History – Page 7 – Truxton Is In Shaw

Rando Truxton & Shaw History- Alleys

I’m going to make this a quick one. Here is part of a pathfinder survey from 1936 of alleys in DC. I picked out some Shaw related alleys. It says were the alleys are, as in which city square they are located, how many alley dwellings there were and how many of those were occupied by people. The point was to kick people out of their alley homes.

DC Alleys ShawAlleys1936 by Mm Inshaw on Scribd

Source: National Archives and Records Admin. Washington, DC. Record Group 302, entry 3, maybe file Pathfinder Survey (1936).

1957 Church Survey: Israel Metropolitan CME Church

In 1957 there was as survey of churches in the Northwest Urban Renewal Area, which included Shaw, Downtown, and the area around Union Station. Israel Metropolitan Colored Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church was one of the churches in this area. To learn more about the 1957 Church Survey read my previous posts, The Uniqueness of the 1957 Church Survey and Church Survey Northwest Urban Renewal Area October 1957.

Israel Metropolitan CME was where the Mt. Lebanon Church sits today at 1219 New Jersey Ave NW. The survey doesn’t tell us about the racial or professional make up of the 911 parishioners of the church. Just the basics. From the name CME, it was and is a Black church. The current Israel Metropolitan CME church sits in Petworth.

CS 23 Isreal Metropolitan CME by Mm Inshaw

1957 Church Survey: Mt. Vernon Place Methodist- Rando Church Near Shaw

In 1957 there was as survey of churches in the Northwest Urban Renewal Area, which included Shaw, Downtown, and the area we’ll call Swampoodle. To learn more about the 1957 Church Survey read my previous posts, The Uniqueness of the 1957 Church Survey and Church Survey Northwest Urban Renewal Area October 1957.

The church we have here is Mt. Vernon Square Methodist located at 900 Massachusetts Ave NW. Like it’s building it was a big white church. It boasted of having 4,000 members in 1957 and they were white. Looking at their website, it looks like they are still majority white.

Looking at the 1957 demographics this was a middle to upper middle class church. Most of the people were white collar workers (71%), and most lived outside of the urban renewal area in other parts of Washington, DC (58%). There was also a chunk of membership who lived in the ‘burbs of MD and VA (32%). Financially, they looked pretty good with $6,000 in expenses and a $233,000 budget ($2.7 million in 2021 dollars).

CS-26-Mt Vernon Place Metho… by Mm Inshaw

Lessons Learned from Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle- Don’t leave property to a bunch of people

Okay, I have a pet peeve and I want to get it off my chest. So I have been documenting the property transactions of African American home owners from the 1920 census who lived in this Washington, DC neighborhood of Truxton Circle. Do I understand the records I’m looking at? Not 100% but I can tell there is some problem when the home owner I am tracking leaves their home to more than one person.

I have a sense of what the owner might have been thinking if they left a will. Maybe they wanted to treat all their children equally. Maybe they wanted to leave something to all the people in their lives who meant something and the only thing of great value they had was their home. That’s sweet. But the problem is all their adult children don’t want to live together in the same house they grew up in.

What I see in the land records are papers where all the heirs have to sign off to let one family member have the property. Or all the heirs, and their spouses, sell the property.

Now let me dig and find something useful from my graduate education. I learned why pre-industrial and industrial England was more prosperous than France and it was because of primogeniture. Primogeniture was when the first born (usually male heir) get the main land, properties, and business interest of the deceased. Second plus sons and daughters were lucky to get an allowance, small plots of land or what have you, but not the main prize. This meant the farm was not broken up. Whereas in France, they broke up the farms and the lands into smaller portions, which meant they were less productive.

So back to Truxton Circle. One could theoretically divide a house if it were a two unit structure. So far I have not seen that.

What I have seen with other property owners of Truxton Circle, are requests to allow wives/widows to remain in the home until their death while the named heir holds the title.

In conclusion, the inheriting parties sell the property or transfer it to one of the heirs, who later sells the property. So one may as well direct the sale of the property and have the proceeds divvied up equally by the heirs and save everyone the headache.

Because of another TC related side project the generational wealth that TC property gives is not in the property itself. It may be more the idea of having property and being a homeowner. My parents are still alive so I’m not getting their old ramshackle house any time soon. But they provided an example of the idea of owning one’s own home.

Examples of several heirs- Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Annie Brown 69 N St NW

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Wallace J. Broadas- 1607 New Jersey Ave NW

Black Home Owners of Truxton Circle: Malinda Powell- 71 N St NW

1957 Church Survey: Holy Redeemer Catholic Church- Close to but not in Truxton Circle/Shaw

I would pass by Holy Redeemer when riding the 96 bus. It is just across the border from the Truxton Circle/ Shaw/ Mt. Vernon Sq. on the other side of New York Ave NW.

In 1957 there was as survey of churches in the Northwest Urban Renewal Area, which included Shaw, Downtown, and the area we’ll call Swampoodle. One of the churches was Holy Redeemer Roman Catholic Church. To learn more about the 1957 Church Survey read my previous posts, The Uniqueness of the 1957 Church Survey and Church Survey Northwest Urban Renewal Area October 1957.

According to Holy Redeemer’s own history, the church was dedicated in October 1922. It was and still is a primarily African American church.

