothing came of the idea. During this period of attempted reform for the building, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 31st of 1971. After the failed attempts to commercialize the building, Edmund turned the building over to his son John Dreyfuss, who oversaw the maintenance of the building, beginning in 1978. A massive restoration project for the building was begun that same year, lasting all the way until 1995 in an attempt to fix some of the damage Clemens had done and to restore the building to a reflection of its former glory. In 2011, the Halcyon House was purchased by Dr. Sachiko Kuno and Dr. Ryuji Ueno, the founders of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, who renovated the building and converted it into the headquarters of the nonprofit S&amp;R Foundation.

Halcyon House is a historic home located in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC. Built in 1787 by Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert, the Halcyon House sports a Federal-era-styled architecture, and in its heyday, the home was a hotspot for social events in Washington, DC. On March 31st of 1971, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. After undergoing a restoration effort, the home is currently occupied as the headquarters of the non-profit S&R Foundation.

Halcyon House

The Forrest-Marbury House was built in 1788 by a man named Benjamin Stoddert. At some point in the 1790s, Uriah Forrest, then the mayor of what would become Georgetown, began to live in the home. During the late 1780s and very early 1790s, a dispute between Georgetown and Carrollsburgh was underway with regards to where the Federal City would be located. To settle the dispute, George Washington himself came to Georgetown in March of 1791, ate with the involved parties at the Forrest-Marbury House, and settled the dispute with all parties agreed by the end of the evening. In 1800, ownership of the home was passed to William Marbury, a real estate investor who would go on to oppose President Thomas Jefferson in the case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803.

After the case, the home remained in Marbury’s family for a number of decades, and in 1888, the home was sold. From that point on, the Forrest-Marbury House was converted for a number of different uses over the years, including a series of apartments, a nightclub. On July 2nd of 1973, the home was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and in the early 1990s, the home was restored to that of a residential space. As of 1992, the building has served as the US Embassy of the Ukraine.

The Forrest-Marbury House is a historic home in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC. Originally built in 1788, the Forrest-Marbury House went through several different phases of ownership in its lifetime, serving as residential, government, and commercial space. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in July of 1973. Today, the building is home to Ukraine’s US Embassy.

Forrest-Marbury House

In 1764, the plot for the Old Stone House was bought by settlers Christopher and Rachel Layman, who sought to make a new life in Georgetown for themselves and their two sons. The Laymans paid for the construction of the house and used local materials, such as blue fieldstone and oak boards, to build their new home. The house was simple, but functional and it served the primary purposes of the Layman family, who soon began growing crops and raising farm animals after construction on the house was finished. However, Christopher died in 1767 and Rachel remarried selling the Old Stone House to a widow, Cassandra Chew. Cassandra funded money into construction projects for a new kitchen and the addition of a second floor.Cassandra had a significant amount of wealth being apart of the upper middle class and she owned numerous other properties and even some slaves. Cassandra died in 1807, however, and the Old Stone House was given to her eldest daughter, Mary Smith Brumley, who ran a business out of the front room of the house. For some time, the Old Stone House was sold and bought multiple times as a private home by man owners. Many businesses ran at the house as well like Blacksmiths, tailors, carpenters, and house painters. The federal government purchased the property in 1953 for $900,000 as it was a place of historical significance. The house was transferred over to the National Park Service, who removed many 19th and 20th century items as well as turning the nearby parking lot into a garden.After some needed renovations, the Old Stone House was turned into a public museum and opened in 1960. It became apart of George Washington Memorial Parkway and ownership of the house went to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The house would be on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and designated as a National Historic Landmark Contributing Property in 1967. In the 1980s, ownership went over to the Rock Creek Parkway. As of today, 85% of the house has been unchanged from it’s 18th century construction.

Built in 1765, The Old Stone House in Washington, D.C. is the oldest building in the District of Columbia. It is also Washington’s last pre-revolutionary colonial building on its original foundation and it has remained unchanged over the years since it’s construction year. Local folks have preserved the house from demolition and remains untouched unlike most colonial homes in the area that were torn down or redeveloped into new buildings. In the 1950s, the house was converted into a public museum and is apart of the Georgetown Historic District.

Old Stone House (Washington D.C.)

<h2>Newton D. Baker</h2>Born in West Virginia in 1871, Newton D. Baker served as both the mayor of Cleveland, Ohio and as the Secretary of War under Woodrow Wilson during World War I. Prior to entering politics, Baker attended John Hopkins University, where he graduated in 1892. He then obtained his Bachelor of Laws in 1894 from Washington and Lee University. Baker practiced law on and off for many years. Baker's first political appointment was as a secretary for the Post Master General under President Cleveland. He left this job in 1897, moving back to Ohio at this time. He served as the mayor of Cleveland for two terms from 1912-1916. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Baker Secretary of War. He served in this position through World War I and was responsible for mobilizing the American troops for the War. <h2>Newton D. Baker House</h2>The Newton D. Baker House was built in 1794 by a prominent architect named Thomas Beall. The house was designed with a New England style of architecture, contrasting the Georgetown homes that surrounded it. The first occupant of the home was John Laird, who purchased the home in 1796. In 1868, the house was used as a Georgetown Female Seminary, but it was later turned back into a private residence. Baker purchased the home in 1916, during his tenure as Secretary of War. This was the only home that he lived in while in Washington D.C. during this stint. He moved out of the house in 1920 and headed back to Ohio. The house was later occupied by Jackie Kennedy for a short time after the death of her husband, President John F. Kennedy, in 1963.

The Newton D. Baker House was built in 1794 by architect Thomas Beall. The house reflects a New England style of architecture. At five stories high, the home includes six bedrooms, three fire places, and a library. Newton D. Baker, for who the house is named, lived in the house from 1916 to 1920. The house was also occupied by Jackie Kennedy after John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. It was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

Newton D. Baker House

The property on which the John Stoddert Haw House stands was originally owned by Thomas Beall, who went through the process of subdividing the property for sale and ended up selling part of it to John M. Gannt in 1804. The property was sold several more times in the span of a decade, until it was purchased by John Stoddert Haw in 1815. Haw began to construct a home for himself on the property in 1816, and in 1817, it is indicated that the home was completed. John and his family lived in the house well into the 1840s, but at some point during that decade, they moved elsewhere, retaining ownership of the house all the while. From then into the 1900s, the home was rented out to various tenants, and in 1921, retired US Navy admiral Spencer Wood bought the house to serve as his own residence.Wood was deeply invested in the community of Georgetown, and becoming a chairman of the Georgetown Citizens Association, and a short time after buying the home, he began to restore it for his own purposes, as well as for the benefit of the neighborhood. In 1941, Wood passed ownership of the home to his daughter Anne Elizabeth, married to Joseph Harsch, who was then a CBS and NBC leading commentator. The Harschs did not remain at the home long, and in the 1950s and 1960s it was host to a number of foreign diplomats from Britain and Brazil. It was purchased again in 1967 by George McGhee. Shortly after, the home was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 19th of 1973.

The John Stoddert Haw House is a historic home located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC. Built in 1816 by John Stoddert Haw, the nephew of United States Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert, the home would go on to pass between multiple owners over the years. On June 19th of 1973, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the home also contributes to the Georgetown Historic District.

John Stoddert Haw House

The property which the Isaac Owens House was built on is recorded to have belonged to a Thomas Beall around the beginning of the 19th century. Beall subdivided the property around 1804, and that same year, he sold part of that property to John M. Gannt. The home was originally thought to have been built by Gannt around this time, but records indicate that instead, it was purchased by Elisha Williams in 1809, and then once more by Isaac Owens in 1816. Not much is known about renovations made to the home during the time Owens owned it, but Owens passed the building on to his descendants, and they subsequently sold the building in 1835 to William Nichols. Nichols lost the building in 1856 after defaulting on his debts, however, and the building was bought by John Lumsden. Lumsden and his family lived in the building for the next two decades or so, and in 1887, they sold the home to Sallie Jones. After living in the home for around a decade, Sallie sold the home, and it was then used as a rental property.

In the early 1900s, the property passed among several other owners, until a certain Katherine Cunningham purchased the building in 1921 and began to carry out heavy renovations on the property. In 1940, it was purchased by John Walker, the director of the National Gallery of Art from 1956 until 1969. On June 19th of 1973, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Isaac Owens House is a historic home in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC. Built in 1816, the house is a notable example of Federal-era architectural style, and has served as the home of several notable persons during its lifetime. On June 19th of 1973, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Recently, the home underwent a period of restoration.

Isaac Owens House

The name “Dumbarton” goes back almost a century before
the mansion was built. In 1703, Scottish immigrant Ninian Beall, a member of
the Maryland House of Burgesses and commander of Maryland Provincial Forces, purchased
795 acres of land near the Potomac River. He named it “Rock of Dumbarton” after
a geological feature in Glasgow, Scotland. Four acres of the Beall property was
sold in the late 1790s to Samuel Jackson, a Philadelphia merchant. Jackson
built the Dumbarton House was built around the same time the Federal government
moved from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.&nbsp;

In the early nineteenth century, the house changed owners
and residents multiple times. In 1804, the house was then purchased by Joseph
Nourse. Born in London, England, Norse settled in Virginia and joined the American
Revolution, serving as secretary to General Charles Lee and deputy secretary of
the Board of War. In 1779, he was appointed Assistant U.S. Auditor General in
the new federal government and, in 1781, First Registrar of the U.S. Treasury.
He followed the federal government to D.C. and purchased the Dumbarton House. The
Dumbarton House museum emphasizes this period in their interpretation of the
house’s history. In 1813, Nourse sold the property to Charles Carroll, who
named the house Bellevue. Carroll owned the house for around thirty years,
though mostly rented it out to tenants. Carroll brought First Lady Dolley
Madison and the Secretary of the Navy’s wife, Eleanor Jones, to Bellevue as the
British encroached on D.C. in the War of 1812.

The house was then sold and occupied by different
families until purchased in 1928 by the National Society of the Colonial Dames
of America (NSCDA). The organization was founded in 1891 for women who can
trace ancestry back to the American colonies. Dumbarton House is one of around
thirty historic house museums operated by the NSCDA. The mansion was known as
Bellevue until its restoration in 1932, when the Society renamed it Dumbarton
House.&nbsp;

Dumbarton House is documented as "an outstanding
representation of American architecture of the early Federal Period." It
exists much as it did when occupied by Joseph Nourse, a major difference being
that the house was moved 100 feet to the north of its original location in
1915, during the rerouting of Q Street. Dumbarton House's collection of
furniture, textiles, paintings, silver, and ceramics, consists primarily, but
not exclusively, of objects dating from the Federal period (approximately
1790-1830). The Dumbarton House manuscript and document collection includes one
of the original known copies of the Articles of Confederation, as well as
papers, journals, account books, ledgers and letters documenting nearly 300
years of Nourse family life.

The museum’s collections tell the story of life in the
City of Washington during the formation of the Early Republic and a new
national identity, and the experience of becoming a Capital City during a time
of great uncertainty and great accomplishments. Dumbarton House also
illustrates the past and present role of women and of The National Society of
The Colonial Dames of America in the national historic preservation movement. &nbsp;

In its educational programming, Dumbarton House offers
tours of the collection for the general public and groups, summer camp, school
and Scout programs, adult programs and lectures, chamber music concerts, family
programs, and various other public programs.

Built in 1800, Dumbarton House is a Federal style mansion located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is the headquarters of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America (NSCDA) and features a museum of colonial history. Its first occupant was Joseph Nourse, the first Register of the Treasury. The property was acquired by the NSCDA in 1928 and was given the name “Dumbarton House” after the original name of the land. The NSCDA hoped to illustrate domestic life in Georgetown during the early Federal period and opened the two main floors of the structure as a museum in 1932. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 28, 1991.

