Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21
Capital Sidelights

| Ate WuoSc tlsLOIJ has OSeA shipping
into the twilight of memory, and abou.
which many persons have recently re
Quested information, is between Sec
ond and Fourth streets and north OF
T street northeast. 1t Is now occu
pied IS the Mount Carmel Retreat
House. This vas originally a farm
on the outskirts of the city, purchased
as country estate by Joseph Gales
jr., a pioneer editor in the National
Capital. eighth mayor of the city,
who with his partner and brotherin
law. William w. Seaton, were the
first reporters Of debate in Congress.
Mr.. Gales was born in lexington
near Sheffield. England. He learned
the printing trade and his father, 10.
seph A. Gales, had a weekly paper
the Independent Gazetteer. in Phila
delphia. This was purchased by Sam
uel Harrison Smith, a young protege
of Thomas Jefferson, who, by his ad
vice, moved this paper to the Capital
when the Government came here in
1900, and changed the name of his
paper to the National Intelligencer
In this printing shop, between d and
|
ferson Manual was printed, February
81, 1901.
The Junior Gales settled in Wash
ington in 1907 as assistant and after.
ward partner Of Mr.. Smith. In 1910
Mr.. Gales became sole proprietor OF
the journal, which was published tri
weekly. In 1912 he took his brother.
in'law into partnership, and in 1919
began publishing the paper daily. II
continued until 1867. Mr.. Seaton also
was mayor of Washington for five
terms, an entire decade.
From 1872 to 1920 Gales and Seaton,
one in the House and the other in the
Senate, sat beside the Speaker and
Vice President. respectively, as re.
porters of debate. and as one of the
perquisites shared with those officials
in the use of the official snuffbox.
| In the closing years Of the Monroe
administration, Gales and Seaton at
their own risk and expen5e entered
upon a novel undertaking, the first
attempt made to publish in separate
form the debates of Congress. This
was the forerunner of the Compression.
al Record, and their Register of De.
bates" is one of the standard sources
Of American history.
| Under the act of March 8, 1918. sub.
| shutting for the contract system the
employment of printer to do the
work under scale of prices fixed by
law, Gales and Seaton held the post
of printer by election Of both houses.
| After getting this lucrative job they
established the permanent home of the
| Intelligencer at the northwest corner
of Seventh and D streets northwest.
From 1901 to 1916 the Intelligencer
held the field exclusively as the admin.
istration organ.
In 1915 Mr.. Gales purchased a farm
on the northeast bounds Of the city.
Fifteen years later the only house on
| the place was a one-story frame which
was not finished. But in later years
the affairs of the two newspaper pro.
prietors had so prospered that they
became owners of the building occu.
pied by the Intelligencer, and their
| homes became the resorts Of culture
and society. Mr.. Seaton dispensed an
agreeable hospitality at his comma.
dious residence on the south side of E
street. between Seventh and Eighth
streets northwest. Mr.. Gales at various
times occupied other historic Washing.
ton houses. He lived at the large,
square double mansion just west of
the Veterans Bureau on H street,
later known as the "Ashburton
House." and in which Owen Meredith
wrote Lucille" He lived also for a
time in the Decatur House, the first
private residence in Lafayette Square,
on the southwest corner OF H street
and Jackson place, in which Gen.
| Grant stayed many weeks as guest
| after his retirement from the Presi.
| dency.
In his more prosperous years Mr..
| Gales erected on his farm a comfort.
able manor house. which became
known in the social annals of the
| times as Lexington" named after his
| birthplace in England. Back of the
| manor house was an extensive wood.
| land which was known within the
memory Of many Westinghouse Of
| nif1cent old trees and beautiful shrub
| berry still adorn the grounds.
When George Truesdeh, who died a
few years ago, built up subdivision
| In that then outskirt Of Washington
he named 1t Lexington" after the
manor house Of Joseph Gales. The old
lexington mansion was about Is years
ago occupied as the Washington Col
| lege for Girls, conducted by Flournoy
| Menafee, and was quite the vogue for
| brief period. During the war it was
| taken over by the Chesapeake & Poto-
mac Telephone Co. as home of tele-
| phone operators who were brought to
Washington by the hundreds to handle
| the extraordinary business of that
stressful period. It is now the Mount
Carmel Retreat House and boarding
| home for women. Most of the original
farm has been gradually sold off for
residential development, more than a
| score OF streets occupying the old
Gales estate. Within the last few
| months about one-third of the manor
house site, along Fourth street and
| one corner fronting on T street be.
tween Third and Fourth have been
sold off and about 100 small residences
have been erected thereon.
Thus passeth the glory Of the old
Lexington" estate.
X X X Il
A cameo pen picture Of what Wash.
lngton was in Washingtons day, writ
ten by William Mather Lewis. recent
iy resigned as president Of George
Washington University. is Of timely
interest to our Summer visitors from
all parts of the country:
Three hundred years ago Indians
constituted the population Of Wash
ington. Quarrying and fishing were
the main industries at that time. The
principal contributions the Indians
gave to modern Washington are
names. among them Anacostia and
Analostan Island. One hundred and
fifty years ago Davey Burns and his
neighbors lived in simple dwellings
in this vicinity. This was the time
when George Washington. riding up
from Alexandria, used to ferry across
the Potomac at point near where
the Key Bridge now stands. ride
through Georgetown to Rock Creek,
up the creek to ford where p street
crosses, and then. getting onto the
winding road which is. now Florida
avenue, make his way to the main
pike and to Philadelphia. These trips