Evening star., 1915-02-07

national district might be located here.
Some of these original proprletors
bought farms here soon after the mat
ter of the location of the federal city
had been settled. But the Young.
Burnes, Carroll and Walker families
were not among these. They had long
been settled here.
There is a great deal to be deter
mined IS to the ownership of the land
on which Washington was built and on
which the people of the District of Co
lumhia have settled between the time
of the Maryland grant to the first Lord
Baltimore and the cession of those
lands by the state of Maryland for the
use of the national government. This
question was gone into by the late
Hugh T. Taggart in his examination of
the history of titles in the Potomac and
Eastern branch flats cases. and in his
contribution to the Columbia Historical
Society on old Georgetown, and about
all the knowledge we have of District
of Columbia proprictors before 1890 is
summed up by Wilhelmus Bryan in the
first volume of his History of the Ma
tional Capital From Its Foundati tion
Through the Period of the Adoption
Of the Organic Act.
Mr.. Bryan SAYS that the astonishing
fertility of this virgin soil, which con-
tinued to yield its yearly crops for u
long period without receiving from the
tiller anything in return, does not
alone account for the continuance Of
such a method of cultivation. The vast
area of the land made it possible for
the planter after eXhausting one field
to abandon it and clear another for the
tobacco crop. and hence the abundance
of so-called "old fields" The extent of
the Individual holdings was large.
LAS the tide of settlement pushed its
way up along the tributaries of the
river and the land along the Patuxent
was taken continues Mr.. Bryan, then
the settlers advancing still further to
the north found their way along the
upper Potomac and Rock creek. This
movement along Rock creek began, it
is estimated, in 1888, and the general
tendency in this locality is indicated
broadly by the dates of the patents
granted by the lord proprietor
1t is shown that the tract still called
Blue Plains, though its area is much
diminished. on the south side of the
Eastern branch and within the District
was conveyed to George Thompson by
Lord Baltimore in 1862, and that the
adjoining tracts called st. Elizabeth
and Giesborough. were conveyed to
George Thompson in 1868. and that on
the north side of the Eastern branch
and comprising broad belt of land eX-
tending from that stream nOrthWard,
including the present site of the Capt.
tol building and the land for some dis
tance to the north was Duddingtons s
pasture, a tract of some fourteen hun
dred acres, which tract was also con-
veved by Lord Baltimore to George
Thompson in 1863.
In 1864 John Langworth acquired a
tract of six hundred acres called the
Widows Mite, and in 1896 the Vine
yard. part of which is covered by the
Soldiers Home, and about which the
Rambler has previously written. was
patented to one William Hutchinson
The central part CT Washington,
through which Pennsylvania avenue
runs. from about I'd street to 18th, was
called Bealrs Levels. containing 225
acres, and was patented in 1903 to Mn
ian Beal. Scotchman living at Upper
Marlborough.
Duddington Pasture. patented to
George Thompson in 1863. was sold by
pounds of tobacco. Mr.. Bryan has
gone at length and labor into this
matter.
Part of Beall's Levels, which was OBJ
tanned by Ninian Beall of Upper Marl-
borough in 1903, was resurveyed in
but, dying before obtaining the patent
though he had lived on the land for
several years. the patent was secured
by his eldest son, David Burnes. in 17I4.
one of the early patents to land with
in the limits of what to become
tanned in 1858 by Henry Darnan His
tract. which contained about 5000
acres. lay along both sides of Rock
creek and extending northWard includ
ed portions of Rock Creek Park, Ia
koma, Forest Glen and Silver Spring.