Dumbarton House

The Anderson House is
situated among the largest concentration of embassies in Washington, D.C. In
the early twentieth century, this elegant Beaux Arts mansion was constructed as
part of a larger, growing neighborhood of wealthy and politically active locals
and dignitaries from around the world. It is suitable that the well-traveled and politically active&nbsp;Larz and Isabel
Anderson, along with the Society of the Cincinnati, would call this place home.Larz and Isabel Anderson were both descended from old
American wealth and military officers, tracing their lineages to the colonies.
Larz Anderson was born in 1866 to the high-class Anderson family of Cincinnati,
Ohio. His family provided Anderson with extensive opportunities to better
himself through education. After studying at Phillips Exeter Academy and
Harvard College, he embarked on a grand tour of the world for a year and a
half. Upon his return, Anderson briefly attended Harvard Law School until
offered diplomat position in London, which his father and minister to Britain,
Robert Todd Lincoln, encouraged him to pursue. In 1894, Anderson was sent to
Rome for diplomatic work, where in 1896 he met his soon to be wife, Isabel Weld
Perkins, who was traveling Europe for a year. At the time, she was considered
the richest woman the United States, with an inheritance of $17 million. In
1897, Larz and Isabel were wed. As they were both inheritors of large fortunes,
they toured the world together. They returned to the United States when Larz volunteered
to serve in the Spanish-American War in 1898, following in the footsteps of his
family’s military history dating back to the American Revolution.In the early 1900s, the Andersons commissioned the
architect firm Little and Browne of Boston to design their mansion in
Washington, D.C. Construction on the home was completed in 1905 and the
Andersons began entertaining guests in their sizable abode. The mansion, which cost
$750,000, included fifty rooms with luxurious interior details such as wood
detailing, gilded papier-mâché ceilings, iron staircases, marble floors,
central heat, elevators, and telephones. The grounds included a tennis court a
walled garden, and carriage house. The Andersons filled the mansion with
paintings, murals, tapestries, sculptures, and furniture from around the world.
They held numerous diplomatic gatherings in the home and were well-known in the
area because of it. Maintaining the house, its priceless objects, and numerous
events required the hard work of around twenty servants, who also lived in the
house. Servants worked as chauffeurs, maids, butlers, cooks, housekeepers, and
personal assistants to ensure the house remained in pristine condition for its residents
and countless visitors. They lived in quarters on the third floor and outbuildings,
did laundry and cared for the Andersons’ possessions on the fourth floor, and
maintained heating systems in the basement.The Andersons were active members of D.C. society and broader
international networks. Larz Anderson continued his work as a diplomat, serving
as minister to Belgium and ambassador to Japan. During World War I, Isabel
Anderson led relief efforts in D.C.’s Red Cross and traveled to France and
Belgium to care for the sick and wounded. Both Larz and Isabel were given prestigious
awards for their work. Isabel Anderson also pursued a successful writing
career, publishing nearly forty books including family histories, travelogues,
children’s literature, and poetry.In 1937, Larz Anderson died with no heirs, leaving the
large estate to his widow. She donated the Anderson House to the Society of the
Cincinnati, which Larz was a member of for forty years. The Society of the
Cincinnati was established toward the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783,
making it is the oldest patriotic organization in the United States. The name
“Cincinnati” pays homage to a heroic figure of ancient Rome, Lucius Quinctius
Cincinnatus, whose humility, sacrifice, and care for the public inspired the
Society founders. Larz Anderson’s parents hailed from Cincinnati, Ohio, which
was named in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati. In 1939, the Society
opened the estate to the public as a museum, and the Anderson House has
retained that public function to this day. On April 7th, 1971, the house was
added to the National Register of Historic Places, and on June 19th, 1996, it
was designated as a National Historic Landmark.






























In 1937, Larz Anderson died with no heirs, leaving the
large estate to his widow. She donated the Anderson House to the Society
of the Cincinnati, which Larz was a member of for forty years. The Society of
the Cincinnati was established toward the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783,
making it is the oldest patriotic organization in the United States. The name “Cincinnati”
pays homage to a heroic figure of ancient Rome, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus,
whose humility, sacrifice, and care for the public inspired the Society
founders. Larz Anderson’s parents hailed from Cincinnati, Ohio, which was named
in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati. In 1939, the Society opened the
estate to the public as a museum, and the Anderson House has retained that
public function to this day. On April 7th, 1971, the house was added to the
National Register of Historic Places, and on June 19th, 1996, it was designated
as a National Historic Landmark.


















The Andersons made numerous other estates and collections
available to the public, including the Larz Anderson Auto Museum and Larz
Anderson Park in Brookline, Massachusetts; the Perkins Manor in Contoocook, New
Hampshire; and the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection at Harvard University’s
arboretum.

Built between 1902 and 1905, the Anderson House is a mansion constructed for American diplomat Larz Anderson and author Isabel Weld Perkins Anderson. It is located along Embassy Row in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. After the death of Larz Anderson, the house was bequeathed to Society of the Cincinnati, an organization established in 1783 for veterans of the Continental Army and their descendants, of which Larz Anderson was an active member. Today, the Society maintains its headquarters at the Anderson House, along with an extensive research library and a museum related to the home and its history. The Anderson House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1996.

Anderson House

Charles Evans Hughes was born on April 11, 1862 in Glens Falls, New York. His father, David, was born in Wales who immigrated to America in 1855 and settled in Glens Falls where he became a preacher and served as pastor to local Baptists. Hughes' mother, Catherine, was born in America. He was their only child. The family moved many times when Hughes was young but the family eventually settled in New York City. His formal education was sporadic but his intelligence enabled him to finish high school when he was just 13. He then attended what is now Colgate University and then Brown University, from which he graduated in 1881. In 1883 he graduated from Columbia University with a law degree and was admitted into the New York bar.Hughes joined a New York City Law firm and remained until becoming a professor at Cornell University in 1891. Two years later he resumed to the law firm and practiced until 1906. The year before, a legislative committee examining corruption in the state's public utilities appointed Hughes to lead the investigation, during which he discovered significant corruption in the gas and electricity industries. His success in the investigation resulted in him being appointed to lead another successful probe into life insurance corruption in New York City.Hughes' stature rose in the state and the country as a result of these investigations. The Republican party, at the urging of President Theodore Roosevelt, nominated him for governor in 1906. He won and was reelected in 1908. As governor, he implemented a number of progressive policies including regulating public service agencies, implementing administrative reforms, and passing labor and welfare legislation, including the country's first worker's compensation bill.President Taft appointed Hughes to the Supreme Court in 1910 after Associate Justice David J. Brewer died. As an Associate Justice, Hughes usually voted in favor of progressive policies including state laws that set minimum wages and imposed maximum work hours for women and children. He also supported the federal government's authority to regulate railroads. Hughes championed civil rights as well.As noted above, in 1916 Hughes ran for president as the Republican nominee and resigned from the Supreme Court (he was the first and only sitting Supreme Court Justice to run for president). He nearly won, losing just by a few thousand votes. He returned to private practice in New York City but remained in the public eye by publicly supporting U.S. entry into World War I. After the war, Hughes supported President Wilson's idea for a League of Nations but the Senate refused to ratify entry into it. In 1921, President Harding (Wilson lost his reelection bid in 1920) appointed Hughes as Secretary of State. Since the U.S. never ratified the Treaty of Versaille, which officially ended the World War I, Hughes negotiated a U.S. peace treaty with Germany. He also led the Washington Naval Disarmament Conference, which resulted in an agreement to reduce the tonnage of warships.In 1925, Hughes once again returned to private practice. Three years later he was appointed as Judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice, which was the international court of the League of Nations, and remained in that position until 1930. President Hoover nominated him as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court that year and the Senate approved with 52-26 vote. Under his leadership, the Court initially blocked a number of "New Deal" federal programs and policies implemented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Eventually, however, the Court shifted in support of the New Deal beginning with voting in favor of minimum wage legislation in the 1937 West Coast Hotel Company vs. Parrish case. Hughes also supported free speech and religious freedoms. In 1937, Hughes successfully prevented Roosevelt from packing the court with as many as six more liberal justices by arguing that the current size of the Court was efficient and voting in favor of (and writing the majority opinion for) a minimum wage law in the National Labor Relations Board vs. Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation case.In 1941, Hughes retired from the Court and largely remained out of the spotlight. He lived in New York City until his wife died in 1945. He passed away three years later in Massachusetts.

