It is my great pleasure to publish an interview I had with Steve Livengood, Public Programs Director and Chief Guide for the United States Capitol Historical Society. Livengood gives tour there, but he is also knowledgable about the history of the Thomas Law/Honeymoon House in SW DC. The interview focuses on the history of the Law House. Livengood also touches on the diverse community of Tiber Island, and gives an update on tours of the Capitol. I thank him for his dedication and this interview.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am the Public Programs Director and Chief Guide for the United States Capitol Historical Society, a position I got to by volunteering at the Historical Society. Eventually they hired me to be the Volunteer Coordinator. Because we use volunteers in many of our programs, the job kept growing and adding titles. I needed to train the volunteers about giving tours, and that led me to thinking about what are the elements of an excellent tour.
How did you get involved in the history of the Thomas Law House?
I spent most of my life on Capitol Hill in three different locations, but when my children got homes of their own, I decided to move to an apartment. I ended up buying a wonderful co-op apartment in the Tiber Island Cooperative Housing property on the Southwest Waterfront. We are near, but not on, Capitol Hill. Tiber Island owns the Thomas Law House, having been given the responsibility for maintaining this historic property with the right to use it as a community facility. The maintenance has been more than the Co-op can afford, so we decided to market it as a single family home, and I got involved in that effort. That effort was successful beyond our expectations.
The nomination form tells us the name of the home is Thomas Law House, aka Honeymoon House. Do you have a preference or guidance?
The designation “Thomas Law House” comes from the Urban Renewal Project in the 1950s. It is unlikely that the house had a name before that. Rightfully it should be called the Richard Bland Lee house because Lee lived there much longer than Law did, and is more important in DC and national history. But Lee built his own house out in Virginia called “Sully Plantation” and he is more historically connected to that house than to this one. He had to sell Sully to a relative because of debts, and never recovered it. Sully still stands out near Dulles Airport, whereas all three of Thomas Law’s houses have been demolished, so this is the only site that can be associated with Law.
“Honeymoon House” is kind of cutesy. It may be that Eliza was expecting a romantic relationship: she was 20. But he was 40 and already had three or more children from relationships in India. Given how quickly the marriage collapsed, the term “honeymoon” is likely inappropriate. The Laws used this house as a temporary place to stay because the house he was building on Capitol Hill was not finished enough to move into.
Although the house may not have had a roof, Law did not build the house. He may have had to have the roof constructed so they could move in. There is no record that Law ever owned the house, and it is unlikely that he took any interest in it. The best association with it is the documentation that George Washington ate dinner there once with Martha’s granddaughter while she and Thomas Law were using it. There is no suggestion that he ever spent the night there.
The longest association of this house was as the clinic for Dr. Hadley, who built Hadley Hospital in Anacostia. There is a ceiling mural in the house painted by Hadley’s father-in-law. Hadley’s tenure ended in scandal, so the house should not perpetuate his name.
Therefore, the building is called the “Thomas Law House” by default and not by real historic association. It is for lack of a better name.
Law did not build the house. Do we know who did and when it was completed? What months were Thomas and Elizabeth there?
The Laws stayed in this house for only a few months in 1796 right after their wedding. James Greenleaf built dozens of houses in this neighborhood, and is credited with building at least the walls of this one. He was under legal compulsion to build 70 houses immediately, and so he built walls but add the expensive roof only when he had a buyer or leaseholder ready.
The Laws lived in this house from March to August 1796.
Can you tell us about the additions?
The house was made into a hospital in 1862 along with most large buildings in Washington. Churches put up hospitals in their yards and neighborhoods to preclude having to use their sanctuaries for that purpose. The Thomas Law house was used alternatively as a hotel, boardinghouse, hospital and clinic until it was taken over by the Urban Renewal Program in the 1960s. One of the hospitals or boarding houses added an attached kitchen rather than using the dumb waiter from the basement. And later a brick colonial-looking addition was built on the north side with access through the kitchen. Eventually, the house come to be the Adventist Clinic for the poor residents of nearby Southwest. Dr. Hadley came to be the leader of that clinic, and eventually, he bought the building and clinic from the Adventists. The colonial-style addition (with a large second floor added by Tiber Island during renovations) still exists as the pool house and community room for Tiber Island.
How much of the original look to the Law House is there, outside and inside?
Many additions and alterations were made over the years so very little of original fabric remains. For instance, rather than repair the original flooring, several layers of flooring were added, until the bottom step on the wonderful central staircase was only about 3 inches high due to new layers of flooring overlaid. The current owners have removed the layers and restored the staircase.
