Evening star., 1950-04-30
By John Clooett Proctor

p1 yOHH %toSStt FfVStVt
When the District of Columbia
came into being, and the original
proprietors of the land included in
the City Of Washington decided
their farms to the Federal Gov
ernment. it was expressly reserved
to the property holders to have
the right to the growing wood. ex-
cept such as the Commissioners
might select and pay for.
Much of the District was then
covered with original timber. but
the Commissioners seem to have
been satisfied with the bargain
they had made in purchasing for
public reservations 55l acres at
S66.50 an acre. and since there
was so much wood in the city.
failed to save for the future.
What was saved was due to pri-
vate rather than public fore
thought. We are told that there
was a beautiful grove in the block
between Eighteenth and Nine
teenth and G and H streets. On
the north side of Pennsylvania
avenue. between the Capitol and
White House. there were several
acres of elegant forest trees"
and on the south side only a mar
row strip"
Perhaps one of the largest areas
of woodland at that time in the
city was the white oak slashes.
which in a general way are said to
have extended from Seventh to
Fifteenth streets. and some dis
tance north of New York avenue.
Hines locates it north of the Poor
house. He tells us that when 1.-The
Government commenced building
the Navy Yard wharf, the timber
was nearly all taken FROM the
white oak SlasheS in the northern
part of the city. A large number
of citizens who could handle the
ak commenced the work of telling
and hewing trees for that purpose,
a few of whom I still remember,
viz: Mr. Belt and his three sons,
Joseph, Benjamin and Otho: Mr..
Joseph Dove and his son John
ana, I think, Thomas Dove, a
brother of Joseph. My father, who
was zimmerman, or coarse car
penter, and could handle the
broadax pretty WELL and my three
older brothers, John. Henry and
Daniel. Joined. in the work with
the Others"
Corner Hod Seven Ooks
Another grove of trees is re-
corded as having stood Just to the
south of the Southern Building,
at Fifteenth and H streets, where
for many years was ST. Matthews
Church. Il have gathered hick-
DRY nuts myself" says Mr.. Hines
from some of the trees, but in the
course of a few years the trees
were all cut down, except seven
which were left standing for sew
eral years longer. and which were
inclosed. These were known as
the Seven Oaks and stood a
little north of G and Thirteenth
streets.
THE next cluster. covered sew
eral squares a little northeast of
Franklin row. The streets were
cut directly through this grove.
This clump of trees was a favorite
resort for the boys-the few that
were then here. 1t was a beautiful
sight. indeed. to see these trees
towering up on each side of one
as he passed through these woody
streets"
In the block where stands st.
Patrick's Church on F street, was
the famous Burnes' spring, which
was also known by several other
names. such as Caffray's, Fed
eral, Hotel and st. Patrick's. 1t
was cool. shady retreat, sur
rounded by several oaks, and,
throughout the city north of H
street the territory conformed to
general farm land-fields and
woods. in some places overgrown
with grapevines, thorn bushes and
blackberry bushes. This was par
ticularly so in the area between
Eleventh and Fourteenth and
north of G, where rabbits bur-
roWed and other game afforded
subsistence and sport for the early
Washingtonian.
North of the White House-in
Lafayette Square-there was not
only an apple orchard, but a pri-
vate cemetery as well. We are
told there was nothing else but
woods to the Boundary (now
Florida avenue).
The lower part of Pennsylvania
avenue was low, marshy land,
nearby which the Tiber flowed
westward on its way to the Po-
tomac River, and it is related
that, in 1900. the commons, where
the avenue now is, from the foot
of Capitol Holl westward, was al
most impossible for vehicles of
any kind; indeed, it was difficult