Now here is an interesting article that we dug up in the old archives. We found an article in The Baltimore Sun, from January 28th, 1839, discussing the possibility of retroceding Georgetown to Maryland. Most of you...
GoDCers Love Maps / 10.03.2015
1835 Map of Washington, D.C.
Here is an old map of Washington before the retrocession of the western portion back to Virginia. This was when the territory had three cities within it: Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria, plus two counties in Washington...
Seriously. This city has come a long way from lost sheep and cows on Pennsylvania Ave. Check out this print from 1839. Source: Library of Congress...
Old Ads & Classifieds / 08.04.2013
Slave Market of America
Below is a fascinating old broadside that we came across in the Library of Congress archives. Here is the description ...
The Best Of, Why Is It Named...? / 14.02.2013
Why Is It Named Chain Bridge? And, Where Are the Chains?
It's probably obvious to GoDCers where Chain Bridge Road gets its name. There is a bridge that connects the eponymous road on the D.C. side to the one on the Virginia side. But, this bridge has...
In the 1830s, the Baltimore Sun was a far more prominent paper, covering the daily happenings of life in Washington City. We came across an interesting piece from the Baltimore Sun correspondent in Washington. You may find...
Why Is It Named...? / 24.10.2012
Why Is It Named Silver Spring?
There actually was a spring and it was silver ...
Why Is It Named...? / 22.10.2012
Why Is It Named Bloomingdale?
It has been a really long time since we did a "Why is it Named...
Notable People & Places / 23.03.2012
The Smithsonian’s English Birth
Some of you may not be aware of this, but an Englishman, who had never set foot in America, provided the financial backing for the nation’s greatest museum: The Smithsonian Institution.
James Smithson was a wealthy man from across the Atlantic and on June 27th, 1829, he died while visiting Genoa, Italy. He was a man of science, being a mineralogist and chemist, and a great admirer of the young country in North America.
Thus, began the auspicious and completely unplanned birth of the Smithsonian Institution.
Below are excerpts from his living will, disposing of his estate.