Evening star., 1949-07-10
The Story Of Airy Castle
By John cIooett Proctor

EIollAAle &SS~A ~ @RHAoN~ ga AVA s~hA
$8.000.000 apartment building on
the site of the old Martha Wash
ington Seminary at 3640 Sixteenth
street NV. carries one back to
Airy Castle. In this part of
Mount Pleasant. erected there
about 1884 by Allen B. Hayward.
clerk in the Pension Office.
No story of this part Of the Dis
trict would be complete. without
something being said about the
Man in the Tree" or the Bird
Man who erected this queer struc-
| ture for his residence in the tree
tops a little north Of the village
and found his habitation agreeable
and profitable.
The building of Airy Castle was
not a mere whim with the one
armed veteran of the Union Army,
for he was really seeking pure,
fresh air as health cure, evil
IDENTIFY thinking he was threatened
with tuberculosis. After moving
from this section, he settled some
where to the north on the Forest
Glen line and resided there until
he had reached an age of 80 years
or more before passing on.
Trees Still Standing
Before Mr.. Hayward moved to
Forest Glen, Fourteenth and Six
teenth streets had not been cut
through, except Fourteenth street
for a few blocks to Piney Branch
road. The Capitol Traction Co.,
desiring to extend its line out
Fourteenth street, secured the
opening of that street as we see 1t
today. 1t was on the west side OF
Piney Branch road that the
House in the Tree was located
adjacent to and in front OF the
Martha Washington Seminary.
before you cross the Piney Branch
bridge on Sixteenth street. Here
you will notice the old road-now
called Ogden place-running in a
sort of northwest and southeast
direction off of Sixteenth street,
almost opposite the seminary. The
large oak trees in the grounds next
to the seminary property were
quite likely a part Of the supports
to Mr.. Hayward's castle.
At first the structure was a small
one, but as the curious crowds
came out in the country to see the
Man In the Tree" an admission
fee was charged and the GAR
veteran was able to add TO his
home and eventually move away,
presumably we'll provided for, since
he erected a more pretentious and
commodious habitation.
Other Early Residents
John S. Brown was one Of the
earliest purchasers Of ground in
the Mount Pleasant subdivision.
He commenced residence here
on Park street (now Park road
in the spring Of 1867. and moved
into it on December Of that
year. He came to Washington In
1850 from New Hampshire. Dur
ing his life he was a prominent
patent attorney. and his son,
Arthur S. Brown, succeeded him
in business.
Always a conspicuous figure
among the residents Of Mount
Pleasant, for many years, was
Maj. S. Willard Saxton. a mem
ber of the Grand Army and a
vice president of the Association
of the Oldest Inhabitants. He died
in Columbia Heights on March
10. 1888. when approaching the
age of 104 years.
Mai. Saxton moved into Mount
Pleasant a few years after the
close of the Civil War. in which
he was an officer on the staff OF
his brother. brigadier general.
His home was on Kenesaw ave-
nue. (now Irving street, and one
! of his delightful daughters once
told the writer that for some
years after they moved to Mount
Pleasant her father always took
lantern along when he accom-.
panied visitors from the house. to
the cars at Fourteenth and
Boundary streets (now Florida
avenue).
Brothers Built Homes
The Fourteenth street cars did
not run to Mount Pleasant until
somewhere around 1890, when a
sort Of bobtail affair was put on,
for which a Scent charge was
made.
Car service never worried Maj.
Saxton, for he invariably walked
to and from the Treasury DEPART
ment and was never known to
have waited at the corner for
streetcars.
The two Emery brothers, Lyman
s. and George S.. were early resi-
dents of Mount Pleasant and
took an active interest in COM
TT ~ H.