Evening star., 1938-07-10
By John Clagetf Proctor.

ming conditions are quite differ
i ent now from what they were
Q half century and more ago. when
only the real big towns provided public
bathing pools for their aquatically
inclined residents, big and little. At
one time. in the very early days,
public baths were conducted in this
city on c street, between John Mar
shall place and Sixth street, but the
service was not free as the word
public" would seem to imply, and
naturally was only for those who could
afford the price. However, We may
take it for granted that. price or no
price, the boys who lived in that par
ticular neighborhood would have
much preferred swimming in the Tiber
Greek, the old canal or the many other
nearby small streams that flowed
through the city when Washington
was still in embryo. to bathing in pub
lie baths of that period
At this time, aside from Rock Creek,
the Tiber was the most formidable
of our many streams. II had several
sources that joined together in the
square bounded by u and N and
North Capitol and First streets NE,
and somewhere in this immediate
vicinity was Logans Mill certainly
one of the earliest mills in this part
of the country Allen c. Clark, presi-
dent of the Columbian Historical So
ciety, read sometime ago paper on
1.-The Old Mills" before that society,
and the following is quoted from what
he then said:
"NJoTLEY YOUNG'S MILL gave
the name to the tract-'Mill
Tract 1t was on a branch of the
Tiber and near the south side of N,
between First and Second streets NE.
Latrobe, the architect end engineer,
figured on its supply with that of
the Cocl Spring, near Fifteenth street
NE, to make a dry dock at the
Navy Yard. 1t was the only mill
within the bounds OF the original city
The Motley Young mill has been
called the Casanave. the Fenwick, the
Pearson ana the Logan.
Ann Casanave, a daughter of Not
ley Young. married Peter Casanave.
a merchant of George Town. He was
born in Spain. MIR. and Mrs Casanave
lived on the estate. Casanova. The
mansion, in their period was Roman
Catholic sanctuary for widely scat
tered community. Mr.. Casanave died
shortly after the marriage. The man.
sion in the plating Of the Federal City
fell within the lines of Delaware ave-
nue.
Thomas Fenwick, brother-in-l law
of Mrs. Casanave, next occupied Casa
novia and operated the mill.
Joseph Pearson married the daugh-
ter of Robert Brent son-in-law of Not
lev Young. The Pearsons lived at
Brentwood.
In the operation of the mill Mr.
Fenwick was succeeded by Mrs. Pear
son. and she by George w. Logan.
In the Civil War times the mill ceased
to work"
It was an old-fashioned, overshot
grist mill, and the dwelling house,
where the several operators of the
mill resided. was erected in 1889 and
demolished in 1908, when it was known
as "Nelligan's." because it was occu-
pied by Patrick Nelligan, a dairyman.
JOSEPH r HOWARD, once promi-
nent physician in this city, as well
as a well-known and active member
of the Association of the Oldest In
habitants a quarter of century or
more ago, was quite familiar in his
childhood days with Tiber Creek and,
In 1899, put in verse his recollections
baths he took in Logan's pond. few
lines only, it follows:
Dear old Tiber, how oft along thy
verdant banks
pranks,
Have I enjoyed each sport thy waters
only could afford,
Or gayly tramped upon the adjacent
sward,
Wandered through the brush and
biars around,
Or gleetul DER thy hills and dales
abound,
In quest of reptiles; fright the croak-
ing frog
From his sequestered summing place,
the decaying log;
Angle for the catfish and mullett with
pin-hook and line.
Chase from the mire the complaining
sullen swine.
Shoe the gabbling geese, the quacking
duck
That sought subsistence in the watery
muck,
Pursue the humble e-bee, or gaudy but
terf1y
That fed upon the flowers that grew
hard by,
Steal bath in Logan's Pond that
then did flow
Where M street now intersects the
railroad B. & o.
A quaint old man was Logan, his
seeming Joy
Was the trepidation his coming caused
in man and boy,
AS doltish on his nag, to him faithful
and true,
Homeward he sautered, perhaps a
little blue.
But not ours the task to critically
scan
The little eccentricities of this eccen-