Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-03
Facts About Ford's Theater.

TN the season OF the observance of
Iincoln's birthday the Rambler
wrote a good many facts which he be-
neved interesting concerning the Peter
son house on 10th street, in which Lin
coin died. An old paper has recently
been put in the Ramhler's hands which
gives some of. the earlier history OF
Ford's Theater and more especially the
history of the site on which the theater
building stands, all facts no doubt well
known to those persons sufficiently IN
terested in the great tragedy OF Good
Friday night, April IA, 1865. to have IN
CURED into all circumstances and things
associated with 1T. but probably not
known to the majority Of Washington
people.
According to the information con-
tanned In this old print. the theater
building was erected on the site of the
First Baptist Church. the congregation
of which had purchased the land on
10th street in 1888. These Baptists had
been located at the corner of 18th and
I streets, but in 1898 they built a
house of worship on 10th street. At
that time the pastor of the church was
the Rev. Obediah Brown, who was a
clerk in the Post Office Department and
who finally became the .principal
the principal clerk of the department
filled the duties now performed by the
chief clerk.
Among the members Of the congrega-
ton in 1888 were Amos Kendall. who
at one time was postmaster general.
Isaac Clarke. DR.. Joseph Borrows. Lam
bert Tree and ]. w. Reynolds. The Rev.
DIR. Brown remained pastor of the
church until 1850 when he was succeeded
by the Rev. S. P. Hill. who continued
as pastor until in 1861, when the church
property was bought by John T. Ford,
then prominent as a theatrical manager.
The congregation, after twenty-eight
years residence on 10th street, concluded
to remove to 18th street between G and
II, and there they built a church on the
east side of the street on ground that is
now covered by the Builders Exchange.
Ford reconstructed in part and remodeled
the Baptist church building and opened
the structure In December, 1861. as Ford's
Atheneum. Among the early performan-
ces in the atheneum, which had come to
be called simply "Ford's." were those
given by Edwin Forrest, John McCul-
Tough. John Sleeper Clarke. Stuart Rob-
son. Mr.. and Mrs. c. B. Bishop. Mr.. and
Miss Couldock and Caroline and Peter
Richings. It was on December 30. 1852,
while the Richings were playing there
that the theater caught fire and was
destroyed. The theater was promptly re-
built and was re-opened in August, 1863,
with spectacle called THE Maid Queen .
No theatrical performance took place
in the theater building after the great
murder. The place was taken possession
Of by the military authorities and close
ly held by them until after the trial of
the conspirators. Sometime after that the
property was bought by the government
and the army medical museum was in
stalled there, and the record and PEN
sion division Of the surgeon generals Of
fee. The next time this ill-luck struc-
ture came into wide public notice was
the time OF the Ford's Theater disaster.
still fresh in the memory Of many
Washington people 1t occurred in the
forenoon Of June 10, 1893. While the
work Of the day was progressing floor
ing gave way and much OF the interior
of the building collapsed. Twenty-Five
persons were killed and the number in