The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-14
MEMORIES Oh TIDER CREEK
A Historic Stream of the Capitals
Earlier Days.
Not Now Extinct, But Meandering It's
Way in Subterranean Courses-Its
Tributaries That Have Given Way
to the March of Improvement.

| Like Rome, Washington has it's Tiber,
no longer flowing above ground in the
| broad light of open day as formerly, it is
true, but creeping In subterranean depths
beneath the citys thoroughfares and
turned, at length, ignominiously into a
sewer 1t must be an old resident of this
| city who can recall the Tiber in it's palmy
| days, when citizens bathed in it's refresh
| ing waters in summer or skated on its
| CONCEALED surface in winter. But among
| those to whom that stream is a pleasant
memory of his boyhood days is DIR. Joseph
| T. Howard. an officer of the Oldest In
| habitants' Association of the District. Dr.
| Howard can, If he Chooses project his
| mind back some fifty-odd years and re-
call great number of changes in aspect
which this city has undergone In that pc
Rod, not the least striking being the dis
| appearance. utterly and completely, of IL
| Der Creek and its host of tributary
streams which made. portions of what is
| now Washington difficult or impossible
for pedestrians to appreciate.
THE main stem of the Tiber,'' said DR..
| Howard, ''or what / consider as such,
| was formed by draining from the hills
and dales between Seventh and Four
teenth Streets and extended about mile
north of Florida Avenue. eliminating in
the intersection OF Eighth Street and
Florida Avenue. Passing down Eighth
Street southwark to r. it turned eastward
to Fifth and then flowed southwark to
Third and o Streets. thence east along
o Street to Second Street where it re-
ceived a tributary that had its origin
northwest of McCloud's Woods (now
Glenwood Cemetery. Running south, it
was joined by another branch just north
of st. Patricks burying ground that had
its origin in the valley now occupied by
the new reservoir. Both tributaries flowed
southwark, east Of ST. Patrick's Gene
| terry. to Street to form a confluence
with the main stream. From this point
| the creek flowed east and southeast to
| point adjacent to where First and NJ
Streets now intersect, where 1t was fed by
another stream that had its origin some
| where north of McCloud's Woods,
| through which it flowed in a southeastern
ly direction to Berwyn Woods, and thence
south through Gales Place (now Eek
| lngton to near the old mill, Logans
MIL where it returned the waste water
| from the mill wheel and went on to unite
| with the main branch from o Street. The
| Tiber, in its southwark course. took a
| direction near to and parallel with what
| Is now First Street east TO point where
| Massachusetts Avenue northeast inter
sects North Capitol Street, where it was
| joined by a stream flowing westward from
the eastern part of the city between f
and II Streets east. and from Chicken
Cock Hill, the high ground between
Delaware Avenue and Third Street north
east was called. Where this tributary
passed under the track of the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad there was substan-
tial arch called the culvert. -
ION the west side of the cuivert the
stream bulged out very wide, and, being
quite deep, it was a favorite swimming
place. Taking a curve in southeastern
ly direction the creek passed through
New Jersey Avenue at D Street north
west, and curved gracefully toward the
intersection of Fret Street and Indiana
Avenue northwest where 1t was again
arched over for the passage of the rail-
road and was Joined by a tributary form
ed by drainage from the hills, quick
sands, and marshes in the neighborhood
of New York Avenue, as that thorough
fare passed between Fourth and Sixth
Streets northwest. This stream attained
considerable width at X Street and flow
ed southwark, between Fourth and Fifth
Streets through Donanue's soap factory,
into the jail Lot as 1t was called, now
judiciary Square, then through it diagon-
ally to Fourth and E Streets, and on to
Third and Indiana Avenue, thence
along the latter thoroughfare to unite
with the main stream at the last mention
ed culvert. From this point the Tiber be-
came fully formed and flowed, in south
westerly direction. to b Street and thence
south along Second Street. under Penn
sylvania Avenue, through what is now
the Botanic Garden to Third street
and Maine Avenue, where II emptied into
the canal. 1t is hardly necessary to ADD
that. while at the time referred to Tiber
Creek was only covered over at the points
indicated, 1t is now entirely covered in
from its source to Its mouth, ana those
who knew 1t not in days OF yore have no
idea of it's still threading its way, be-
meath the surface, through our wonder
fully progressive city; but TO those who,
like myself, knew 1t well, though lost 10
sight. it is still to memory dear.
of the many scenes and incidents en-
acted in, about. and upon the banks OF
the Tiber, l will only mention a few that
occurrence. The right bank OF the Tiber,
curving from Third Street northwest to
near l. Street, consisted of gradually
rising hill eliminating at about Nj Street
in what was called 'Reedbirds Hill.
which was intersectsd by the Red Chalk
Hill Road now North Capitol Street. on
the slope of this hill toward the Ttber,
between Second Street and the Chalk
Road, was a vacant lot used by the Gen
eral Postoffce Department as the place
for destroying the dead letters. OF
course a large crowd was attracted when
ever the letters We're to be burned, and
when the process was completed many
persons would engage In searching among
the ashes, their labors often being re-
warded by the searohers finding coins
and trinkets which had escaped the vigil
lance of those who had been employed in
searching the letters before they were
Road and Ttber Greek there was large
blackberry patch which was the general
resort of parties In guest or that escu-
lent; here also, on the southeasterly slope
of the hill toward the creek. was a spring
of clear and cool water that often quench-
ed the thirst of berry, hunters and others
AT about the point where NJ Street eX-
tended would have crs)ssed the creek was
Logan's Pond, a fayorite resort for juve-
nile swimmers in spite of the mill own
ers wishes. and when the water was full
the alarm, Logan's coming" to see the
urchins make for e shore, seize their
clothing, and deca = in various direc-
lions to be out of ger. South OF Lo-
gan's Pond. betwe h and l. Streets.
were other swimming places bearing such
euphonious names as Blue Cork and
myself among the humber. first learned
the useful and beautiful art of swimming.
Passing still farther southward, and east
of the point where Massachusetts Avenue
extended would have, crossed the stream,
was another swimming pond. This was
the culvert of which rlention has already
been made. it was, Eat one time thirty
feet wide. quite long, ana very deep IN
the middle. 1t was here that | was en-
abled. with the aid of others, to save the
life of one of the Wickiiffe boys-Robert,
i think. His father was Postmaster Cen
eral at the time and lived in house OPP
posite the General Postofiice, that occu-
pied the site where the Second National
Bank now stands The boy. who was
al