Dr. Hadley or a predecessor had put the operating room in the attic, adding a whole new floor to the building. Likely that space had been used as a garret for housing enslaved people over the previous century.
All that is original was exposed in the current renovation and evaluated for current usefulness. But most of the original fabric will be concealed behind the walls and above the ceilings.
Our TICH Coop is responsible for the exterior of the house, and that is largely intact.
The original roof was likely slate, but the restoration has used copper. The windows have all been raised off the floor to accommodate the centralized Tiber Island heating system, so they do not appear as they would have originally. Restoring the original windows would have required installation of an entire new heating system, so the original exterior pattern of form and void has not been retained.
Whether it be an historical marker or online accounts, are there any mistakes/misconceptions about Law?
Pamela Scott found that Law was more of a major player in developing Capitol Hill than she had realized or that has been recorded in local history. No one had done much to document Daniel Carroll’s role either. Both Carroll and Law deserve more local credit than they are given. They were two very different personalities, and managed to work in tandem – sometimes in competition and rivalry – for nearly 25 years 1795 – 1820.
Thomas Law in retirement was interviewed by a writer, and quoted as saying he “brought 100,000 guineas in gold” with him to Washington “but could not now raise by any means, at short notice, 1,000 [pounds].” Even so Law’s estate in 1834 was the largest ever probated up to that date in this area.
Law seems to get even less credit for his accomplishments elsewhere, except in India where he made the maharajah rich, and himself rich also in the process. His intent here in Washington was clearly very ambitious – buying and freeing enslaved people, attracting large numbers of immigrants to the United States and to Washington in particular – but his accomplishments are no where near his ambitions. He spent his fortune and got too little in return.
The Law House is fairly prominent and stands out. Yet, when I asked a number of people who live nearby, most did not know anything or very little about the house? Any thoughts?
The Law house was intended to stand out in the Southwest Urban Renewal Area, but it does not. One cannot see it more than a block away to the north and south, and not at all to the east. From the riverbank it is hidden behind trees. One has to walk at least a block from any street in order to see it. There is one historical marker – and there may be a second one to be returned after completion of the new section of The Wharf Development. But there is no street signage noting its existence. I would not agree that it is prominent at all or stands out. For the past half-century of ownership by Tiber Island the Thomas Law House has been an embarrassment that the co-op wanted to hide.
In the book you helped research, Creating Capitol Hill, Law has the second most index entries, behind only Carroll. And yet his name has faded.
To be clear I was present at the conception of the book, but took no part in its research or writing. The book was promoted and supported by the Carroll family, so Law takes second place. The Carroll family owned the land long before Law was born, and they retained ownership in Maryland to the present day, whereas Law’s descendants moved elsewhere and he seems to have none here in our area.
I understand Law was very busy after he married Elizabeth, including traveling a lot. It sounds like he abandoned her. Is that a fair statement? Did it contribute to their break up?
Law was a very busy man; reportedly he had a peripatetic personality long before he married Eliza, and right up to his death. Clearly he did not pay Eliza the attention she craved. My understanding is that was the entire basis of the separation and divorce. Likely, it appeared to her as abandonment, and to him as the normal way of living. Certainly an incompatible couple.
It is worth noting that George and Martha Washington were clear in their disapproval of the relationship to begin with. George’s famous letter on love was written to Eliza on the occasion of his and Martha’s resigned acquiescence to the marriage. One perceives that Washington knew what Eliza’s expectations were in the marriage, and affirmed them without commenting on whether Thomas Law was the right match for a woman with such expectations.
Where would you place Thomas Law in the pantheon of early Washington figures?
Thomas Law was uniquely responsible for two notable developments in Washington, both involving Capitol Hill. 1) he organized the canal company and built the canal that L’Enfant had planned to tie the city together and make it a commercial center. And 2) in the face of the failure of Congress to provide a meeting place for its successor in 1815, Law led and enlisted the local leadership and investors in constructing the Old Brick Capitol to be ready when needed. Its construction was a marvel of speed as noted by contemporaries. He and others believed that the Congress would never return to DC if they moved temporarily elsewhere. So this move saved the concept of a new national capital and thus, he saved the city we have today. His contribution took place over only 25 years, but he was clearly the dominant local figure with his finger in every pie.
