Weekly national intelligencer., 1847-09-25
Mn. SMITHS DESCRIPTION OF WASHINGTON

~ 'o piei put interesting description OF Washington in
lsOO by Mr. John Cotton Smith, published in the Inte-
gencer of Friday last find that he has fallen into one or two
errors which il may be proper correct The surface of
the city generally" he observes beng covered with scrub
oah bushes on the higher grounds and the msrshy soil
either trees some sort of hrubbe" The scruboa was
not known in this District The which covered the
surface Of the city the period was laid out consisted Of
the oak, hickory, walnut pne chesnu &c. Of the largest
growth and what Mr. Smith the undergro,c which
had been left after the forests had been eed BY agree
men entered into between the original
msone of city, all the wood the lands Of the former
to be their property but any should be desired by the Pre-
sident of the United staes left standing to be paid
for by the Government, at just and reasonable valuation,
exclusive Of the amount paid for the lands 1t much be
regretted that the native forest which originally covered
large portion of the surface of city, had been per-
mitted to remain where the the public
vaons laid of. These would have been beauti
ful ornament to the city hut no tapOssh &c s sot
made to the proprieto and they had received
for the lands occupied by the avenues Streets
and open spaces and had given about the half the ground
formed into squares and lots they reserved to themselves the
wood with which the land covered and either consumed
disposed of for their advantage Before the period
spoken of by Mr. Smith the had been feled with the
exception of few in the Capitol square and other places all
Of which have disappeared Of the condition Of
metropolis, years prior to the period referred to, tram
scripe pref extract from
city As my eye glanced upon the imposing and massive
structure me- and ranged the extended landscape
reposng the soness of moonlight my mind insensbly
reverted to the condition Of metropolis when, wood
land scene, it first burst upon my boysh eye. remember
ed distinctly the wndngs Of the picturesque stream called
the Iiber, gliding along between magnificent oaks and
underwood and expanding almost the magnitude ofa river
it flowed into the broad Potomac. This
called Goose Creek and in spring and autumn, overspread
with wild ducks and often penetrated far the present
Railroad depot by mutudes of shad herings pike, perch,
&c. 1t is sa id to have derived its classical from
European who owned farm the Capitol; and whose
Pope But is called the Tiber in deeds nearly
DID, He called his Rome, the
the bottom of the TIber, and the hill above Capitol
H whichhe is said to have predicted, many be-
fore the event took place, that magnificent edce would
be erected which would be called the Capitol"
Instead of recognising says Mr.. Smith, "the
and portrayed the plan of the city,
visible, unless except road with two buildings each
side of il, called the New Jersey avenue"
This is long before 1900 the leading
formed by cutting down the in the woods through
which they passed, and could be distinctly from the
Capitol In 1898, however the road leading from the Presi
dents House (caed by the Commissioners the Presidents
Paace) the Capitol passed the present General Post
Office building, about two squares north OF the Avenue, and
the Tbe crossed by rude bridge formed of single log,
and little above by few large stones, which, when the
low, rendered the creek fordabe. 1t along
that procession headed by General Washngon
passed lay Of the Capitol and though the
numbers composing this procession great took
them the log bridge of which have spoken
The ceremony concluded with barbecue given honor
Of the OCCASION not far from the spot where he afterwards
erected two fine brick buildings which destroyed by the
British army under General Ross, during the last The
spring from which the water obtained was at the bottom
of the hill on which the houses referred to STOOD and is
still there, and iabitur ct Labitw voubGs arum.
The public road leading into Montgomery county wound
round the hill and passed within few yards Of this spring,
which sheltered by large oak trees Of which
standing as late as the year 1875 Mr.. Smith is in
saying that the only really comfortable habatons in all
respects within the bounds of the city that time, those
of Daniel (no Dudley Carroll and Motley Young, two of the
original popieors The old domc of Mr.. Carroll in
sequence of its being part of street, pulled down by
Major Lnfani the engineer and, as Il would seem, without
the orders Of the Commissioners who subsequently, dismissed
him for it, and another spacious built in its stead
which is occupied by this worthy and venerable citizen
AT the Of the city the only brick building
the banks of the Potomac the owned and occupied by
Mr. Motley Young 1t was built of brick imported from Eng
land about fifty BEFORE beautifully situated and the
grounds around highly improved From the want of
church, this house occasionally used place Of
ship by the Roman Catholics and the officiating priest the
time alluded to- the Rev Mr.. Punkett Mr.. Young's
house, like Mr. CAROLS, of the streets but in
consequence the nterposon of General Washington who
commissioners
stand, but is very different from what it once
The north wing of the Capitol alone finished at the
time Of which Mr. Smith speaks. The first Senate Chamber
occupied the space Does except that the
floor in the first story, and extended in semccle to
the roof The present Court did not then exist The
Chamber prepared for the accommodation of the House Re-
representatives. in the western part Of the building and
extended nearly the whole length of the wing from north
south The access gallery Of both chambers by
hanging staircase which sprung from the FIRST floor in the small
rotundo in the southern part of the wng and contained
circular gallery from which you entered the different DOORS
The Library then small placed in south of the
Senate Chamber used in part committed The
original plan furnished by DIR. Thornton almost wholly
changed by Mr.. Laobe who subsequently became the arch
Of the Capitol and who Of fine and great
skill in his profession.
The block of houses spoken of by Mr. Smith being
of the Capitol large brick building erected by Mr..
Daniel Carroll, and occupied by Mr. Stee a tavern, and
another adjoining the large edce built for the accommoda
ton Of Congress after the late war; and occupied by Mr.
Tunnecl called the City Hotel There was another block
built by Mr. Thomas Law, the New Jersey avenue called
the Ten Buildings, in which the National Inegencer
first issued.
Mrs John Adams thus speaks Of the city in 1901 Here
and there she writes, s small cot without glass win
dow, ntepered amongst the forests, through which you
travel for miles without seeing human being The house
is upon grand and superb scae,t requiring about thirty
servants to attend and keep the apartments proper order
could content myself almost any where three months
but surrounded by forests you believe that wood Is not