page_title: Prospect Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)
section_title: Congressional activity, 1891 to 1893
hierarchical_section_title: Prospect Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) / Extension of North Capitol Street / Congressional activity, 1891 to 1893
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of Prospect Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C., in the United States in 1890. From a map of real estate near and owned by the Metropolitan Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company and pubished by by Fava Naeff &amp; Co. in 1890.
context_page_description: Prospect Hill Cemetery, also known as the German Cemetery, is a historic German-American cemetery founded in 1858 and located at 2201 North Capitol Street in Washington, D.C. From 1886 to 1895, the Prospect Hill Cemetery board of directors battled a rival organization which illegally attempted to take title to the grounds and sell a portion of them as building lots. From 1886 to 1898, the cemetery also engaged in a struggle against the District of Columbia and the United States Congress, which wanted construct a major thoroughfare through the center of the cemetery. This led to the passage of an Act of Congress, the declaration of a federal law to be unconstitutional, the passage of a second Act of Congress, a second major court battle, and the declaration by the courts that the city's eminent domain procedures were unconstitutional. North Capitol Street was built, and the cemetery compensated fairly for its property.
  In the 20th century, Prospect Hill Cemetery sold unneeded land, demolished its chapel, and reoriented the cemetery's main entrance toward North Capitol Street and away from Lincoln Road NE.
context_section_description: The 51st United States Congress ran from March 4, 1889, to March 3, 1891. Regarding the extension of North Capitol Street, the key issue facing Congress was amending the Prospect Hill Cemetery charter to either allow the cemetery association to donate land to the city or permit the city to condemn the land. On April 22, 1890, the Senate added an amendment to the District of Columbia appropriations bill which would allow a land transfer. The House District of Columbia Committee favorably reported a standalone bill on April 24. The Senate refused to act on the standalone bill because the House had refused to act on the D.C. appropriations bill. To get movement on the legislation, the city commissioners held a hearing to generally discuss and consider street extensions throughout the city.  PHC representative George Wagner accused the commissioners of trying to win public support for the North Capitol Street extension by cloaking it as a "general hearing", and the PHC board showed up in force at the hearing to protest the extension of North Capitol Street. No further action was taken on the bill in the remainder of the 51st Congress, and it died at the end of the session.
  The 52nd United States Congress opened on  December 7, 1891, and ended on March 3, 1893. Initially, no legislation was introduced in Congress. The commissioners of the District of Columbia tried to force the issue by holding hearings on the street extension issue on May 22, 1891. The PHC's attorney, Henry Wise Garnett, reminded the commissioners of the bar in federal law preventing any action, and the commissioners decided to wait until Congress acted. In the waning days of 1891, a new bill, S.1307, was introduced with substantially the same language as the 1890 bill. This bill was drawn up by the Washington Board of Trade (a business group). On January 25, the city commissioners held a hearing on the bill. George Wagner and August Schmedtie, representatives of the PHC, objected to any congressional action until the court ruled on which organization held title to the cemetery.
  Congress, however, was not deterred. Two new bills, S.2637 and H.B.7407, were introduced in Congress in July 1892. Senator John Sherman (R-Ohio) authored the Senate legislation, which allowed the cemetery land to be condemned, the price of the condemnation to be paid from the United States Treasury, and the grading of the road to occur (although the construction cost was capped at $10,000). The House bill was substantially the same. The Senate passed a resolution asking the city to estimate the cost of construction for the street extension. Captain William Trent Rossell, the Engineer Commissioner, reported that the city needed 254,189 square feet (23,614.9 m²) of land for the road, of which 126,789 square feet (11,779.1 m²) belonged to the cemetery. Rossell estimated the value of the land at 30 cents per square foot, or $38,036.70 ($1,082,336 in 2019 dollars). Grading of the land would require another $69,286 ($1,971,572 in 2019 dollars). The PHC, for its part, was in good financial shape (despite sharply lower lot sales and interments due to the ongoing lawsuit). Many lotholders no longer felt the cemetery was in danger of being moved or wiped out, and there was some support for letting the road go through. A committee of three, led by director Charles Schneider, was appointed investigate the matter and report back to lotholders.
  Meanwhile, condemnation proceeded against other property owners in the area. At this time, the eminent domain procedures governing the District of Columbia required the city to condemn land, and for the landowner to fight the condemnation in court before a jury. The jury then determined if the condemnation was required, and what compensation should be awarded the property owner. In two separate proceedings, juries found land to be worth just 1 cent per square foot. Senator James McMillan (R-Michigan), chair of the Senate District of Columbia Committee, brought S.2637 to the floor of the Senate on June 24. McMillan argued that the cemetery trustees were not 
caption: Map of the Edgewood neighborhood in 1890, showing Prospect Hill Cemetery and the completed portions of North Capitol Street (except those through the Barbour estate and cemetery).
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