Evening star., 1936-10-04
By John Ciagen Proctor.

n be-the writer thought, as
w he sased at old Analostan
Island from the Francis
Scott Key Bridge, few years
ago-if we could restore that island
to its former grandeur; to the at
mosphere of that celebrated Mason
family of Virginia. the older members
of which have long since departed
from this world, but who have left
their impression indelibly fixed upon
the scroll of history of this great and
glorious Republic.
OF course, the fact that it is
planned to make it a shrine to the
memory of Theodore Roosevelt and
has been renamed in his honor, must
be taken into consideration. But to
show respect to the Mason family
could never, in the least, detract from
or add to the esteem in which the
late President is held. and it would,
unquestionably. greatly enhance the
value of the shrine from every angle,
besides restoring and preserving the
building and grounds OF the place as
they existed in the early days of the
Nations Capital.
Indeed. there are many who can
still recall the more recent history OF
this old place, once the garden spot
Of the Potomac. replete with events
Of three centuries-the seventeenth,
eighteenth and nineteenth; for history
records that George Mason established
n ferry between this island and the
MARYLAND shore in 1748, and by this
medium Gen. Braddock and the Brit
ish army, including, OF course, our
own beloved George Washington,
crossed the Potomac River at this
point when on their way to the Battle
of the Monongahela.
williamsburg, where Braddock and
his army arrived in two warships in
February, Just before his famous de-
feat by the Indians, is being restored
To what it was in the Colonial ana
Revolutionary days, a very commend
able and worthwhile thing to 40;
Mount Vernon Boulevard connects the
CAPITAL with Mount Vernon and his
toric places on the way; Fredericks-
burg is not altogether being neglected
and some historic shrines throughout
Virginia and Maryland are being re-
stored. that the present generation,
and the generations to come, may
feast their eyes upon scenes made
sacred by the pioneers Of this coun-
try; by those who helped to establish
American independence, and by those
who have continued to preserve 1t to
the present day.
GO, IT seems. in order to make
~ worthwhile job Of Analostan
Island, or Roosevelt Island, such as
would receive the hearty approval OF
Col. Roosevelt were he alive, the
old buildings which once stood on
this estate should be again erected
Just as they stood in bygone days-ln-
deed, on the same foundations. II such
are still in existence. And how in
structive it would be to erect build
ing there in which to exhibit specl-
mems of the fauna and flora OF the
island in Colonial days. For we are
told it was once visited by deer, and
that here could once be found land
and water turtles, the muskrat, wild
turkey, canvas-back duck, wild goose,
the catbird, humming bird and many
other forms of animal life, and Gen.
John Mason even did much to the
introduction and breeding of Merino
sheen on his estate-once equally well
known as Masons Island. Its vegeta-
ton was profuse, and. in addition, its
owner, up to 1916. cultivated species
of cotton for the use of his family
said to have been Of the color OF
nankeen.
The Indian quarry or workshop,
where the aborigines shaped their
implements of husbandry and war
fare. on the adjacent Virginia shore
could be restored as typical etnno-
logical exhibit of the days when the
Potomac and its tributaries were first
explored.
The flat boat of rude construction,
swkwardly impelled by an oar, placed
near each extremity" which con-
veyed the passengers between the
island and the mainland, distance
of about 200 yards, might well again
form a part of what was once gen.
tleman's Colonial home. Indeed, this
early ferry, for that is all the nat
boat was, must have proved proflt-
able to Gen. Mason, for he rented it
out for s7o0 a year-a good sum in
those days.
SOMEHOW, much of the glory OF
~ the past is soon forgotten, and few
can realize that at one time this old
island. with its mansion, outbuildings.
gardens, native and imported trees
and shrubs. roads and winding walks,
second to none in this section of the
country, ever existed. Truly it is diff
ficult to visualize the Southern hos
pitality once dispensed here. Mrs.
William Thornton, wife of the archi-
tect Of the Capitol, records that she
dined here in June, 1900, and was
forced to decline a similar invitation
the following month. Mrs. Samuel
Harrison Smith, wife of the publisher
Of the National Intelligencer, also
visited the Mason home in 1902, and
ut other times.
Later. writing from Brookfield, Md,
under date of August, 1914, Mrs.
Smith referred to Mrs. Armistead
Thomson Mason, then residing at
Analostan Island, saying: Mrs. Gen.
Mason, that lovely woman whom you
know, is likewise lying dangerously
Ill Her husband was in the engage
ment and her anxiety has rendered
q common fever dangerous" The en-
eagement referred to was the Battle
of Bladensburg, from which he was
able to get away intact, but was
later killed in a duel, by John M.
McCarty, his brother-in-law. They
fought with muskets at six PAGES on
the famous Bladensburg dueling
grounds.
In 1911 we find it recorded that
Mrs. Mason gave a rural dance at
the island to the friends and ac-