Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-23
ROCK CREEK PARK
ONCE GARDEN SPOT
Frank Scheer Recalls Time
When City's FashionabIes
Thronged Driveway.
BEAUTIFUL LAWNS ABOUT
MANSIONS ON ITS BANKS
Expresses Qualification at Plan to
Convert Trash Dumps Into
Parking.

| The banks of Rock creek, which are
now piled high with trash and rubbish
were once picturesque green slopes, dot
| ted here and there with vineyards and
garden patches and fanked on one side
| by a roadway which WAS used as q
| driveway by the fashionable residents OF
Washington, according to Frank Scheer
Of 2134 street northwest, who built q
home for himself in the Rock Creek val
ley just south of the present Street
bridge in 1853.
Just before the civil war that section
of the city was garden spot-"a verita-
BILE Garden Of Eden spot''-according to
Mr.. Scheer, and after he had finished
building his house he and his family,
he says, often sat on their front porch
and watched all fashionable Washington
driving along Paper Mill road, bordering
Rock creek, pretty much as fashionable
Washington is again expected to do when
the government completes it's plans for q
parkway connection between Rock Creek,
Geological and Potomac parks.
Will Never Be More Beautiful.
mo matter what changes will be
brought about by the engineers and land
scape architects in carrying out the pro-
visions of the act Of Congress authoriz-
ing the connecting of Rock Creek and Po-
tomac parks, Rock Creek valley will
never be more beautiful than it was In
those days." said Mr.. Scheer to q Star
reporter yesterday while discussing the
memories of his boyhood days.
when 1 picked out the site for my
house on Paper Mill road no fairer spot
could have been dreamed of for q home,
and I imagine that no matter what the
engineers and surveyors do, no matter
what the landscape artists do. they will
not succeed in making Rock Creek valley
any more beautiful than 1t was in the
days when my wife and l went to live
in our house.
1T is just and right that the govern
ment should make this land over into
what nature intended it to be- / read in
The Star that there will be walks and
drives along the bed of Rock creek
again, place for children to play and
for folk to take the air.
Had Refinements Of Civilization.
THAT will be just as it was in the old
days. And it need not be thought that
we had only raw, wild nature there in
the old days. We had all the refinements
of civilization. built not only my own
good brick house in the hollow, but two
others besides. and the grounds about
them were beautiful with shrubs and
flowers, box, lilacs, imported tulips from
Holland and other growing things. There
were vineyards in that valley, on the
sunny slopes now filled with dumped ref
use.
THE big. tall house seen from the r
Street bridge, weather beaten, paint
stoned and scraped off and with win
dow panes and doors and sashes gone.
was the Bartelmy Yerkley house. 1t
daughter of Judge Ord. who once owned
the caves at Luray. Va. Farther up the
creek was Col. Humphreys mansion. on
what used to be Kalorama Heights, In
and around the present neighborhood OF
22d and streets. all of which was low,
level land before I went away to the
war in Company G OF the 1st District
Volunteers. under Capt. James Goddard.
Presidents Often Used Drives.
'The old Paper Mill road was fine
drive in those days. Col. Humphrey often
drove by our house, along the banks OF
the creek. and so did President Hayes
and President Grant. and later Presi-
dents William w. Corcoran. who found.
ed the Corcoran Gallery of Art. also took
pleasure in that drive, and. in fact. all
the members of Congress and fashionable
Washington drove through that peaceful.
beautiful valley, pretty much as they Will
do again. ! suppose, when the improve
ments are made.
1.-The old paper mill stood on the corner
of 22d and p streets. That was low,
level land then, and it remained so until
the present p Street brodge was finished
in II or ~. / had charge Of the stone
work on that bridge, and finished 1T in
one of those years. | forget which.
in that hollow beside the p Street
bridge there is standing today lot OF
shrubbery, which was imported from
Switzerland by various people to beautify
their places. and the landscape architects
ought to leave 1t when they begin to
make improvements. There is line OF
arbor vitae trees standing beside the big.
tall house, which ought to be trimmed
and taken care Of / remember seeing a
neighbor of mine, a gardener named Gill
hooly. plant them, and today they are
grown up and old, pretty much as l am. .
Only Flat Boats Used Stream.
Mr. Scheer said he was greatly Interested
In the correspondence published in Thurs
days Star. between tho Attorney Gen.
erals office and the War Department. in
which the Department Of Justice declared
that IL the United States asserts title ia
prove that the creek was navigable at the
time the government acquired the Dis
trict.
In this correspondence 1t was said 1.-THE
proposition that Rock creek was a navig.
able stream Is based on tradition as to its
use by vessels of considerable draft, and
the enactments of the Maryland legis-
lature and ordinances OF the town OF
Georgetown"
Mr.. Scheer yesterday declared that he
could not remember having seen any
vessels under sail in Rock creek in his
| boyhood days. although he had heard
| that vessels had sailed up the creek as
far as the old Lyons mill.
I'm the fifties," he said, I'VE otter
| brought material for building and other
purposes up Rock creek by boat, but
| these boats were hatboats, pushed by
poles stuck in tho bed OF the stream.
| brought the material for my house VI
the creek by these boats. That was In SO
Dumping Damaged Property.
| This house is standing there today. al
good a house as ever was built. but the
dumping near the p Street bridge, in front
of my house. and in back OF 1t. has driver
me out
| .yVe triad everv NAV WA knew IN nrA