This historic home was once the residence of Charles Evans Hughes (1862-1948), who was one of the country's leading political figures during the early 20th century. He served as New York Governor from 1907-1910, as an Associate Supreme Court Justice from 1910-1916, as U.S. Secretary of State from 1921-1925, as Judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice from 1928-1930, and as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1930-1941. Hughes, who was a Republican and often supported liberal policies, also unsuccessfully ran for president in 1916. He lived in the house during his tenure as Chief Justice. It has been the official residence of the ambassador of Myanmar since 1948 and is situated between the Embassy of Kenya and the Embassy of Cyprus. It is a National Historic Landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Charles Evans Hughes House 

Joseph Henry Beale was a professor at the Harvard Law School beginning in 1892, several years after opening his own law practice. In the early 1900s, Beale commissioned famed architect of Washington, DC, Glenn Brown, to design a home for himself and his wife. Construction on the house began in 1907, and in early 1909, construction on the house was completed. In keeping with Brown’s style, the Joseph Beale House was built in a Roman Revival style and is said to be a pristine example of the style. The Beales did not live in the house for a terribly long time, however, as Margaret Beale sold the home to the Royal Government of Egypt for $150,000. Currently, the home houses the Egyptian ambassador to the United States and has done so since the house’s transfer of ownership. On May 8th, 1973, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Joseph Beale House is a historic house designed by architect Glenn Brown. Built in 1909, the Beale House was built for Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Beale, with an emphasis on design and entertaining guests. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in May of 1973. 

Joseph Beale House

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (in office March 4, 1913 – March 4,
1921) was the 28th President of the United States. A member of the Democratic
Party, he is best known as a leading force in the Progressive movement, the
creation of the Federal Reserve, and for his efforts to establish the League of
Nations during the negotiations that resulted in the Treaty of Versailles at
the Paris Peace Conference. Owing to opposition in the Senate, the United
States never joined the League of Nations, but the idea of an international
organization dedicated to maintaining world peace would carry over into the
1945 establishment of the United Nations.

In the last months of his second term, President Wilson
purchased a home in the Kalorama District along Embassy Row and gifted to his
second wife, Edith Bolling Wilson. Mrs. Wilson played a significant political
role in the White House. She married Wilson after the death of his first wife,
Ellen, while in office. Her greatest influence came in 1919, after the President
suffered a debilitating stroke that left him partially paralyzed. Mrs. Wilson determined
which matters to bring to the President’s bedside and which could be given to other
federal authorities. Though they worked to keep the President’s health
conditions private, Mrs. Wilson earned nicknames like the "Secret
President" and “First woman to run the government.”

The Wilsons moved into their retirement home on March 4,
1921, the inauguration day of the succeeding president, Warren Harding. Upon
his retirement, President Wilson remained active in the Washington, D.C.
community, opening a law office, giving speeches, attending local theatre, and
serving as president of the American Historical Association. He was the only
president to remain in Washington D.C. after serving as head of state until
Barack Obama chose to stay in the District in 2017.

President Wilson’s health continued to be a struggle. In
1924, he suffered another stroke and died in the residence. He was entombed at
the Washington National Cathedral. Mrs. Wilson remained at the house until her
death in 1961. She donated the entire site and its contents to the National
Trust for Historic Preservation as a memorial to her late husband. The
President Woodrow Wilson House opened to the public in 1963.

The design of the estate and grounds was the
responsibility of Waddy Butler Wood, who completed his work on the Georgian
Revival style house in 1915. Before it was the residence of President Wilson,
the property was owned by the executive of Bigelow Carpet Company, Henry Parker
Fairbanks. The structure was altered from its original state to accommodate President
Wilson's needs after his stroke, which he had suffered in 1919. Additions
included an elevator and upstairs balcony to help him avoid stairs, as well as
a larger room to house his 8,000-tome library. It was from the balcony of this
house that Wilson made his last public appearance in 1923.

The Woodrow Wilson House was designated a National
Historic Landmark in 1964. The National Trust for Historic Preservation now
owns the house and operates it as a museum. Very little inside or outside the
house has been changed since the death of President Wilson in 1924. The
structure stands alongside the homes and offices of dignitaries and diplomats
from around the world, making it part of "Embassy Row."

The President Woodrow Wilson House was the abode that President and Mrs. Edith Wilson called home after his retirement from office in 1921. Wilson was the only president to remain in Washington D.C. after his term until Barack Obama in 2017. While Wilson lived at the house only three years until his passing in 1924, Mrs. Wilson kept residence there until her death in 1961. She donated the entire site and its contents to the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a memorial to her late husband, the 28th President of the United States. The house, built in 1915, was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark due to its association with the Wilsons. 

Woodrow Wilson House

The Windsor Lodge is an apartment&nbsp;building&nbsp;by&nbsp;Merrill T. Vaughn, a federal&nbsp;architect with the United States Post Office. It is two comprised of two, four-story brick&nbsp;structures, the&nbsp;east&nbsp;side (2139)&nbsp;was built&nbsp;in 1910 and the west (2141)&nbsp;in&nbsp;1911, with an addition built in 1929. The building&nbsp;&nbsp;In the early twentieth century, the Kalorama&nbsp;neighborhood experienced rapid development. Its rural landscape filled with a variety of buildings including&nbsp;single-family residences, mansions, villas,&nbsp;and&nbsp;apartments, forming a sophisticated and&nbsp;architecturally-distinctive neighborhood.&nbsp; William Edgar Borah (June 29, 1865 - January 19, 1940) was a Republican Senator (in office&nbsp;from 1907-1940), presidential candidate (1936), progressive, and noted isolationist. He is one of the most famous individuals in the history of his home state, Idaho.&nbsp;He lived at the Windsor Lodge from 1913 until 1929, in unit #21E, on the second floor of&nbsp;the building's&nbsp;east side&nbsp;(2139). His large apartment, one of sixteen in this side of the building,&nbsp;included a spacious living room, fireplace,&nbsp;a dining room, kitchen, multiple bedrooms, and a bath.&nbsp;Maids occupied a separate space with a bedroom and bath. While serving in Congress, Borah played an important role in American foreign affairs and domestic policy. Early in his career, he&nbsp;helped establish the Department of Labor, the Children's&nbsp;Bureau, and the Industrial Commission and requiring the 8-hour day for&nbsp;companies holding Government contracts.&nbsp;Borah's reputation as an isolationist comes from his leading role as an Irreconcilable, a group that staunchly opposed the United States'&nbsp;acceptance of the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I and created the League of Nations. The Irreconcilables&nbsp;included Republicans George Norris of Nebraska, Robert La Follette of Wisconsin, and Hiram Johnson of California, and Borah himself, in addition to Democrats Senators Thomas Gore of Oklahoma, James Reed of Missouri, and the David I. Walsh of Massachusetts.&nbsp;Of the 12 to 18 Irreconcilables (numbers vary), the majority were Republicans. Borah, known as the "Great Opposer," paved the way for the defeat of the&nbsp;Treaty of Versailles in Congress. A particular point of contention was Article 10, which called for a League of Nations that would require&nbsp;members experiencing external aggression to assist one another. Opponents, mostly Republicans but also some Democrats,&nbsp;felt that the provision granted the League of&nbsp;Nations the power to make war without a vote by the U.S. Congress, and might serve as a binding contract that could embroil the U.S. in international conflicts. On November 19, 1919, the last day of Senate debates over the League of Nations,&nbsp;Borah delivered a rousing speech that a colleague called "one of the Senate's oratorical masterpieces." Without compromise between the two sides, the Treaty of Versailles&nbsp;thus failed to get the necessary 2/3 majority to pass and the United States did not join the League of Nations as President Woodrow Wilson had hoped. Owing to its association with Borah's life, the Windsor Lodge&nbsp;apartment complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and listed as a National Historic Landmark, on December 8, 1976. It still functions as&nbsp;an apartment building today.

