Category: Truxton History

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 225 Bates St NW:

• January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 225 Bates St NW to Mary E. and Samuel Page.
• Jan 1951 the Pages borrowed $2,525 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• May 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 225 Bates St NW to Beatrice G. and James D. Kemp.
• May 1951 the Kemps borrowed $2,525 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• May 1962 the Pages were released from their mortgage owning their half free and clear.
• March 1964 the Kemps paid off their mortgage.
• September 1966 Beatrice M. Kemp (aka Beatrice G. Kemp) who is the surviving tenant when James Kemp died 8/19/1965, sold her half to Esther C. Dreeben, Louis M. Dreeben, Julius N. Press and Lillian Press.
• October 1966 the Presses transferred/sold their interest in half of the property to their co-owners the Dreebens.
• March 1974 the Dreebens and the Pages sold their halves to George Basiliko, bringing it under one owner.
• March 1979 Sophia and George Basiliko sold the house to H.R.L., Inc.

I’ll stop in 1979. No foreclosures but it does come under the ownership of slum landlord George Basiliko.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 227 Bates St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 227 Bates St NW to Ira Alquero.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Mrs. Alquero borrowed $2,525 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• May 1951 Mrs. Alquero sold/transferred her half to Inez and James Foster.
• June 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 227 Bates St NW to John and his wife Vetra Bedney.
• June 1951 the Bedneys borrowed $2,525 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1952 the Bedneys lost their half to foreclosure. Evans, Levin and Taube regained ownership via an auction.
• March 1953 Evans, Levin and Taube resold the foreclosed half to Farin and Maude G. Boykin.
• March 1953 the Boykins borrowed $3,226.75 from trustees Levin and Weightman.
• February 1963 Mrs. Alquero, and thus the Fosters, was released from her mortgage owning the property free and clear.
• August 1974 James Foster, the surviving spouse, added Janice Foster.
• May 1989 Farkin Boyden’s name was removed from the deed.
• September 1991 the March 1953 mortgage was transferred to a new trustee, Lillie Mae Payne and Mrs. Boykin was released from the mortgage.

Normally I stop things in the 1970s. The property finally fell under one owner, Maude Boykin,  in 2002. One foreclosure but the property did not fall under the DC government, however there was an odd document ( 8000014566) involving the Bates Street Associates (BSA), Inc listed. However, there was nothing in the chain of title linking BSA Inc to 227 Bates.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 221 Bates St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 221 Bates St NW to Beatrice W. and William C. Mitchell.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Mitchells borrowed $2,525 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 221 Bates St NW to Ethel Taylor, a widow.
• Jan 1951 Mrs. Taylor borrowed $2,525 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• February 1957 the Mitchells sold/transferred  their property to Pernell and Raymond R. Taylor.
• November 1961 the Mitchells were released from their mortgage.
• March 1962 Mrs. Taylor was released from her mortgage and she owned her half free and clear.
• April 1966 the Taylors sold their half to Frances F. and Raymond L. Rogers.
• December 1966 the estate of Ethel Taylor, represented by Coleman S. Holmes sold her half to the Rogers, bringing the property under one owner.
• August 1970 the Rogers sold their half to DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).
• June 1980 the DC RLA sold/transferred the house to the Bates Street Associates as part of a larger property package.

Despite their being no foreclosures the house wound up in the hands of the DC government. Oh well.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 1547 3rd St NW:

• January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 1547 3rd NW to Alfred E. and Edna M. Williams.
• Jan 1951 the Williams borrowed $3,525 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 1547 3rd St NW to Mary M. Fair.
• Jan 1951 divorcee Ms. Fair borrowed $3,375 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• April 1962 Mary M. Fair was released from her mortgage and owned her half free and clear.
• June 1964 the Williams borrowed $6,500 from United Mortgage Company Inc.
• August 1964 the Williams were released from their United Mortgage Co Inc mortgage.
• February 1965 the Williams were released from their Levin and Weightman mortgage.
• March 1966 there was another United Mortgage release. I don’t understand it.
• March 1966 the Williams got a mortgage from Security Home Mortgage Corporation of Silver Spring, MD $2,193.12.
• November 1967 the Williams were released from their Security Home Mortgage Co mortgage.
• September 1973 Mary M. Newton formerly Mary Fair borrowed $5,000 from trustees Harry M. Stern and Jay S. Weiss to pay Harry A. Payne.
• November 1978 Mary Newton was released from her September 1973 mortgage.

