Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1883-05-17
COMMENCING THE CAPITAL.
How, the Foundations We're Laid on Which the
Present Beautiful City Is Built.

COMMENCING THE CAPITAL.
How, the Foundations We're Laid on Which the
4 Present Beautiful City is Built.
\ Special Correspondence.
/ WAsHINGToN, ID. O., May 10, 1888. :
Letlno one suppose that the difficult
! ties in establishing the new capital were
all overcome when Congtess, after years
of bitter struggle, enacted that it should
be located on the banks of the Potomac.
| The glebe for the most part was a
I heavily wooded forest, portion of
which was granted by land patent.
dated June5, 1868, to Francois Pope.
and was called Hamburg. Some years
later as it was located on the Tiber it
was fittingly named Rome. That porl
ton OF the present capital lying on the
north side of the Tiber. and along the
Cohongueton or river of swans (Poto-
mac), was dignified as the widows
mite in an old land patent. dated July
., 1851. and the very spot where the
White House now stands was owned in
fee by the Queen of Portugal. This
territory in these early years was in
habited by the Manacan Indians, who
We're constantly at war with the Powha-
tons of Virginia. These tribal strifes
the smallpox. and the love of spiritnous
liquors rapidly wasted their population,
and in 1869 they left the homes of their
ancestors and united their fortunes with
the dusky Tuscaroras. In the changes
ofone hundred and fifty years the lands
conveyed by these
OLD PATENTS
had become possessed by Daniel Carol.
Motley Young David Burns, and Samuel
Davidson, who each decided their lands
to Thomas Bcall and John Mackall
Cant, trustees, who conveyed the same
to the commissioners and their success
sors in office for the United States for
ever. The conditions of sale made with
the land owners by George Washington
gave the proprietors every other lot and
$25 per acre for all the land taken for
use as squares and public grounds, and
in consideration thereof the streets were
to belong to the United States forever.
This arrangement having been consum-
mated President Washington appointed
Major Pierre Charles T.'Enfant, hot
headed Frenchman, as engineer to lay
off and map the city. In his allotment
of lands 1916 plated lots fell to the
government as their share, besides the
sites designated Tor public buildings,
parks and reservations.
These lots were offered at public sale
October II, 1871, and thirty-one only
were sold, at prices from S26 to $500
each, one-quarter being paid down in
cash. Washington
WAS GREATLY PLEASED
with the plans of l. Enfant, particular
| ly with his location of the capitol far
away from the President, thus making
it difficult for Congressman to make
their visits too frequent. This French
engineer was bull-headed, hard to man
age, and Washington removed him and
appointed Andrew Ellicott in his stead.
In 1898 work was begun on the cap
itol under the direction of Mr.. Hallet as
architect, soon to be succeeded by
James Hoban, an freshman, who was
the architect of the Presidents house.
Meantime plats of
THE FUTURE CAPITAL
were made, sent to Europe, and foreign
ers made large investments in lots ON
capitol hill, where it was thought certain
the city proper would be built. The
lands where the densely peopled por-
ton of the city now lies, along Penn
sylvania, Massachusetts and Connec-
ticut avenues, was then nothing but a
marshy bog thought to be almost worth
less. The building of the capitol and
other public buildings was a great I'M
dertaking, and the lack of funds was a
serious embarrassment. The govern
ment credit was at so low an ebb that
Washington made a personal applica-
ton to the legislature of Maryland for
q loan OF $150,000. The sum of $780,
600 was voted December %, 1876, on
condition that the commissioners should
become personally responsible for its
repayment. On these terms the money
was secured and the work was pushed
forward vigorously.
June Is, 1900, the commissioners re-
ported the capital ready for occupancy.
At once the public offices were re-
moved from Philadelphia to
THIS sTRAGGLING VILLAGE,
with no comforts OF conveniences. The
army in Flanders never swore more
vigorously than did those who opposed
the location of the capitol in this "city
of magnificent distances" as it was de-
risively called. 1t was city ON paper.
One wing of the capitol and the Presi-
dents house, both built of white sand
stone, stood like whitened sepulchres in
the dismal dreariness of the struggling
village. Streets existed only on the
maps. Pennsylvania avenue, from the
capitol to the Presidents house, was
morass, filled with alder bushes. The
surface of the highland was covered
with scrub-oaks. Toward Georgetown
stood small block known rs the '.six
buildings, = and there were really but
two or three comfortable residences in
the ''new settlement" There are men
now living who have seen
But ONE DRUGSTORE
in the entire distance between the cap
itol and Georgetown. May 5, 1902,
the struggling settlers secured an act
of incorporation from Congress, and
thenceforward it became the city of
Washington. This step it was thought
would induce settlers to flock to the
new city, but such foolish hopes were