Built in 1910-1911, the Windsor Lodge, also known as the William E. Borah Apartment and the Chancellery Cooperative, is a 16-unit apartment building in the Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District of Washington, D.C.  Apartment 21 of the Windsor Lodge was once home to noted isolationist and presidential candidate, Senator William Edgar Borah (1865–1940). Owing to its association with Senator Borah, the apartment building was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and listed as a National Historic Landmark, in 1976.

Windsor Lodge (William E. Borah Residence)

The Lothrop Mansion is the second residence to stand on this site. The first was the home of Civil War veteran Dr. William Tindall, who served in the Union army. After the war, he moved to Washington D.C. and enrolled in Georgetown University to study medicine. Tindall worked in Washington D.C. for 63 years for the city government and served as the secretary to the District commissioners. Lothrop demolished Tindall's home in 1907 to clear the site for the mansion. Lothrop was born in 1849 in South Action, Massachusetts and moved to Boston when he was 18. He got a job in a dry goods company called the Shepard Brothers. By 1870 he was working at a store called Cushing &amp; Ames and it was there he met his future business partner Samuel Walter Woodward. In 1879 they decided to establish their own dry goods business, which they called Boston Dry Goods House, in Washington D.C. Over the next several years the business grew and the company evolved into a modern department store by 1887. The name was also changed to Woodward &amp; Lothrop. Lothrop married his wife, Mary, in 1885 and they had two daughters together, Caroline and Harriet.Sadly, Caroline died in 1908 and Mary in 1909. Only Lothrop and Harriet moved into the house when it was finished toward the end of 1909. Mary's death took a toll on Lothrop's health and he suffered from bright's disease. As a result he did not spend much time at the mansion. Instead, he mostly lived in South Acton or at his summer home in the Adirondack Mountains. However, on Thanksgiving Day in 1912, he unexpectedly suffered a stroke and died at the mansion where the family, including Harriet's new husband Nathaniel Luttrell, had gathered. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery. Luttrell became the director of Woodward and Lothrop around this time. The mansion remained a private home until 1943 when Harriet and Nathaniel's children, Nancy and Nathaniel Jr. (he became the director of the company after his father died in 1942), decided to rent it out. It was first leased to the Soviet Union which used it as its Office of the Attache. The Canadian Department of Defense Production leased it in 1954. In the 1960s when the mansion housed the Australian Joint Service Staff. An English language school operated in the mansion in the early 1970s until the Soviet Union bought it in 1975 from the Luttrell family. It operated as the Russian Trade Mission until 2017 when tensions between the U.S. and Russia prompted the federal government ordered it to be closed.

The Lothrop Mansion is one of the most architecturally striking early 20th century mansions in Washington D.C. Erected in 1909, it is named after its builder and prominent businessman Alvin Mason Lothrop (1847-1912), who cofounded a successful department store called Woodward &amp; Lothrop. From the 1970s to 2017, the mansion operated as the Russian Trade Mission. In terms of design, the mansion is an excellent example of Beaux-Arts architecture. It features decorative elements including quoins, an elaborate cornice, and on the south, main facade a projecting octagonal bay, decorative ironwork, a pair of urns, and a large dormer. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, the mansion's current status is unclear.

Lothrop Mansion

In 1890, New York merchant George S. Fraser commissioned the firm of Hornblower and Marshall to design and construct a lavish home for him and his wife in Washington, DC. Fraser only lived in the house for six years, though, as he died shortly after in 1896. His wife sold the home in 1901 Joseph Earston Thropp, a congressman of Pennsylvania. Thropp and his wife Miriam moved in and made a number of renovations to the home, and they lived there until Thropp died in 1927 and Miriam in 1930. The house was sold off soon after, and it became the Parrot Tea Room in 1932. The Parrot Tea Room stayed in business for several decades, and in 1950, it was sold off to John Goldstein. Goldstein remodeled the building, changing it into a restaurant called the Golden Parrot, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 19th, 1975. In the following decades, the building would undergo numerous changes in management, as well as changes in the content of the restaurant.

In 1981, a man by the name of Walter Sommer purchased the Fraser Mansion building, renovating it into two different restaurants. Sommer had plans to create an apartment complex behind the Mansion in 1987, but through a series of events and complications in the process of trying to make the apartment complex a reality, Sommer filed for bankruptcy in 1989, and in 1994, he sold the mansion to the Church of Scientology. The Church still owns the Fraser Mansion, and it currently serves as the National Affairs office for the Church of Scientology.

The Fraser Mansion is a historic building located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, DC. Built originally as a home in 1890, the Fraser Mansion has gone through a highly varied number of uses over the years, including being a boarding house, a restaurant, and home to portions of the Church of Scientology. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in August of 1975 as the Golden Parrot Restaurant. Today, Fraser Mansion is currently owned by the Church of Scientology, and it serves as their office of National Affairs.

