Evening star., 1940-06-02

chills were sufficient to deter most
persons from settling in that region,
and little or no business was done
there, except by the duckers and
fishermen who occupied the tene-
rnents erected near the river. Until
half century or more ago. probably
not more than a score of houses
dotted the extreme southern portion
of this locality, and its desolated
appearance looked as If it might be
the abode of spirits or hobgoblins.
Part of this area, now occupied by
large public buildings and private
structures of note, was once best
known for it's old frog ponds and
marshy places, which the boys were
wont to explore in pursuit of frogs,
catfish and mud turtles. The inces-
sand croakings of the frogs at night
in this section of the city, and its
lonely and desolated appearance
often furnished material for mar
velous stories of ghostly sights,
which. with the superstitious sur
roundings of an old fortune teller
who lived for many years in this
locality, served the double purpose of
the old woman in gaining a support
and securing the confidence of her
customers.
Heurich's brewery covers the
ground of the Easily spring lot, that
of Cumberland's and the Lucases
and the site where John Boyle at
one time had his residence. This
John Boyle, the writer understands,
was the grandfather of the late John
Boyle, a well-known Washington
newspaper man. In referring to him,
Mrs. Wilhelmina M. Easby-Smith
has this to say:
MY only recollection of Mr., Boyle
Is that he was said closely to re-
semble Gen. Zachary Taylor, and
when the latter, on the eve OF his
inauguration, came out upon the
hotel balcony to greet the crowd
assembled, they would have none OF
him, breaking out in hoWls and
jeers: 'Ah! Get out, Johnny Boyle,
YOU can't fool us'-greatly to the
discomforture of Gen. Taylor
Long before this section was called
Foggy Bottom, much of it was laid
off into building lots and the town
site was called Hamburg. Jacob
Funk, who owned Funkstown, the
name by which it was called by
many, purchased the tract of land,
consisting of about 130 acres, in 1765
from Thomas Johns. At consider
ably earlier date, in 1864, when a
part of Widows Mite, it was ac-
uuired by John Langworth. Appar-
emily, when it was first laid off into
287 lots, Funk did not Immediately
record his plat, as evidenced by a
receipt given by him three years
before this was done. incidentally,
this receipt, in describing the prop
erty, contained the interesting in
formation that it lay between Rock
Grick and Coos Grick." the last
name being the designation by
which Tiber Creek was also known,
and by which it was facetiously
referred to by Tom Moore. the Irish
poet, when he visited this city in
1904.
A map of Hamburg, in the Library
of Congress, shows five streets and
an alley running east and west
and from the river, northward, they
were: Water street, Front alley, Sec
ond street, Third or Raven street,
Fourth street and Fifth street. The
streets running north and south
would remind one of Philadelphia,
for we find such names as High
street, Arch street, Market street,
Persemon Persimmon street, WAL
nut, Locust, Mulberry and Rock
streets. Front alley was SO feet in
width, and the streets varied in
width from so to 80 feet
When the site for the Federal city
had been determined upon, just
what to do with Hamburg and an
other paper town known as CAROLS
burg was problem. President
Washington early realized the i'm
portance of obliterating these towns
entirely, in order that they might
not interfere with the plans being
drawn by Maj. L'Enfant Fortu-
nately, although many of the lots
had been sold, and hence the title
was vested in many different per-
.ons, yet few, if any, structures had
/een erected in the subdivision. With
Carrollsburg, the lots appear to have
fallen into the hands of spectators,
but with Hamburg, the names of the