Evening star., 1940-08-09
Temple Heights
Option Taken
By Syndicate
$4,000, 900 Building
Program Planned
On 1O-Acre Truct

dSlC VI dIC VI ldllu dG NOllilCCIlCuI
and Florida avenues, is up for sale
in a private transaction involving
close to million dollars.
Owned by the Grand Lodge Of
Masons. Temple Heights-known
as Temple Hill and the old Dean
Estates the last great undeveloped
piece of property close to the center
of the downtown area.
A syndicate headed by Roy C.
Thurman, for many years managing
director of the National Library
Foundation, has taken a 18O-day
option on the tract, with the priv
ilege of another 180-day renewal.
Needham c. Turnage, grand mas
ter of Masons, who negotiated the
deal, revealed today that there is a
proviso in the contract which boosts
the purchase price $1,000 a month
after the expiration of the first op-
ton. 1t is understood that the option
went into effect yesterday.
May Spend S12,000,000.
Mr.. Thurman, who has severed his
connection with the National Lii
brary Foundation, said last night
that there is no doubt the deal will
go through. He said the men who
organized the syndicate plan to
spend nearly s12,000,0 900 in develop
ing Temple Heights.
Without going into detail, Mr..
Thurman limited that the 10-acre
tract would house a hotel, several
apartment houses, park shop
centers, motion picture theater,
garages, an auditorium, an athletic
center and other projects.
Since 1922, Temple Heights has
been in the hands of the Grand
Lodge of Masonry. 1t was bought
from the heirs of the Dean estate
for the purpose of building ma
tional Masonic memorial. This
would have been known as the
United Masonic Temple. Although
100000 was raised for the project
it was never erected. The design
called for a great group of buildings,
each symbolic of an arm of Mas
onry; such as the Scottish Rite
Cathedral, the Temple of the Com
mandery-home of the ancient
knight Templar-and the Royal
Arch Mason. representing those who
had passed the seven degrees on the
way to the Rose Croix.
In the last Is years two names
have been applied to this tract of
land: Temple Hill and Temple
Heights but it has also been called
the old Dean Estate.
Flanked by Developments.
The Dean Estate-more than 10
acres in the heart of Washington
old residential districts one of the
famous tracts in the city. It is
bounded by Columbia road and Con-
necicut avenue on the west, Florida
avenue on the south, and Nineteenth
street on the east, the northern flank
skirted by apartment houses and
private residences.
In 1886 Congress considered the
purchase of part of this property
for conversion into public park.
The Citizens Advisory Council had
recognized the desirability of the
tract and the reasonableness of the
price at which it could be obtained.
An area of 109,964 square feet-at
the northeast corner of Florida and
Connecticut avenue - had been
offered at price not to exceed
$313,916. Since the property is
within the boundaries of the Ka-
lorama Citizens Association, its two
delegates to the Federation of Citi-
zens' Association started the move to
acquire the property for public use
but the plan fell through.
The old Dean Estate was the home
of Mills Dean, once a prominent
lawyer in Washington. Previously,
the place was owned by Thomas P.
Morgan, a former Commissioner of
the District, whose grandson of the
same name is now prominent in
civic affairs. Previous to the Morgan
occupation, the house had been lived
in by the Steinmetz family and
before that by the Nourse family,
under whose auspices it was built.
This is according to the best re-
collection of local historians.
Oak Supplies Legend.
Around the Dean Estate has grown
a well-known legend. 1t is the
story of the Treaty Oak, tree that
still stands on the premises and is
believed to be almost three hundred
years old.
: According to the story, Chief Man
nacassett of the Anacostia Indian
tribe grew weary of life along the
river flats and selected a site on a
northern hill, far away from the
nver front, where his wigwam was
erected. A young and powerful oak
spread its branches near the site, on
an eminence. From this point the
chief had an extended view of the
surrounding country - long before
the City of Washington was planned.
On the warpath one day, the chief
brought back number of captives.
Among these were a young mother
and her daughter. With the TOM
toms humping, the beautiful Amer
lean woman was given a proposal of
matrimony by the chief. She
spurned him. The chief ordered her
put to death. Then he relented,
spared her life, but decreed that she
should not wander farther than the
shade of the oak which overspread
the tepee in which she lived.
Gray When Set Free.
All her life, then, she lived under
the spreading boughs of the oak tree
with her daughter Gwawa. After
the death of Chief Mannacassett,
the land was sold to white men and
the mother, then aged and gray,
was set free with her daughter. Sew
eral homes were offered her, so
legend has it, but she remained true
to the tree and stayed.
When the site was selected for
the Capital, the story says, the origi-
nal city fathers are said to have
decided to her a tract of ground II
acres in extent, which they called
the widows mite Even to this
time, property surrounding the Dean
Estate and the estate itself, traces
Its deeds back to place called "the
widows mite"
In the realm of fantasy is also
the tale that George Washington,
wanted to erect the Capitol Of the
United States on the site known a.
Temple Heights-but the widow re-
fused the offer,