Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-08-11
oLD-TlME CAPITOL HILL
Boundaries Of HALF Century Ago as Recalled
by Old Residents.
Citi.ens of Promipence Who Made
Their Homes There-Chicken
Cock Hill and Frogtovvn.


| was a section whose. limits were indefi.
| mite. Some reckoned that portion of the
| city within a stones throw Of the old iror
| railing surrounding the grounds as the
| HILL but the younger portion of the popu
| lation IL called on to describe it would an.
! swer: Capitol Hill is bounded on the NORTH
| by Chicken Cock Hill Massachusetts ave
nue. and I'd street northeasD; on the cas-,
by the commons and Navy Yard 9th o,
9Th streets east; on the south by D street
and New Jersey avenue southeast, or Car
| rolls Hill. occupied by Daniel Carroll Of
Duddington, and the canal, which rar
| through what is now Canal street, and or
the west by F1ogtown, the low grounds
south of the Capitol, and the Botanic Gar.
den and the Tfber, I'd street west %}i'
| West Of North and South Capitol streets
there were few signs of improvement. In
deed some, of the streets had not been
| opened and considerable of the vacan,
! ground south of the Enclosure, including the
bed of Delaware avenue and some of the
| cross streets was planted in corn, the
| grower harvesting only the grain and leav-
| ing the fodder for the numerous cows al
| lowed to roam at large even in the shadow
| of the big building. Thus many of our rep
resentatves from the agricultural sections
| had familiar scenes within a few hundred
| yards Of their desks. West of New Jersey
| avenue southeast on which was the Co
| lumbia engine house. the coast survey and
| few other buildings. there were scarcely
| half a dozen buildings. among them the
| Israel colored NJ. e. Church., erected and
| originally occupied by what is now the
| First Presbyterian congregation.
| More sparseiy Settled.
1.-THE corresponding section north Of the
| grounds was even more sparsely settled.
| The Botanical Garden was then new, the
! Tiber running through 1t to the canal at
| 3D. street. and the stream open. On the
| square south of Maryland avenue between
| 1st and I'd streets southwest were some
| half dozen frame buildings, and these were
| grouped as Frogtown proper, for the
nightly concerts were a feature of the To-
cality as well as a nuisance to the DENT
zens. On the north side of the grounds,
| west of New Jersey avenue to 1st street,
| there was no improvement whatever. On
North Capitol street and Delaware ave-
nue. some of our leading people lived.
Among these were Chief Justice Cranch
and William Brent, the latter clerk of the
Circuit Court of the District William P.
Elliott, city surveyor; Admiral Charles
Wilkes, we'll known as an explorer of the
Antarctic regions; Major William ]. Nc
Donald, clerk in the Office of the secre-
tary of the Senate; j. s. Meehan, congress
sional librarian, and Joseph F. Brown, then
a clerk in the Capitol, afterward secretary
of the Washington Gas Light Company
and for many years ans alderman.
East OF the grounds was the old Capitol
building, then known as Hilfs, now con-
verified into fine dwellings, fronting on LIST
street south of A street. north, and on the
square south was CARROTS or Duff Green's
row, used during theawar as branch OF
the Old Capitol prison, now included in the
Library site. There awere numbers Of
boarding houses for the, accommodation OF
members of Congress sin this section but
of our own citizens are recalled only Col
b. B. French, the clerk of the House of
representatives; Hotatio King, afterward
TtGr m CT
Captain Edelin, of the United States ma
rines; Col, James Az TAFT, long a magis-
trate; Col. Robert IBeale tsergeant-at-arms
or the Senate; CaptJIsaac Bassett an of
heer- of the Senate for half century VINO
lived east of the grounds That portion of
the Hill southsof the grounds was the most
thlekiy settled - antl New JERSEY avenue
ana Vicinity were.t7oeked ION as the best
heighDofhood of the metropolis. Indeed al
one t1me our first bank, now the National
BANK OF washington as also a market
mouse, was located on or in the avenue
o. Some of the Residents.
Among the residents of this section were
FrcI. A. D. .Bache, for over. third of a
century superintendent of the coast survey:
Col. C. X Gardner, then city postmaster:
Dr. Frederick May, Henry May and Col.
Chas. May; N. c. Towle, register of Wills:
Jas ADAMS, Tor half a century cashier of the
Bank OF Washington; Mai. S. r. Hobbie
ASSISTANT postmaster general; W. II. Dun
uoS OF the Post Office Department. DIR r
N. Brodnead, second controller; TIP. Trotr
YIN. Barker, ]. B. North, John Underwo td
). ~ Barker and the Hansons: G. d. sam,
ue! ana Mountjoy. The Casparis Iardella
and H1tz families had located in this SEQ
tlon, the former in the hotel and grocery
business, the lardellas as druggists and the
Hitzs in grocery and dry goods business.
In the AUS the Hill Market was in East
Capitol street between 1st and I'd streets.
having been established In 1898 Judpinp
from the number of stores and tayerns in
that section there WIS much business at
Iempted. among the residents were James
Lynch, r. L. Mills, Phillips & SmaIIvood
A Rupert, Mcconnell N W. White Mrs
Rigdon, Mrs. Sutherland, Mrs Sweny and
Mrs. Hannegan. Two bakeries were on
inns Observation-Disclosures & Co. and one
very apprc priately conducted by John FL.
Cake.
After few years the market building
was sold and removed and the site graded.
Daiioins at the southeast corner of Sd
ana "A streets southeast was the next site
OF the Hill Market, and in the sos it was
converted INTO rooms for the public
schools The site is now occupied by the
Pro-Cathedral of st. Marks.
Besides the eo1ored church Israel south
OF tha Capitol there was only one other
cpurch on the Hill, st. Peters, at the cor
rer OF I'd and c streets southwest, of
which Rev. Father Van Horsugh was the
pastor, and this was the parish church of
the Catholics of the eastern part of the
city and District
The holding of service by the chaplains
OF the Senate and House during the ses-
sions aided in furnishing the church people
With opportunities for worship. Those in
chhed to other than the Catholic faith were
wont TO attend the nearest churches to the
Hhi-Ebenezer Methodist and Christ Epis-
copal eastward; First Presbyterian, Trinity
episcopal 10Th street, and Wesley Metho-
dist westward. When, however, during
the sessions of Congress, the chaplains held
dlVine services at the Capitol which was
usually each Sunday morning, they were
quite certain to have congregation of the
Am people. with many strangers, often at
tracted by the novelty of religious service
in legislative hall
Minus a. fnE1ic Hall.
The 'Hilr in those days could boast of
no public hall, but that of the Columbia
Fire Company, on Sews5 avenue was
frequently used f5rr fairs, entertainments
and lectures. e,ta #
Enough many Of the residents of the
Hill were in public service, there was
goodiy number of the hard listed wage-win-
ners to bs found. 81 while some few en-
Gagged in agricultural pursuits to the ex-
tent OF raising corn within a few hundred
yards of the Capitol Grounds, there were