CS 27 Holy Redeemer Catholic by Mm Inshaw

So let’s look at the survey for Holy Redeemer. The location hasn’t changed, it’s still at 206 New York Ave NW. It had three priests, a full time janitor, a full time housekeeper and a membership of 2,500 souls. A majority of the membership lived in the Northwest Urban Renewal Area and the rest (40%) lived in other parts of DC. Most of that 40% was living between Georgia Ave and 37th NW. Another majority in the church were white collar workers.

1957 Church Survey: Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ- Church not in Shaw

I’ve been holding off on publishing this one because I figured I would do more research. But I never seemed to get around to doing that. The reason is because Bible Way, near the mouth of I-395, did a great thing. The fed and local government’s “plan” was to run that interstate up through what was my 4th St house and over on to Florida Avenue. Bible Way played a part in stopping it. I figured they deserved more research on the matter.

Bible Way Church was one of many urban churches surveyed for this DC inner city survey. Anyway, to learn more about the 1957 Church Survey read my previous posts, The Uniqueness of the 1957 Church Survey and Church Survey Northwest Urban Renewal Area October 1957.

CS-34-Bible Way of Our Lord by Mm Inshaw

In 1957, Bible Way Church at 1130 New Jersey Ave NW was headed by Rev. Smallwood E. Williams. The Washington Post wrote of Rev. Williams, “In 1963, he used his political connections to save his church from being torn down. Interstate 395 was scheduled to go through his building. With the help of Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey, then a senator from Minnesota, Williams got the plans redrawn so that the highway would skirt the site.”

Bible Way’s own website tells me they began in Shaw in a storefront at 1409 9th St NW. Looking at the 1957 survey, it was a large church with 2,000 members, a Sunday attendance over 3,000, and several paid staff members. It was also an African American church as the body reported that 99% of members were Black. Looking at the occupational distribution, I’m going to guess this was a blue collar church, as in line with Pentecostal type churches. Most of the membership, 69%, lived outside of the boundaries (see below) of the Northwest Urban Renewal Area (part of which became Shaw) in other parts of DC.

1957 Church Survey: Mount Carmel Baptist- Churches not in Shaw

Mt. Carmel Baptist Church was part of the 1957 Church Survey for a urban renewal area that got broken into other parts, such as Downtown and Shaw. To learn more about the 1957 Church Survey read my previous posts, The Uniqueness of the 1957 Church Survey and Church Survey Northwest Urban Renewal Area October 1957. I am publishing this because I have a Black Home Owner of Truxton Circle coming up and he attended this church.

Quick rundown. It was and still is an African American church. It was a fairly large church with over 3,000 members able to support a full time minister, assistant minister, sexton, assistant sexton and social worker.

CS 6 Mt Carmel Baptist by Mm Inshaw

1957 Church Survey: Church of Ascension and St. Agnes

When I last visited Ascension & St. Agnes, many years ago, it was an Episcopal church offering a high church service. It is located at 1215 Massachusetts Ave NW. It’s in Mt. Vernon Sq, but I’m going to count it as a Shaw church.

Anywho, this church was part of the 1957 Church Survey for a urban renewal area that got broken into other parts, such as Downtown and Shaw. To learn more about the 1957 Church Survey read my previous posts, The Uniqueness of the 1957 Church Survey and Church Survey Northwest Urban Renewal Area October 1957.

It was pretty much a White church when I visited and was so in 1957. It’s parish boundaries were pretty much that of the map above, but they said they drew their membership from all over the metro area, as the greatest bulk came from Maryland and Virginia.

CS-33-Church of Ascension a… by Mm Inshaw

1957 Church Survey: Miles Memorial CME- Rando church outside of Shaw

The address, 1110 3rd St NW where this church sat doesn’t exist anymore. Miles Memorial Church CME, currently sits at 501 N St NW, in Shaw. To learn more about the 1957 Church Survey read my previous posts, The Uniqueness of the 1957 Church Survey and Church Survey Northwest Urban Renewal Area October 1957.

The former location of this church appears to be some spot behind the Bible Way church…. a church also in the 1957 Church Survey, but I hadn’t gotten to it.

The pastor, Rev. Raymond L. Calhoun, lived at 210 N St NW, in that spot where Truxton Circle and Mt. Vernon Square are the same. I wonder if he’ll show up in my studies.

Then like now, it was a Black American church. Most of the other information was kind of vague. So I’m just going to post it.

CS 25 Miles Memorial CME by Mm Inshaw

1957 Church Survey: St. Aloysious Catholic Church- Churches not in Shaw

St. Aloysious Roman Catholic Church is outside of the bounds of Shaw, but not too far. This church was part of the 1957 Church Survey for a urban renewal area that got broken into other parts, such as Downtown and Shaw. To learn more about the 1957 Church Survey read my previous posts, The Uniqueness of the 1957 Church Survey and Church Survey Northwest Urban Renewal Area October 1957.

photo of property

It appears that the church itself is no longer operating and the parish has merged with Holy Redeemer Catholic Church. The school, Gonzaga (Mr. Tony Lewis’ alma mater) appears to be for exclusive use for the school. Looking at the 1957 survey, it looks like times changed and tables turned, because then, the church ran the school, not the other way around.

The church ran an elementary school, a girl’s high school and a boy’s high school. We can see where the boy’s school went, I wonder what happened to the elementary school and the girl’s school. The church was a racially mixed church with 15-20% of the parishioners being Black. Half of the parish lived in the NW urban renewal area, while the next largest group lived in other parts of DC. The range of types of occupations seem evenly split.

CS 29 St Aloysious Catholic by Mm Inshaw