Towanda daily review. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1879-1921, 1881-03-02
Washington Eighty Years Ago.

ington to witness the inauguration cere-
mony, and look upon the splendors Of the
now magnificent Capitol, will read with
interest the following letter by Congress
man Gallatin to his wife, just after his
arrival in the then small village, eighty
years ago:
81 arrived here on Saturday last. The
weather was intensely cold the Saturday
/ crossed the Allegheny mountains, and
afterwards l was detained one day and a
half by rain and snow. i Our To-
cal situation is far from being pleasant or
even convenient. Around the Capitol
are seven or eight boarding houses, one
tailor one shoemaker, one printer, a
WasherWoman, a grocery shop, pam
phlet and stationery shop, q small dry
goods shop, and an oyster house. This
makes the whole of the federal city as
connected with the Capitol. At the dis
tance of three-fourths Of q mile. on or
near the eastern branch, lie scattered the
habitatiOnS Of Mr.. Law and OfMr. Carroll
the principal proprietaries Of the ground,
half dozen houses. a very large but per-
fectly empty warehouse, and a wharf
graced by not single vessel. And this
makes the whole intended commercial
part OF the city, unless we include in it
what is called the twenty buildings, being
so many unfinished houses commenced by
Morris and Nicholson, and perhaps as
many undertaken by Greenleaf, both Of
which groops lie, at the distance Of half 4
mile from each other, near the mouth of
the eastern branch and the Potomac, and
are divided by large swamp from the
Capitol hill and the little village connect
ed with it, Taking contrary direction
from the Capitol towards the presidents
house the same swamp inters enes, and a
straight causeway, which measures one
mile and a half and seventeen perches,
forms the communication between the
two buildings. A small stream, about the
size or the largest OF the two that runs
between Clare's and our house, and deco
rated with the pompous appellatiOn Of
'Tyber,' feeds without draining the
sWamps, and along that causeway Called
the Pennsylvania avenue), between the
Capitol and presidents house, not sin
gle house interyeneS or can intervene
without devoting its wretched tenant to
perpetual fevers. From the presidents
house to Georgetown the distance is not
quite mile and half; the ground is
high and level; the public Offices and
from fifty to one hundred good houses are
finished The presidents house is very
elegant building, and this part OF the
city on account OF its vicinity to George
town, with which it communicates over
Rock creek by two bridges, and by the
concourse of people drawn by having bus
mess with the public Offices, will improve
considerably, and may, within short
time, form town equal in size and popu-
iatlon to Lancaster or Annapolis. But
we are not there; the distance is too
great for convenience from thence to the
Capitol.
Six Or seven of the members have
taken lodgings at Georgetown, three near
the presidents house, and all the others
are crowded in the eight boarding houses
near the Capitol. / am at Conrad & Nc
Munn's, where | share the room Of Mr..
Varpum, and pay at the rate, think, in
cludlng attendance, wood. candles and
liquors, OF SI5 per week. At the table, |
believe, we are from twenty-four to
thirty, and, were it not for the presence
Of Mrs. Bailey and Mrs. Brown, would
look like refcctory OF monks. The two
Nicholases, Mr.. Langdon, Mr.. Jefferson,
General Smith, Mr.. Baldwin, ETC., etc,
make part Of our mess. The company is
GOOD nnnnmh hut l. alI 49,.