Fraser Mansion

<h3>Robert Patterson (1850-1910)</h3>Robert Patterson was born in Chicago, Illinois on November 30, 1850. As a young man he attended Williams College in Massachusetts and graduated in 1871. He returned to Chicago and studied law. Howevefr, after the Great Chicago Fire (October 8-10, 1871), which apparently left him broke, he turned his attention to journalism and got a job as a reporter at the Chicago Times. Two years later, he became an assistant night city editor for the Chicago Tribune, which was headed by Joseph Medill, Elinor's father and mayor of Chicago from 1871-1873. Over the course of his career at the Tribune, Robert received several promotions and eventually became editor and president in 1899 after Medill died. Robert died unexpectedly of apoplexy in a hotel in Philadelphia. He and Elinor also had a son, Joseph Medill Patterson (1879-1946), who founded the New York Daily News in 1919.<h3>Elinor "Nellie" Medill Paterson</h3>Information about Elinor's life is not readily available but, as Joseph Medill's daughter, was a prominent socialite and it was she who took the lead in building the Patterson Mansion. She bought the property in 1900 and hired Stanford White of the architecture firm McKim, Mead &amp; White, which was based in New York City, to design the house. As noted above, the house was built mainly to entertain guests. It gave Elinor the opportunity to showcase her stature among the elite social circles of the city. She maintained a full staff at the house until 1922 but as time passed she spent more time at her home in Chicago.<h3>Eleanor "Cissy" Patterson (1881-1948)</h3>Eleanor Cissy Patterson was born on November 7, 1881 in Chicago. As a young woman she attended a boarding school and then traveled with her uncle, Robert S. McCormick, to Europe after he was named ambassador to Austria-Hungary. There she met a noble named Count Joseph Gizycka and fell in love with him. They married in 1904 and had one daughter, named Felicia. They eventually divorced in 1917 and Cissy returned to Chicago in 1920. Five years later, her brother, Joseph Medill, who founded the New York Daily News in 1919, allowed her to write for the paper. Around this time she also started writing for newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. In 1925 she got married to New York lawyer Elmer Schlessinger, who died a few years later. After his death she changed her name to Eleanor Medill Patterson (her first name was originally spelled Elinor). In 1930, Hearst appointed her editor of one of his two Washington D.C. newspapers, the Washington Herald. Within a few years she became publisher and under her leadership, the paper's circulation doubled to 120,000 readers. In 1939, she acquired the Herald and Hearst's other newspaper, the Washington Times, and merged them to establish the Washington Times-Herald (by then Hearst had been in financial trouble and couldn't keep both papers). She and Joseph were both conservative and were staunch isolationists, opposing the U.S. entry into World War II. In 1942, she published an article written in the Chicago Tribune revealing that the U.S. military had cracked the Japanese code. The Roosevelt administration charged both papers for espionage but the case was eventually dropped. Cissy's personal life became difficult after the war. Joseph died suddenly in 1946 and she grew estranged from Felicia. Her health suffered from alcoholism and heart disease, and she grew suspicious of others even her servants whom she thought was spying on her. She died of an apparent heart attack on July 24, 1948. The Times-Herald continued to run for five years before it was sold to her cousin who then terminated it.Her will deeded the Patterson House to the American Red Cross, which sold it to a women's organization called the Washington Club in 1951. The club owned it until 2014 when it was sold to a developer that renovated it into an apartment building named the Ampeer Dupont Circle. It became Oakwood Suites &amp; Studios in 2020.

Elinor "Nellie" Medill Patterson, the wife of Chicago Tribune editor Robert Patterson, built this elegant mansion in 1903 as a second home for the family, although its primary purpose was to entertain guests. It is one of two mansions still standing on Dupont Circle (the other is the Wadsworth House) and is a fine example of Neoclassical architecture with Italianate decorative elements. The Patterson's daughter, Eleanor "Cissy" Patterson, became one of the first women in the country to run a major newspaper when she established the Washington-Times Herald in 1939. The Patterson Mansion is also notable for being briefly the home of President Coolidge and his wife, Grace, in 1927 when the White House was undergoing renovations. Another notable guest was aviator Charles Lindbergh, who stayed at the mansion for two nights in June of that year. Today the mansion is an apartment building and event venue called the Oakwood Suites &amp; Studios Dupont Circle.

Patterson Mansion

The household staff at the Heurich mansion likely lived on the fourth floor of the main building, with some employees living in the carriage house. The fourth floor of the house has low ceilings and originally did not have heat. Also, a bathroom was not added to the fourth floor until later, so staff would need to walk down to the basement. The Heurichs employed many young immigrant women, who might have felt safer finding lodging with their employers. Stories from the time tell us it was considered dangerous for women on their own to deal with landlords who might wish them harm. One of the young women who lived with the Heurich family was Dora Niebuhr. Dora immigrated to America in 1899 and by 1900 she found a job as a cook for the Heurich family. Living at the house, she would have found many other young German women who might have been able to share her hopes and worries for her new life in America.  How did the Heurich family decide which staff would live on site? How did this affect the relationship between the staff and the Heurich family? How did race shape the experiences of household staff at the mansion?

Today, the Heurich House stands as a museum and space for building community in Dupont Circle. However, when it was originally built in 1892, the mansion served as a home for not only the Heurich family, but also for many of their household staff. Young women such as Dora Niebuhr and other recent migrants from Europe most commonly lived in the house while working.

Dora Neibuhr, 1307 New Hampshire Avenue, Heurich House

 Welcome to the Heurich House Museum, which preserves the historic Victorian-era Heurich mansion as a museum, event space, and place to build community connections.

The mansion, built between 1892-94, was the family home of German immigrant, local brewer, and philanthropist Christian Heurich. 

Household staff were largely responsible for the upkeep of the large and ornate Heurich family estate in Dupont Circle.  This tour will introduce you to some of the places the Heurich house staff lived while working for the family. Let’s begin by exploring what life was like for staff who lived on the grounds of the Heurich family house. 




Heurich House Museum

Elliott Coues (September 9, 1842 – December 25, 1899), was an American army surgeon, historian, ornithologist, and author. Born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Coues attended college at Columbian University (now George Washington University) in Washington, D.C. Following his graduation from medical school, Coues would go on to serve as a medical cadet and as an assistant surgeon in the army. From 1873 through 1876, Coues worked as a surgeon and naturalist for the United States Northern Boundary Commission. He was secretary and naturalist to the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories from 1876 to 1880. In 1881, Coues resigned from the army to devote himself to scientific study, though he continued to instruct students at the medical school of his former college until 1887. Coues is best known for his significant contributions to American ornithology and the study of North American birds. In addition to editing approximately 15 volumes of journals, memoirs, and diaries by Western explorers and fur traders, Cous helped to found the American Ornithologists Union in 1883. His Key to North American Birds (originally published in 1872), promoted the study of ornithology in America. Coues' work had a role in the establishment of trinomial nomenclature in the field. He also did invaluable research in mammalogy, and the Odocoileus Virginianus couesi (Coues white-tailed deer) is named after him. Despite his devotion to science, however, Coues was also fascinated by Spiritualism. He founded the Gnostic Theosophical Society of Washington and, in 1890, became the president of the Esoteric Theosophical Society of America. The Elliot Coues House in Dupont Circle was added to the National Register of Historic Places and listed as a National Historical Landmark in 1975, on the merits of its role as the residence of this notable ornithologist rather than for any architectural features. Coues lived in this townhouse from its construction in 1887 until his death in 1899.