In an interview, your colleague Pamela Scott said:
One myth that I have put to rest is that Daniel Carroll of Duddington was the sole developer on the Hill via Carroll Row, Carroll’s Tavern, the Bank of Washington and several houses. It was Law who convinced George Washington to build an elegant boarding house north the Capitol, enticed early cabinet officers to live nearby, and who built two mansions for his home as well as numerous boardinghouses south of the Capitol as well as decent homes for African Americans on its north side.
I would add that the book was originally about Daniel Carroll. Pam is the one who realized that the Capitol Hill story could not be told without making Law a major player second only to Carroll.
Can you tell us more about the homes for African Americans part?
I learned through this book about a wonderful character, William Costin, who became the leading African American on the Hill. Costin was both a Dandridge ( By family oral tradition, Martha’s father John Dandridge, begat Costin’s mother) and a Custis ( Again by oral tradition, Martha’s son Jacky was Costin’s biological father.) making him both Martha’s nephew and her grandson.
Costin remained legally enslaved to Thomas Law after Law’s divorce, and it was Law who freed him and sold Costin’s wife and children to the freed man. Costin eventually became a prominent landowner on the Hill, owning and living in the house built for and lived in by a Congressional official. Costin owned, rented and sold homes to freed and enslaved African Americans on the Hill. Most of these were located just a few blocks northwest and northeast of the Capitol.
In one recorded instance, 6 female residents of a row of prominent houses – 5 of whom were Carroll’s relatives – petitioned Law to stop building and to remove elsewhere a number of houses he had built for free and enslaved African Americans ( these were probably along the banks of Tiber Creek where Louisiana Avenue now runs. ) The ladies did not want to have to see these hovels from their front doors.
At the Historical Marker Data Base website, someone included a link to the book, "Black, Copper, and Bright: The District of Columbia's Black Civil War Regimen." Do you know more on that connection to Law or that part of DC?
The Black Civil War Regiment was long after Law’s death, of course. But significantly, in 1827 an African American congregation purchased the original building erected by the Presbyterians on South Capitol Street across from the Capitol.
Once word went out calling for African Americans to serve in the United States Army, in a later, much larger building on that site, the Israel Bethel Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, enlisted the largest number of African American soldiers of any location in the United States.
In a unique situation, The Law House is part of the Tiber Island Co-Op. I understand you played a role in protecting it, in the sense that the current owners are good stewards, and others might not have been.
What is the community like today? Is there still diversity and a healthy number of African American residents?
The historic properties including in Tiber Island and Harbour Square may be the first such properties ever preserved for government-sponsored housing as a matter of Federal urban renewal policy. But the arrangement is not unique.
My own role was only to assist in finding a respectful buyer. I had no role in its inclusion in Tiber Island or in Tiber Island’s decision to put it on the market. I did serve as Election Coordinator for the TICH charter amendment required to make it a salable unit. The charter language required an absolute majority of shareholders to make these changes, which was a challenge, but the shareholders came through as required.
The new owners snapped up the house immediately as it came on the market. All credit for matchmaking goes to them. Everyone at Tiber Island was shocked and amazed. None of us can claim any credit for that. It was totally unexpected. Like a gift from heaven.
Tiber Island is an intentionally diverse community, and always has been. It has had a remarkably peaceful history. The original owners have nearly all passed to their respective rewards, but the African Americans speak of the respect they have felt in this community.
“Healthy” numbers are always relative. Certainly, everyone would be happier if there were a larger percentage of African American shareholders and board members. I believe that many shareholders would go to great lengths to make certain that diversity continues. We now have our first African American general manager.
In his biography of Olmsted, the author thanks you for giving him “a fresh perspective on a place he visited countless times.” I imagine you felt proud about that.
Luckily, I had recently read up about Olmsted and the Capitol grounds when Justin Martin showed up unannounced for my exterior Capitol tour. I was able to spend a lot of time with Justin that morning, and my recall was working. I earned that compliment by default, but wear it proudly anyway. Since that time, I have worked tirelessly to earn my role as the go-to guy for Olmsted history at the Capitol. Recently, I even learned that I am indirectly related to Olmsted as well.
On behalf of the Capitol Historical Society, I am working with the group planning the Olmsted bicentennial celebration, called Olmsted200, in 2022.
You give tours at the Capitol. How can folks sign up for them? Do we have an idea when the inside tours will resume?
Tours of the Capitol will resume as soon as it is deemed to be safe to do so. The U.S. Capitol Historical Society has a unique role in offering historical tours around the exterior, and those will be offered very soon, depending on the course of the resurgent epidemic. Information will be available on the Society’s website www.uschs.org. The tours are offered to folks who join the Society.
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