Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-10

| miIled dollars In 1898 Peter Miller bought
| lot 3, fronting the stream or canal, or
/ Thomas Law, for 800 pounds. or $500. about
| Il cents per foot. In 1893 Miller conveyed
this lot to Berg Waters Of Montgomery
county. Md. In 1913 Ross & Simpson, mer-
chants OF Philadelphia had title to the
| south portion of this square. lots to 8,
and :. and in 1902 John Craig. James Craw-
| ford. W. Rush. W. Read NJ. Pierce and g.
| PlunsteI of Philadelphia. trading as Craw-
| ford & Co.. acquired lots /, and 7. the
consideration being $4,000.
In 1906 Miller had lot on Sd street.
| and in 1909 lot ;. the corner of Sd and N
| streets Lots l. and about this time
went to Mr.. Barry. In 1910 Mr. Barry
| also acquired lot ). the southwest corner
| of 80 and streets which. in 1917. went
| in part to Eli Cross In the 2O's Griffith
Coombe was on lot 4 the northwest part
of the square. and Elias B. Caldwell
bought lots and 8. fronting respectively
I'd and Sd streets.
Values Increasing.
The initial valuat ton of the ground was
6 cents. in four year reduced to cents.
The improvements were valued as fol-
lows Craig. Crawford ct al. 5000. lots
1 and .. and Berg Waters. $4,000 lot 3.
in 1902. In 1907 P. Miller was assessed
$4,000 on lot 9. and Craig ct al. $4,000 on
valued at 10 cents and under and the i'm
provements were charged as follows
Barry and Coombe. $4,000. reduced to
$4,000 In 1885. and on wharf. 81 800: E. B.
Caldwell. $1,000. reduced to $500;
George Sanford. $3.50. reduced to 500;
Eli Cross. $3.50: Bank Of Washington.
81, 400. and Foyles. 500.
In square So2. facing Georgia avenue.
between Sd and 4th streets below N
street. nine lots were plated and al
lotted. to I to the United States and
the balance to the government in 179J.
In 1t96 James r. Dermott bought lot I.
on Sd street. and the next year found
Thomas Law in possession of lots to
8. the southwest part of the square. Mr..
Carroll had lot 7. and lot @ went to w.
Moffatt and Ebenezer Nesmith. The lat
ter We're house joiners and builders. and
improved many lots for MIR. Law and
others. and lot went to them on account
of work. When the partnership was dis
solved title in this lot was vested in Mr..
NeSmith. This lot was improved. and In
1906 became the property of Thomas
Wheat and appears listed at 5000 in 1906,
At this time the southwest corner of the
square. lots ! to g. was leased ty James
d. Barry and Griffith Coombe who
bought full title some years later.
Blagden's Water Rights.
Thomas Blagden in 1902 bought lots /. 2
and 3 with water rights to the channel eX-
tending about 40 feet In 1906 Joseph Var
den bought in lot s. In 1918 Col. Wharton
of the Marine Corps bought lot at the
corner of Sd street and Georgia avenue.
with wharfage rights. S. Stephens had a
lease in lot I Sd street and Edward
Mattingly had a deed in the same lot in
1910 Mr.. Coomhe acquired title to lot 6,
which included Whartons wharf S. N.
Smallwood in 1921 acquired subdivisions of
lots and ). east of Mr.. Coombes corner
and his wharf and lumber yard were soon
bought lots Z. and .. which included the
corner of I'd and n streets. and in 1870
Mary Van Reswick bought and 9. at
the corner.
In the 'thirtles Thomas Blagder bought
the water right of lots 4. ) and 6. thus
having the whole water front. n. Brady
had subdivisions of and fronting
Georgia avenue and George B. Smith had
lot s on Sd street.
In the twenties and thirtles the ground
had a value of to 10 cents. and the i'm
provements We're listed follows: George
Blagden, $3.50 later 5000; S. n. Small
wood. $500: wharf. 81 $50; Mr.. Coombe,
81 800 afterward $500: Rachel Wheat.
81 800: Wharton's heirs $1,000: G. Mating
ly, 5000; Van Reswick. $1,000.
Great expectations prevailed to the
future of this section, for. with fine
wharfage sites on the south and the basin
of the canal on the west, profitable trade
was counted on.
Bridges and Ferry.
Communication with the Navy Yard.
Greenleaf's point and Capitol Hill was
early enjoyed. for wagon roads furnished
thoroughfare. and the streams were
crossed at NJ and n streets by bridges.
and a ferry was established with the
south shore. Capt. Barry, before 1913,
erected the storehouse now represented
by Castle Thunder" on I'd street and
Georgia avenue, and this. with other prop
erty, was sold to Ross Simpson of Phila-
delphia. and later to crawford & Co. Peter
Miller whose bakery turned out large
quantities of ships biscuits. was on I'd
street for q few years. afterward moving
to Sd street. selling the I'd street property
, to Berg Waters Griffith Coombe appeared
on the scene about 1896. when, with James
d. Barry. nephew of the captain and after
ward Mr.. CoOmbe's son-in-law, he leased
a dwelling Georgia avenue, east Of Sd
street. Mr.. Coombe took up his residence
In the house known by his name today
G.. Blagden had. 1902, bought the east
part of the square between Sd and 4th
streets. Thus the wharves were owned
by Parry between I'd and Sd streets for
years, and Barry & Coombe and Mr.. Blag-
den owned between Sd and Az streets.
The Barry & Coombe wharf was. from
1913 to 1916, the property of Col. Whar-
ton. then going to Mr. Coombe. In 1921
s. N Smallwood bought In the lots east.
and a wharf was known by his name but
in the thirties Mr.. Blagden owned the
whole water front of the square
The lumber yards of Coombe. Blagden
and Snallwood were here, as well as
Dyers saw and planning mill.
Early Groceries.
In the twenties Henry TIetJen. who came
here in 1875 and was connected with the
Law sugar refinery. was keeping a grocery
Al the southeast corner of Sd and NJ streets
In the house still standing. His descend
ants are now known as the Teachems. On
the southeast corner of 80 and X streets was
Joseph Fugitts grocery, and below were
the store and tavern of E. Mattingly and
the stores of William Radcliffe. Among
others on Sd street there were William
Barnes, George Bean. E. and s. Booth.
Thomas Howard and W. R. Maddox. who
was at the northeast corner of Sd and N
streets. He was the father of DR.. John
Maddox and Cant " Maddox nS Aha