Another good result. No foreclosures. The original 1951 buyers continued to own their halves into the 1980s.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 1549 3rd St NW:

• January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 1549 3rd St NW to Robert and Rosalie R. Moses.
• Jan 1951 Mr. & Mrs. Moses borrowed $3,900 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 1549 3rd St NW to Jimmie and Lucille J. Nelson.
• Jan 1951 the Nelson borrowed $3,900 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• November 1952 the Nelsons transferred their half to Edith E. Matthews who transferred it to Ms. Lucille J. Davis.
• November 1961 Ms. Davis transferred her half to Ms. Frances R. Atwood who then transferred it to Jimmie and Lucille J. Nelson.
• December 1961 the Nelsons were released from their mortgage.
• March 1962 Mr. & Mrs. Moses were released from their mortgage.

I will end it here because the documents get a little too recent for comfort. A 1997 document mentions that Lucille J. Nelson and Lucille J. Davis are one in the same.

This was a good story as there were no foreclosures and the properties were owned free and clear by the original buyers.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 228 Q St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold the whole of 228 Q St NW to Ernestine Culpepper*.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Culpepper borrowed $6,750 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• February 1963 Culpepper was released from the 1950 mortgage and owned the house free & clear.
• May 1963 Culpepper transferred the house to Charles P. Muldoon to then transferred it to Ernestine and Nathan Watts.
• December 1963 the Watts borrowed $8,000 from the Perpetual Building Association.
• January 1972 the Watts got divorced and Ernestine got her house back.

I’m going to leave it there. Ernestine died September 27, 1994 as the owner of 228 Q St. NW. Short of the divorce, this was a pretty positive story.

*Just a side note. I noticed in the paperwork the Culpepper was described with “their” and “them”.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 216 Q St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 216 Q NW to Flora M. and James L. Fisher.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Fishers borrowed $3,275 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 216 Q St NW to Catherine R. West.
• Dec 1951 Mrs. West borrowed $3,125 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• February 1962 the Fishers were released from their mortgage and owned their half free and clear.
• August 1962 Ms. West was released from her mortgage.
• July 1967, for some reason, E. M. Bros (an early lender) lost their interest, along with Evans, Levin and Taube to foreclosure and via an auction whatever part of the property they owned transferred to Ms. West. She then borrowed $1,200 from trustees Levin & Weightman.

Nothing more happens until the 1980s when Ms. West sells. I don’t know what happened to the Fishers and their half. For this house they kind of disappear after their release.

I looked up Mrs. Fisher, February 1962 she bought 5154 South Dakota Ave NE with Jeanna LaVerne Farr. Looking up James L. Fisher, he was involved in more real estate ventures than I care to count, but appears 216 Q was the start of his (and maybe his wife’s) property empire.

I am not sure about the July 1967 incident and what that was all about.

What I can say was this seemed to have worked out for the parties involved.

The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.

Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.

Let’s see what happens with 226 Q St NW:

• January 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 226 Q NW to Harold B. Fitzgerald.
•  Jan 1951 Fitzgerald borrowed $3,275 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 226 Q St NW to Mattie L. and William Morgan.
• Jan 1951 the Morgans borrowed $3,275 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• May 1951 Fitzgerald sold his half to Sarah E. and Rufus J. Jones.
• October 1962 Fitzgerald (now the Jones) was released from his mortgage, owning that half free and clear.
• February 1964 the Morgans were released from their mortgage.
• March 1967 the widow Mattie Morgan sold her half to Eneas J. and Katherine R. Whelan.
• February 1977, the heirs of Eneas Whelan sold the half of 226 Q St NW to Robert W. Ayers I & II.
• September 1980 the property somehow got caught up in the Bates Street Associates net. (See doc #8000029035)
• April 1987 the Ayers sold their half to Sarah Jones, bringing the property under one owner.

I’ll leave it there in a good space. No foreclosures. People were able to pass down things to a slew of family members who quickly turn around and sell it. It’s probably best to ignore the Bates Street Associates thing.