The Elliott Coues House, located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., served as the home of the notable 19th Century ornithologist Elliott Coues from 1887 until his death in 1899. Coues is most remembered for his contribution to the knowledge base regarding North American bird life and classification. In addition to his numerous publications, Coues helped to found the American Ornithologists' Union in 1883. Though the house's architecture is not notable, Coues' former residence was added to the National Register of Historic Places and listed as a National Historical Landmark in 1975 because of its connection to the ornithologist.

Elliott Coues House

Not much is known about the original commissioners of the mansion, the Brodheads. Records indicate that the Brodheads commissioned architect John Frasier to design the mansion, but the matter of whether or not the couple ever actually inhabited the mansion is unknown. Regardless, the two sold the mansion to Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard, whose son-in-law was Alexander Graham Bell, in 1882. Bell and his wife Mabel moved into the house in 1883, and they remained there until 1889. That same year, the couple sold the home to the soon-to-be Vice President Levi Parsons Morton, who would serve under President Benjamin Harrison. Morton decided that the mansion could use some renovations, and he called on John Frasier to return and design an east wing for the mansion. Morton remained in the mansion until 1894. In 1903, the mansion came under the ownership of the Imperial Czarist government ambassador, Count Arturo Cassini, and his daughter Marguerite. For the brief years they stayed in Washington, DC, the Cassinis were quite popular, but in 1906, they took their leave of the home. In 1912, Levi Morton returned to the house and commissioned another architect, John Russell Pope, to conduct a full-scale remodeling of the mansion. Morton lived there until his death in 1920, and the mansion changed hands over the years until it was purchased by the National Paint, Varnish, and Lacquer Association (later known as the American Coatings Association) in 1940. The association renovated the building for its headquarters, installing new lighting and furniture. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14th, 1987. It was purchased by Hungary in 2016 in order to house the Embassy of Hungary.

The Brodhead-Bell-Morton Mansion, otherwise known as the Levi P. Morton House, is a historic home in Washington, DC. Originally built in 1879 for John T. and Jessie Willis Brodhead as a home, the Morton House has served as host to numerous other high-profile occupants, such as Alexander Graham Bell and U.S. Vice President Levi P. Morton. As of 2016, the building is under the ownership of Hungary with the intention to move the Hungarian Embassy to the home. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in October of 1987. 

Brodhead-Bell-Morton Mansion

Robert Simpson Woodward was born on July 21, 1849 on a farm in Rochester, Michigan. His father, Lysander, was a leading figure in the community. He not only ran the farm, he also held positions in the local county government, served as the president of the Oakland County Agricultural Society, and was the first president of the Detroit and Bay City Railroad. Lysander was also known for taking a scientific approach to agriculture, an interest he imparted onto Woodward.After graduating from Rochester Academy in 1868, Woodward enrolled in the University of Michigan where he studied civil engineering. He spent the next three summers working for the United States Lake Survey and after graduating in 1872, got a job with the Survey. Over the the next ten years, he surveyed the Great Lakes and it was during that time that he became interested in geology. Woodward also married his wife, Martha, in 1876; they had three sons, Robert Jr., Karl, and William.In 1882, he was appointed as an assistant astronomer to the United States Transit of Venus Commission. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hired him two years later as an astronomer and he later became chief geographer and led the Division of Mathematics. Woodward made his most important scientific contributions while working for the USGS. His work included computing latitudes and longitudes used in making maps and studying sea level and geology. He was particularly interested in determining the age of the earth and used his knowledge of math, astronomy, and physics to support a hypothesis that the earth is 200-400 million years old. Although this conclusion is now known to be wrong, Woodward's work sparked new ways to study geology. In 1890, Woodward started working for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey where he developed new, cheaper surveying techniques. Three years later, he became a professor of mechanics at Columbia University. He also served as dean of the College of Pure Science and, between 1897 to 1898, as vice president and president of the American Mathematical Society.Philanthropist and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie donated $10 million to establish the Carnegie Institution in 1902 to promote scientific research. Woodward was named its second president in 1904 and during his tenure the organization directed funds to departments of research (within the Institution) instead of individuals, which is what it did originally. Woodward retired from the Institution in 1920 and died four years later in Washington D.C.Over the course of his career, Woodward published over a 100 papers, edited a standard math textbook, and received many honors and awards. He was also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and served as president of American Association for the Advancement of Science, the New York Academy of Sciences, the Philosophical Society of Washington, and the Washington Academy of Sciences. Woodward also received honorary degrees from several universities.

The second president of the Carnegie Institution, Robert Simpson Woodward (1849-1924), lived in this house from 1904 to 1914. Woodward was a geologist, civil engineer, and mathematician who made significant contributions to science over the course of his career, particularly in the field of geology and in scientific experimentation. He was also a skilled administrator. The house itself is believed to have been built around 1885 and was eventually divided into apartments. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976 for its association with Woodward.

Robert Simpson Woodward House

In 1907, when Thomas was 16, her parents purchased this home upon relocating the family to Washington DC from her hometown of Columbus, GA. It is in this very home that Thomas created her signature “dab patterned” abstract paintings; specifically in her kitchen, which she expanded in the 1950's in order to make more room for her personal in home art studio. Towards her front living room there was a holly tree that could be seen through her bay windows, and a few myrtle trees which inspired the acrylic on canvas work "Wind and Crepe Myrtle Concerto" could be spotted in the back yard.<blockquote>"The holly tree! looked at the tree in the window, and that became my inspiration. There are six patterns in there right now that I can see. And every morning since then, the wind has given me new colors through the windowpanes.” </blockquote><blockquote>- Alma Thomas</blockquote>Thomas lived in this home until the day she passed and it stayed in the Thomas family until the passing of her sister in the mid 2000’s. Although it was recently put up for sale again, this home still serves as a landmark on Washington's African American Heritage Trail.

Built in 1875, this beautiful red brick home nestled in Logan Circle is where Alma Thomas resided for well over 70 years. Thomas drew inspiration from the natural beauty surrounding her home including a variety of different flowers and trees. One work, "White Roses Sing and Sing" shown below, is said to be influenced by roses grown in her backyard and azalea blooms at the National Arboretum.

The Alma Thomas Home

Charlotte Forten Grimké was born on August 17, 1837 to a leading abolitionist and wealthy family in Philadelphia. Her paternal grandfather was James Forten, who was born free and became a prosperous sailmaker. He was also an ardent abolitionist, as were his many children including Grimké's father, Robert. Her mother, Mary Virgina Wood, was born into slavery and the daughter of James Cathcart Johnston who owned the Hayes Plantation in Edenton, North Carolina., which is a National Historic Landmark.As a young woman, Grimké attended the Salem Normal School in Salem, Massachusetts in 1855 (Normal schools trained teachers). After graduating she became the first and only African-American teacher at the all-white Eppes Grammar School in Salem. She began to write around this time and authored a number of poems and articles that were published in the the Liberator, an abolitionist newspaper run by her friend Willian Lloyd Garrison, as well as in the National Anti-Slavery Standard and the Evangelist. In these writings she voiced her support for women's rights and expressed her views against slavery. She also encouraged African-American women to take up abolitionist causes.Grimké returned to Philadelphia to recover from illness in 1858 and taught there for the next for years. However, she yearned for a more active role to help enslaved people. The opportunity arose after the Union captured St. Helena and the other sea islands in 1861. All of the white residents fled but their former slaves, who numbered around 10,000, remained on the plantations. Most were uneducated and illiterate. To educate them, the federal government implemented a program called the Port Royal Experiment (Port Royal is the name of one of the islands). The first attempt came in March 1862 when a group of 53 white teachers arrived in Port Royal. However, they were unable to gain the trust of the population and the group's attempt failed.Grimké was more successful but her experience was challenging. She arrived in St. Helena in late October 1862 and taught until 1864. She documented her experiences in her diaries and she sometimes described difficult days. Many of her students spoke Gullah (a language developed by African Americans in the coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia) and they had a hard time following school routines. It appears she was more comfortable with other white teachers than her students and islanders. Despite these difficulties, she taught around 150 students during her time on the island and also participated in a number of activities in addition to teaching. She was a song leader, storyteller, nurse, and Sunday school teacher. Her students appear to have appreciated her work and left gifts of oranges, figs, and apples. In one diary entry she wrote "It is great a great happiness to teach them..." Grimké was the first and one of the few teachers to record their experiences during the Port Royal Experiment. He work demonstrated the efficacy of the experiment and she developed methods to help teachers relate to and teach former enslaved people.However, her time on the island took a toll on her health and she became ill, which prompted her to depart in 1864 and return to Philadelphia. In 1878 she married Francis Grimké and they lived in Washington, where Francis was pastor at the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church. They had a daughter but she died just a few months after she was born. Grimké worked as an assistant to Francis and continued to publish in newspapers and periodicals. She also served as trustee and secretary of the board at Westborough Insane Hospital in 1889. Her efforts to promote social justice causes for African Americans continued as well. In her later years she was an invalid and passed away in 1914.

Abolitionist, suffragist, writer, poet, and educator Charlotte Forten Grimké (1837-1914) lived in this two-story brick rowhouse from 1881 to 1885. In 1862, she became one of the first free women of African descent to go to the South during the war for the purpose of teaching formerly enslaved people when she moved to St. Helena Island, South Carolina, a sea island that was controlled by the Union early in the war. Grimké is also notable for her diaries, particularly those from the pre-Civil War period and her time on the island. For its association with Grimké, the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark.

Charlotte Forten Grimké House

Zalmon Richards was born in Massachusetts in 1811. He began is career in education when he became a teacher at a small country school at the age of 17. He apparently did not receive much formal education himself growing up but did take courses at Southampton Academy and then attended Williams College. He graduated in 1836 and became the principal at Cunningham Academy in Massachusetts. A few years later he became the principal at an academy in Stillwater, New York. During his time in Stillwater he organized teachers' institutes in New York and Vermont. Richards arrived in Washington D.C. in 1849 to become principal of the preparatory department of Columbia College where he established the Columbia Teachers' Association. Three years later he founded a private school called the Union Academy. In 1857, he was one of the founders of the National Education Association, which was the National Teachers' Association in 1870. The U.S. Treasury Department appointed him to a clerical position in 1861 but was shortly transferred to the Bureau of Statistics where he collected data of schools around the country and used this information to lobby Congress to pass the the act in 1867 that created the Office of Education. He remained at the Office until 1869 when he became the first superintendent of Washington's public schools. Richards remained involved with the NEA for the rest of his life. He also lectured about education, wrote many papers and reports, and published "Teachers' Manual" for primary school teachers in 1880 and wrote "The Natural Arithmetic" in 1885. After he moved into the house, he taught in one of the rooms to support himself. He died on November 1, 1899 at the age of 88.

One of the founders of the National Education Association (NEA), Zalmon Richards, lived in this house from 1882 until his death in 1899. He served as the NEA's first president and in that role laid the foundation for the organization's early development. It is now the largest labor union in the country. Richards also led the effort to get Congress to pass legislation that created the Office of Education, the predecessor of the Department of Education, in 1867. The house itself, which remains a private residence today, is a small but elegant Victorian home erected 1873. It features a mansard roof, three-sided wooden bays with arched windows and decorative brackets, and an arched main entrance. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark.

Zalmon Richards House

The Evans-Tibbs house was built in 1894 by a man named Richard E. Crump. Little is known about the inhabitants of the house shortly after it was finished, but in 1904, Lillian Evans-Tibbs moved into the house with her family when she was fourteen. Lillian’s family was quite prominent among the Black intellectuals of Washington, DC, and as a result, the house was often used as a gathering place. Being in such a prominent position, Lillian had many educational opportunities to pursue, and she worked to gain her Bachelor’s Degree in Music from Howard University in 1913 and began teaching music. She married Roy Tibbs, a music teacher, in 1918, but soon after the marriage, she decided to focus on her operatic skills in the early 1920s. Though she was a skilled opera singer, there were not many opportunities for opera singers in the United States during the early 1920s. As a result, she traveled to Europe to pursue her opera studies, and she continued her studies fervently in Paris, France. While in France, she took on the stage name Evanti and debuted at the star of the 1925 opera Lakme. Because of Lakme’s success, Evanti toured Europe with the Paris Opera Company.

When she returned to the United States, opportunities for opera singers were still scarce, and as a result, Evanti was unable to be hired on by a professional company. Still, she continued to perform, eventually performing for Eleanor Roosevelt in 1934. Her career boomed, despite not having a sponsor. As her career continued, Evanti continued to live in the Evans-Tibbs house with her son and husband up until her death in 1967. After her death, her grandson, Thurlow Tibbs, Jr., used the home as an art gallery, but upon his death, the home no longer continued to hold the artwork. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 8th, 1987.

The Evans-Tibbs House is a historic home in Washington, DC’s Shaw neighborhood. Built in 1894, the house is particularly notable for being the residence of the first African American opera singer of international fame, Lillian Evans Tibbs. For some time after her death, her grandson housed an art gallery in the home. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in September of 1987.

Historic Mansions and Estates of Washington, D.C.

Edward "Duke" Ellington Residence

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information