The Washington herald., 1918-11-10
LOOKING BACKWARD
By CAPT. ]. WALTER MITCHELL

Georgetown. now the quaint aud
quiet west end of Washington. was
gresf seaport and mart many years
ago. Ships from many lands sailed
up the Potomac to unload their car
goes into the warehouses on the wa
terfront. Several of these timeworn
structures are still standing as re-
rninders of of the business hustle and
activities of the past.
The United States Custom House
which is still doing business on Thir-
ty-hrst, near NJ street, the latter
thoroughfare having originally been
Bridge street. also serves to recall
the days when great ships Of almost
every nation came to the port of
Georgetown sreighted with commerce
Time-yellowed recorsd show that by
the act of the Maryland legislature,
in 175l. the laying out of the town
of Georgetown on the Potomac
River, above the mouth of Rock
Creek" was authorized but the town
was not incorporated until 3S years
later This was years before the City
OF Washington was laid out. There
has been considerable controversy as
to how the place was given its name
of Georgetown Some old citizens
II Of England. as the town came into
existence during his reign. Others
sverred il was named after George
Beall. the son Of Ninian BeaI, who
originally held patents for the land
on the Rock of Dumbarton," upon
which a considerable portion of the
town is built. There were a few who
claimed it was named after George
Washington. but as he was but 10
years Of age when Georgetown was
founded. the town evidently was not
named for him For many years and
until II became a section Of the DiH
trict Of Columbia the name of the
place was given as Georgetown"
History RepIete with Interest.
Covering a period OF 40 years from
the time it was founded by the As
sembly OF the Province of Maryland"
until it ceased to exist as a separate
city, the history of Georgetown is re-
plete with interest. Its inhabitants
have been sturdy and honorable and
the town itself has maintained an in
divtduality, strongly marked and ap-
parent today in the original portions
OF the place where the march of i'm
provements has not swept away the
relics Of the old days. On its pic
turesque heights are several old man.
sions and comparatively new institu-
tons.
A venerable citizen Of West Wash
ington., as the locality is now termed.
q. informed me that the plans for the
laying out of the City Of Washington
were made by Mai. L'Enfant in old
Georgetown. so the ancient borough
may be called the Godmother of the
Capital
The time-honored institutions of the
town include Georgetown College.
founded by Bishop John Carroll in
lss9. and made a university in 1915. 1t
now is one of the largest and most
prominent and influential Catholic in
stitutiOns Of learning in the United
States The college buildings are To-
Gated on the summit of hin from
which a fine panoramic view may he
had Of the Potomac River and the
historic heights about Arlington.
Presents Interesting Datn.
Mr.. William a Gordon. VINO proud
ly claims that Georgetown has been
his home since his birth. in a valuable
TaneT read before the Columbia His
torical Society in 1914 presented some
Interesting historical data concerning
the old town and its people. Among
the pictures Of the past recalled by
veFgels. and wharves piled high with
hoEsheads Of sugar and moIasses; ~
long lines Of wagons drawn by bell
bowed teams and filled with produce
from Maryland. Virginia and Penn
syivania: the shrilI cries of the rough
and pTOfane fishw omen: the cheerv
song of the cartmen and draymen:
the glare Of the iron furnaces and
hum Of the sawmills: the punEent
smell of bark and tanneries: the dust
Of the -four mills and cotton factor
les" To these he added THE shops of
the Cabinetmakers with their stores Of
foreign woods. of the curriers' with
their marble slabs and glittering
knives. and of the miIlwrights with
their keen-edged hrOadaxes Nearly
all of the trades which fiourished
when I was boy and gave employ
ment to numbers Of intelligent. indus
trious and seIf-respeCting mechanics.
have disappeared. and machinery in
stead Of men does the work now"
One-Man Police Force.
Georgetown was a typical Southern
town, with negroes forming a large
part of the population, according to
Mr.. Gordon. Slavery existed. a mild
kind Of domestic servitude, - he says,
with ties of sympathy and affection
binding master and servant"
A GeOrgetOnian with whom I con-
versed several days ago recalled de-
scriptions given by his father of some