Now this is a crazy story. It was published in the Washington Times on Friday, March 20th, 1914. Braving a fusillade of shots in which three persons had fallen, Policeman J. L. Edwards, of precinct 8, in the early hours of this morning, and in a dark room, captured Herman Kabansky, pistol wielder, after a desperate struggle, in which Edwards ... Read More »
This is a story about a creative, and poorly armed, burglar in Kalorama back in the 19th century. Below is an amusing article from the Washington Post from June 21st, 1898. The burglar who entered the home of John C. Fill, 1846 Wyoming avenue, Sunday morning, and threw pepper into the eyes of Mr. and Mrs. Fill, had a narrow ... Read More »
This is bizarre, and probably not something you would see in the papers today. We found this printed in the Washington Post on July 17th, 1895. Hyattsville, Md., July 16.–Two tramps, purporting to be traveling from Leesburg, Va., to Baltimore, Md., found Monday morning about 2 o’clock, near College Park, a newly-born white infant, lying in the middle of the ... Read More »
This is a first guest post by new GoDC contributor Andrea Pawley, a resident of Washington, D.C. history. Much of this post is based on Washington Arsenal Explosion: Civil War Disaster in the Capital by Brian Bergin, edited by Erin Bergin Vorheis (The History Press, 2012). Friday, June 17th, 1864, was hot, especially for the women of the Washington Arsenal ... Read More »
This is a crazy story. I actually remember something similar happening in Georgetown maybe a decade or so ago. Anyone lese recall that? The article below is from the Washington Post on August 31st, 1889. A loud report, which was heard for more than a mile around, attracted the attention of several hundred strollers on the avenue yesterday afternoon about ... Read More »
A great article in the Washington Post from November 2nd, 1902 is very apropos for this blog, or at least the name of the blog. We don’t really write about ghosts stories, except for the allegedly haunted suite at the Omni Shoreham and the Octagon House. Well, every now and then we make an exception, and this article is one ... Read More »
This absolutely horrifying. Some of you may not know this, but in 1928 (and a number of other times in the 1920s), the Ku Klux Klan was permitted to parade down Pennsylvania Ave. Hard to believe, I know. Read More »
Amusing and true, this is an article we came across in the New York Amsterdam News, published on June 18th, 1938. WASHINGTON, June 15 — Residents surrounding Meridian Hill Park, where once stood old Wayland Seminary, telephoned police that a colored man in the nude was roaming through the park. When members of the park police unit arrived, although a ... Read More »
This is a tragic story we came across in the Washington Post, from November 19th, 1912. This is the story of prank gone horribly wrong at Georgetown University. Climbing out on a narrow ledge on the front of the Healey Building at Georgetown University in the dark last evening to play a joke on a classmate, Philip N. Henry, 17 ... Read More »
This is pretty scary. The crazy headline in the Washington Post on October 19th, 1902 was the cryptic and terrifying “Mad Wolf From Zoo.” Below is the account of multiple attacks in Cleveland Park. Residents of Cleveland Park and vicinity were given a good deal of a fright yesterday forenoon by the appearance of a wolf which had escaped from ... Read More »
This is not an article you’re going to see today in the newspaper. Although, you’re more than likely to see a scene like this in a movie. This brutally gory article, published on March 6th, 1927, details a horrific accident on Florida Ave. NW at 1st St. If you were having a drink at Big Bear Cafe, you would be ... Read More »
This likely was a scene of great amusement for any who were able to witness it. This is an article from August 9th, 1894 in the Washington Post. Three irate women with horse whips and a yelling special policeman gave plenty of amusement last Friday to a number of people who stood outside of a grocery store on Twenty-sixth, between ... Read More »
Have you ever seen the comprehensive list of D.C. gang names from 2008? It definitely doesn’t account for the 1896 South Washington Toughs from the rough parts of Southwest D.C. Here’s a great article we came across in the Washington Post from August 15th, 1896. Charles Coleman, a colored man, living in Pleasant alley southwest, was painfully hurt last night ... Read More »
Chalk this up to recent GoDC convert Lisa, who dug this up a while ago while looking for information on her grandfather. It’s always great to find a connection to your past, but when the story is as bizarre as this, it’s extra special. Thank you Lisa for sharing with us. This is a piece from the Washington Post on ... Read More »
Now this is a truly historic and fascinating story from the annals of untold D.C. history. About a week ago, GoDCer Kicha sent us a great tip on a story from 1869. The story includes an interracial love affair, a complicated love triangle, rife with jealousy, and a gruesome murder. The latter leads to this historic trial, the first in ... Read More »
Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington