Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington

We are very much obsessed with old maps. I think it’s safe to say that the bulk of you are as well. And here is another one to obsess over, especially for the GoDCers out in Montgomery County (do you know where the county got its name?). This is a map of Rockville in 1879. Pretty sweet. Read More »

Some GoDCers (probably quite a few) live just across the District line in Montgomery County. But, how many of you know the etymology of the county? We should probably do one of these for every county in the area, just like we did a while ago for Arlington. So, why is it named Montgomery County? The county, currently listed as ... Read More »

That football bet story, uncovered in the last post, about Marjorie Morris is too good not to look into, and sure enough, there’s an article about it titled “Hilltop Football Victory Wins Bride for Student.” Below is the Washington Post article from November 21st, 1928. When Georgetown’s football team downed the University of West Virginia Saturday, it rang the wedding ... Read More »

Check this out … a great old advertisement from 1890 in The Sunday Herald. See the Washington Monument from Rockville? Wow. Related articles Move to Cathedral Highlands: An Unobstructed View of the Entire Surrounding Country (ghostsofdc.org) Love the Blog? Get a T-Shirt and Show Your Friends (ghostsofdc.org) Read More »

By 1800, the City of Washington was ready – as ready as a hastily constructed city could be – to be occupied by the federal government. In Philadelphia on May 15th, President Adams issued the order to begin removal of the federal government to Washington. Adams stayed in the city for two more weeks while things were packed up and ... Read More »