Evening star., 1936-07-26
BY JESSIE FAINT EVANS.

Drive by $50 South Carolina avenue
southeast, known over century ago
as the Naples or Maple Square, now
more familiarly referred to as the
Briggs place, if you would behold for
yourself within short distance of the
Capitol mansion that has known
successive decades of Washington's
glamorous past. as we'll as being a
part of its interesting present.
Its present chatelaine, Mrs. j. Edison
Briggs. who as a little girl was prob
ably the first person to sing over the
telephone, came here before the turn
of the century early in her own mar
ried life when her husbands mother,
Emily Edison Briggs. famous as
OLIVIA" first woman press corre-
spondent at the White House, was its
owner.
The "Olivia Letters" compiled by
their author in 1906 shortly before her
death in this old house, are in them
selves a history of 40 years of Wash
ington life, as told by this woman
newspaper correspondent whose recipe
for successful journalism was, Tell
the news as vividly as you can in as
few words as possible"
Today. like a former belle, grown to
a ripe old age. serene in the con-
sciousneSs of former triumphS, this
two winged, ancient red-brick Colonial
mansion, painted white and set back
from the avenue which it overlooks,
surveys a twentieth century world
with dignity and certain aloofness.
Its classic columns support a pedi-
ment which constitute the front of
the familiar porch approach Of its
period to a doorway considered by
architects to be an unusually fine ex-
ample of its type.
Site Purchased in 1898.
When our National Capital was be-
ing planned, it was, of course. sup
posed that the Capitol building and
its immediate vicinity would be the
important residential section of the
Capital City.
About the year 1795, with this
thought in mind, certain Capt. Will
liam Mayne Duncanson of England,
lately come to America with his sister
after accunlulating fortune in In
dia. purchased this site of Messrs
Greenleaf and Law, whom he had met
upon his arrival in New York. Upon
an eminence afterward leveled by Gov.
Shepherd in his famous grading oper-
ationS, it then overlooked both the
main and eastern branches of the Po-
tomac River" Because of the number
of maple trees that we're growing upon
his estate, Capt. Duncanson called the
main portion of the present mansion,
which he built in 1896, the Naples.
Today one giant maple tree on the
front lawn with horse chestnut of
apparently corresponding age, Is the
only survivor of this goodly company
of trees which originally gave the
place its name.
Capt Duncanson's nearest neighbor
was, perhaps, DR.. Frederick May, the
physician employed by the United
States Government to look after the
health of the laborers employed in
building the Capitol, who were under
the general supervision of one William
N. Snallwood, later destined to be
Washington's first mayor elected by
popular vote. DR.. Mays home was
at 324 Virginia avenue southeast.
This house subsequently became the
residence of Mayor Smallwood and
is now the headquarters of Friend
ship House.
On nearby Pennsylvania avenue
southeast, between Seventh and
Eighth streets, upon the site Of the
Wallach and Towers Elementary
Schools and the Hine Junior High
School. formerly the Eastern High
School, it was once proposed to erect
the Georgetown University, for this
land was part of the Carroll prop
erty.
Inn Visited by Washington.
At Ninth and Pennsylvania avenue
southeast, too, was the famous
Tunnicliffe Tavern, also referred to
as the Eastern Branch Inn. Here