Truxton Is In Shaw

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.

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 212 Q St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 212 Q St NW to Anna L. and Blanton J. Bell.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Bells borrowed $3,125 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• December 1950 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 212 Q St NW to Miss Dorothy M. Bowles.
• December 1950 Ms. Bowled borrowed $3,125 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• March 1961 Ms. Bowles was released from her mortgage and owned her half free and clear.
• May 1962 the Bells were released from their mortgage and owned their half free and clear.
• November 1971 Mr. Bell’s name was removed from the deed.
• June 1980, for some mysterious reason, BSA (Bates Street Associates) Limited Partnership and partners Lawrence J. Brailsford (spelled Brailsforfd) , George (spelled Geroge) Holmes Jr. and Jack W. White took out a 1/2 million dollar mortgage with the John Hanson Savings & Loan using 212 Q St NW and two other properties as collateral.
• April 1984 the DC Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings mailed a letter to Ms. Bell and Ms. Bowles at 1618 North Capitol St NW to condemn their property.
• November 1984 Mrs. Bowles, a widow and Ms. Bell sold 212 Q to the DC government.
• March 1985 the DC government sold the property to MANNA, Inc.

I will leave it there.  So it was a sort of good ending, except for the condemnation.

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 204 Q St NW:

• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 204 Q NW to Margaret C. Dickson.
• December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Mrs. Dickson borrowed $3,125 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• January 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 204 Q St NW to Margaret E. Stewart.
• Jan 1951 Mrs. Steward borrowed $3,275 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• April 1957 Mary Dickson, her sister Elsie Dickson, Edward, Garfield and Herbert Dickson, her brothers sold Margaret Dickson’s half to P.D Witherspoon
• March 1958 the Dickson property was foreclosed and via an auction it returned to the portfolio of Colonial Investment Co owners Evans. Taube and new partner Harry A. Badt.
• November 1961, as part of a larger property package, Badt, Evans, Taube, their wives, and Nathan Levin’s survivors sold part of the property to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• March 1962 Margaret E. Stewart was released from her mortgage.
• January 1963 Mrs. Stewart and the Basilikos sold the property to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).
• August 1979 (or thereabouts) the DC RLA transferred the property to the Bates Street Associates Inc.

So in conclusion, there was a foreclosure and the property did get sold to slum landlord George Basiliko. But on the plus one person managed to own the property free and clear. I feel bad for P.D. Witherspoon.

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.

I’ve previously touched on this before, but let’s see what happens with 42 O St NW:

• February 1951 Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 42 O St NW to Mildred H. Stitt, William E. and wife, Eva M. Hall.
• Feb 1951 Stitt and the Halls borrowed $3,125 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• February 1951 Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 42 O St NW to Lewis Jordan.
• Feb 1951 Jordan borrowed $3,125 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
• April 1951 Jordan sold/transferred his half to Maurice Tilghman.
• September 1959 Jordan, and by extension Tilghman, lost their half to foreclosure. Via an auction Colonial Investment partners Evans, Taube and new partner Harry A. Badt regained possession of that half of 42 O St NW.
• September 1959, as part of a property package, Harry A. and wife Jennie Badt, sold/transferred some of their ownership of 42 O St NW to the survivors of Nathan Levin.
• June 1959 (recorded 2/29/1960) Badt, Evans, Taube, the Nathan Levin survivors and their spouses, sold 42 O St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
• April 1960 Stitt and the Halls lost their half of the property to foreclosure and Badt, Evans and Taube got it back via an auction.
• April 1960 as part of a property package, Harry A. and wife Jennie Badt, sold/transferred their ownership of 42 O St NW to the survivors of Nathan Levin.
• August 1960 Evans, Taube, Levin’s survivors and their spouses sold the remaining half to George Basiliko.
• July 1971 it appears Sophia and George Basiliko sold the property to the Housing System Development and Construction Corp.
• April 1978 George Basiliko Inc sold 42 O Street NW to the O Street Properties Partnership.

I’ll end it there. So there are foreclosures and it was sold to George Basiliko. The sad thing was the 1960 foreclosure, so close but no cigar.

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.

Yet some nearby houses like 116 Q St NW looked like they might have been WSIC. Looking at the land records, this house is not.

The records for lot 814 go back to 1941, but the recorder of deeds go back to the 1920s. One of the owners name on the 1941 document is James I. Medley. Using that name, records from 1927 to 1939 were located for lot 26.

• January 1927 William Adams sold lot 26 to James I. Medley.
• February 1927 Dewey Washington sold lot 26 to James I. Medley.
• March 1927 James and Mildred F. Medley borrowed $4,500 from trustees C. Frances Owens and Eugene A. Smith.

In 1927 James Medley purchased several lot 26 portions, particularly from the Nash family. They also took out a loan but none I can attach particularly to 116 Q St NW.

• March 1941 the Medleys sold lots 813 & 814 to Hubbert R. Quinter and sister in-law Mary B. Zetelle.
• January 1946 Hubbert and Gladys Z. Quinter and Mary Zetelle transferred several properties, including 814 to Nannie D. Carr. Carr transferred it back to the Quinters.
• January 1961 the Quinters sold lots 813 & 814 to Mercedes B. and Norman F. Manders.
• January 1961 the Manders borrowed $7,000 from trustees Williams S. Green and Arthur J. Sherwin.
• October 1964 the Manders sold lots 813 and 814 to the Diamond Housing Corporation. The Diamond Housing Corp. borrowed $8,500 from the Franklin Federal Savings and Loan Association.
• March 1965 the Manders were released from their January 1961 loan.

I’m deciding to end it there.

Edit 11/26/2024- changed Mary from sister in law to general in-law. She may have been Gladys’ aunt but I am not sure.