Evening star., 1939-05-07

some of which were once right in
the heart of the city, and its re-
sorts were equally plentiful and not
too far away.
A reference to the latter naturally
carries us back to our Sunday school
days, and though we may have be-
come seemingly Indifferent to our
religious duties, yet the early train
ing our mothers gave us is still re-
membered by us all. as we recall the
many Sunday school excursions we
enjoyed before we had reached our
teens.
The earliest excursion of this
kind the writer recalls as having at
tended, was given on July 4. 1876,
and the resort was Mount Vernon
Springs, long since of the map as
an excursion place. 1t was just
south of the wharf of Mount Vernon,
the home of the illustrious Wash
ington, and only separated from this
estate by cove which makes up at
this point. AS an excursion place it
soon gave way to other and more
popular resorts, but the old pavilion
with its weather-worn timbers, could
for years be seen by the excursion
lists from the passing boats, until it
finally toppled over from its own
weight.
S. S. Mary Washington.
The boat that conveyed us to this
resort was known as the Mary
Washington, large flat-bottomed
vessel, with hull like box with
pointed ends, the only vessel of her
kind. it is recorded, that ever piled
the Potomac. She was built in 1874,
at Occoquan Greek, Va, by a syn
dicate of farmers headed by Col.
Edward Daniel of Gunston, Va. The
idea of the builders was to construct
light-draft boat with which they
could navigate the small streams
and thus enable the farmers to get
their produce to market at a re-
duced cost. She was fitted out and
equipped at Alexandria, and when
tried out it was realized that for the
purpose intended she was a failure
The owners lost no time in disposing
of their interest, and the boat found
her way into the excursion field.
This boat was particularly
adapted for dancing, and this was
its greatest attraction, and such
square dances as the quadrille and
the lancers were enjoyed by the ex-
cursionists. The polka, the schot-
tische and the waltz were also
among the dances of this period, the
waltz being the only one still with
us today, and this modified into q
more graceful movement.
Another place, quite popular,
especially as a Sunday school resort,
was Occoquan Falls. The Mary
Washington was peculiarly suited to
shallow water, and it was always of
great interest to see the long trail
of mud left in the wake of the
steamer as she churned up the creek
bed, the water of which seemed not
over feet in depth. When the
water was clear 1t was easy to see
from the front of the boat the bot
tom of the creek as the craft
steamed slowly up this historic
stream, now quite close to the city's
penal institution.
Excursion Spots.
After Mount Vernon Springs
ceased to be used as an excursion
resort, Glymont, Fort Washington
and Fort Foote were the main Sum-
day school excursion places on the
Potomac. Marshall Hall was always
popular, especially for night trips,
and many a woman today will
fondly recall the generous coat
sleeve which protected her from the
chilly night winds while taking in
one of the evening trips aboard the
famous and commodious tide
shower" Mary Washington. Though
the Sunday schools usually ar
ranged for the shorter trips, it was
not unusual for them to go to Lower
Cedar Point, Chapel Point, Colonial
Beach and other places within a
days ride Of Washington. River
View came into operation in later
udyS dIlO pClO1SS W O. SuOoC4uClAG
period.
For the Sunday school excursions,
the boat was usually chartered and,
of course, the bar was closed, and
rarely, If ever, were intoxicating
liquors ever sold at Glymont and
Mount Vernon Springs; and, since
Fort Washington and Fort Foote
were Government properties. intoxi-
eating drinks were never sold on the
premises. On other regular excur-
sion trips, however, beer was freely
sold on the boat and on the grounds
at Marshall Hall, River View and
other places.
The Mary Washington had car
rying capacity Of 1,500 people and