In 1821, an Act of Congress established a school called Columbian College on College Hill for “the education of Gospel Ministers.” The small campus was bounded by Columbia Rd., 14th St. and Boundary Rd. (Florida Ave.). on the hill which eventually became known as Meridian Hill. The school suffered through some rocky times during the Civil War, but by 1873, ... Read More »
A Washington doctor with an interesting name was among the first to suggest a link between mosquitos and malaria. Meet Albert Freeman Africanus King. Dr. A.F.A. King was a professor of obstetrics at Columbian University, precursor to the present-day George Washington University. The malaria-mosquito connection was his top scientific acheivement. But history remembers his presence at another key American moment ... Read More »
It’s probably safe to say that this team no longer exists as an intercollegiate or even intramural team at GWU. Well, in 1927, the GW girls rifle team was good … really good. They won the national rifle championship in February of that year. Below is the article from the Washington Post on Feburary 10th (eight days after the above ... Read More »
Why did we knock down half of the amazing buildings in Washington? It’s tragic and depressing when you read through John’s book “Lost Washington” or James’ book “Capitol Losses.” Sadly, the home below was torn down and replaced by something substantially less appealing in the 70s. One of our early GoDC readers, Betsy, sent in a request the other day to do ... Read More »
I came across a sad and shocking article in the Washington Post from Saturday, July 20th, 1946. Three men jumped to their deaths off of three bridges in Washington. On Thursday, Samuel Hall, a Pullman porter living at 1327 T St. NW, jumped to his death off the 11th Street Bridge into the Anacotia River. He had been in a ... Read More »
Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington