When the talk of landmark homes built in the eighteenth century in the Washington region arises, there are a number of places that come to mind. Alexandria and Georgetown are heavenly and Northern Virginia and Maryland are in the game, too. In the District, the part that was once called the “City of Washington,” the story is rather sad. A few such as the Octagon House and the Thomas Law House survived, but the oldest ones are long gone and forgotten.
Using Capitol Losses, and Historic Houses and Georgetown and Washington, DC, we came up with this list and map showing a select five and one Honorable Mention.
1. Notley Young’s Mansion
1750-1856
G between 9th and 10th, SW.
There Now: Banneker Circle
Built of brick in the Georgian style by Notley Young, this one was one of the first landmark homes in what would become known as the City of Washington. Large and impressive, it commanded a Position A spot near the Potomac River and Georgetown.
Notley Young was one of the 19 original proprietors. His mansion was described as, “One of the few places fit for a gentleman’s home.” It also served as place of worship for Catholics, who were prohibited from worshiping in public churches.
An historical marker on its site, just south of L’Enfant Plaza), tells us Young owned nearly all of today’s Southwest DC. Ever so sadly, he owned more than 200 enslaved humans.
Note: Probably because there is no image, James Goode did not include this one in his book. There has been digital imaging.
2. Burnes House
1760-1894
West Side of 17th Street, NW, between C and Constitution.
There Now: Organization of American States
Beginning in 1721, the Burnes family owned the land which encompassed most of the future site of the Penn Quarter, Pennsylvania Avenue, the Mall and the White House and grounds. David Burnes (1739-1799), grandson of the Scottish immigrant, built a cottage type dwelling for his family. It’s very likely he visited Alexandria to see the Scots there.
In 1791, in the midst of land negotiations for the new Federal City, George Washington famously referred to him as the “obstinate Mr. Burns.”
The home Burnes built in 1760 was “one of oldest existing buildings in the District” when it was demolished in 1894. Burne's daughter Marcia and her husband John Peter Van Ness married there. In 1813 they built a magnificent mansion near the cottage where they became one of Washington’s first power couples. Marcia was particularly beloved, especially for her work with orphaned children and arranging social events. Some have called her the first leading lady of Washington. She maintained her father's home after he passed away.
3. Duddington
F and 2nd Streets, SE, northwest corner
1793-1886
There Now: Row Houses
The Carroll family looms large in early Washington. Daniel Carroll (1764-1849) of Duddington was one of the wealthiest men in the area and the largest landowner in 1791, including some of Capitol Hill. He served in leadership roles, built early rental properties including Carroll Row, and donated lots to Georgetown.
In 1791, Carroll started building a home south of where the Capitol would rise. Pierre L’Enfant, fuming it blocked New Jersey Avenue SE, had it tore it down. L’Enfant, who had already rubbed important people the wrong way, was fired.
Carroll then completed his second effort in 1793. It spread out with nine bays wide, two and a half stories high, and a central pavilion featured three arched windows/ Described as “First important house erected in Washington after 1791.” and “one of the great Federal mansions of Washington.”
The Capitol Hill Restoration Society tells us:
Archimedes Heckman, a Philadelphia speculator, bought the entire square where Duddington was located and started building rowhouses.
A Washington Post article reported on the 50th anniversary of the Duddington Place block party. The benches on the street help knit the community.
4. Peter Family Home
1795-1960s
2620 Wapping (K) Street, NW
There Now: K Street Interchange
The Peters were an important family in the early history of Georgetown. Robert Peter distinguished himself as a land owner and agent with the Glasgow firm of John Glassford and Company, which also had a store in Alexandria. Robert’s son Thomas married Martha Parke Custis, second oldest of Martha Washington’s famed grandchildren. For a wedding present, he gave the newlyweds the house at 2618 Wapping (K) Street, just outside Georgetown.
The brick stuccoed, three-and-a-half story house was their temporary home before moving into Tudor Place. Family members often dined and stayed, including George Washington, who last stayed here about a month before he passed away. Martha's children might have been born here.
A number of British diplomats lived in the dwelling after the Peters moved out, followed by Count Phalen of Russia. At some point they became apartments.
In their 1950 book, authors Harold Donaldson Eberlien and Cortland Van Dyke Howland pointed out the home was “smugged up by a complete coat of roughcast stucco over the brick.” Nevertheless, they wrote the home deserved preservation and restoration.
The Columbia Historical Society, the predecessor to the Washington Historical Society, thought so, too. In 1959 its members tried to save the home. Their plan was to donate it to the Washington City Museum, which did not have a home. General Ulysses S. Grant III, president of the society, was quoted as saying, it’s the oldest historical house in Washington.
In 1956, real estate investor Leo M. Bernstein had offered the site behind the home for the relocation of the Union Engine Company (built 1837) at 2618 K Street. Bernstein also offered to sponsor the establishment of a museum of the city at the new site. The Association of Oldest Inhabitants had been located in the fire house. Both were demolished for the widening of K Street.
5. Analostan
Mason's Island
1796-1935
There Now: Historical Marking on Theodore Roosevelt Island
Before bridges were built across the Potomac, Mason’s Island was where folks cross the Potomac River, a combination of a causeway and ferry. Going back to 1724, George Mason’s father owned the land before it was bequeathed to General John Mason (1766-1849), a son of George Mason.
It was easy to get lost in the Mason family shuffle, but General John Mason did his upmost to distinguish himself. He spent four years in Bordeaux, France as agent for a firm there, served as a Brigadier General in the DC militia (1802-1811), helped found and served as President of the Bank of Columbia in Georgetown, took the helm for the Potowmack Company, the predecessor to the C&O Canan Company, and acquired the Columbia Foundry in Washington. Mason and his family lived at 3425 Prospect Street in Georgetown. Wealthy residents summered at hilly places away from Washington’s heat bowl. Mason uniquely built his on this island, which he made a “self-contained estate.” His home was Federal with neoclassical designs in the regency style.
His close neighbor was George Washington Parke Custis and his family at Arlington. Guests at his home included Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette. Landscaping was “elegant.”
Like a number of early Washington figures, Mason lost his hat financially. He retreated to familiar Virginia soil south of Alexandria and lived at Clermont.
Honorable Mention
6. Van Ness House
C Street, Constitution, 17th Street and 18th Street NW
1813-1907
Designed: Latrobe
There Now: Organization of American States
In some ways, this one was perhaps the greatest loss. Designed by Benjamin Latrobe, two-story hipped roof, three bays wide, with pavilions crowned by parapets, stuccoed brick, Doric carriage porch. “Long regarded as one of the finest homes in the country.”
John Peter Van Ness, Congressman from New York, married Marcia Burnes, sole heir to David Burnes’ fortune. Their house was a social center for members of Congress and Washington upper elite. A storm damaged the home in 1894. Goode said the effort to save it was perhaps the first popular attempt at preservation in the city. In 1910, the Pan-American Union Building rose up on the site (organization changed their name to Organization of American States in 1948).
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