In 1903 parties (George Sternberg and George Kober) involved with the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company owned the following lots on Sq. 615 (bounded by North Cap, Q St, 1st St and P St NW): 65-66, 134-140, 170-179, 195-207, and 236-265.
Sq. 615 circa 1924
Fast forward to the 1933-1934 General Assessment, and it looks like the Washington Loan and Trust Company was holding or acting as a trustee for the WSIC.
There was a document that the WSIC owned the following lots in 1950. Lots 0134, 0135, 0136, 0137, 0138, 0139, 0140, 0170, 0171, 0172, 0173, 0174, 0175, 0176, 0177, 0178, 0179, 0195, 0196, 0197, 0198, 0199, 0200, 0201, 0202, 0203, 0204, 0205, 0206, 0207, 0236, 0237, 0238, 0239, 0240, 0241, 0242, 0243, 0244, 0245, 0246, 0247, 0248, 0249, 0250, 0251, 0252, 0253, 0254, 0255, and 0256. So basically the same lots, minus lots 65-66.
Next, I need to do a wide search to see if WSIC owned anything else in Truxton Circle, besides Squares 552 and 615. I don’t think so, but I need to check.
February will have a fire hose of Carter G. Woodson’s Mis-Education of the Negro posts, so I’m sneaking in one Washington Sanitary Improvement Company post today and maybe another near the end of the month.
There are so many lots owned by trustees of WSIC. So who was a trustee? Let’s look at George M. Kober’s book The history and development of the housing movement in the city of Washington, D.C. From page 26 the elected directors were: David J. Brewer, Charles C. Cole, John W. Foster, Charles J. Bell, George Truesdell, Gardiner G. Hubbard, Anthony Pollok, Walter Wyman, Henry F. Blount, Mrs. George Westinghouse, Crosby S. Noyes, George H. Harries, William J. Boardman, William C. Woodward, Augustus S. Worthington, Henry Y. Satterlee, George L. Andrews, Bernard T. Janney, Mrs. Clara G. Addison, William C. Whittemore, G. Lloyd Magruder, Joseph C. Breckinridge, Marcus Baker, Katherine Hosmer, Charles E. Foster, Simon Wolf, George M. Sternberg, S. Walter Woodward, George M. Kober, and John Joy Edson. The executive board was George M. Sternberg, as president; S. Walter Woodward, John Joy Edson, Charles J. Bell, George Truesdell, George H. Harries, George L. Andrews, Ms. Katherine P. Hosmer; and Dr. Kober as secretary. Now let’s look at who owned property on Sq. 615, which was the first Truxton Circle block the company developed.
According to the General Assessment, just two of the above . Here we go:
Looking at the Library of Congress page for the 1903 DC Baist map, Plate 39, Kober’s lots 65 and 66 are 24-26 Q St NW. Sternberg (for WSIC) had odd side 31-43 Bates St NW (lots 134-140), even side 46-60 Bates St NW (lots 170-179), even side 53-77 Bates St NW (lots 195-207), and 94 Bates St NW, odd side 15-29 Bates St NW, and even side 30-44 Bates St NW, odd side 45-51 Bates St NW, 12 Q St NW, and even side 62-76 Bates St NW (lots 236-265).
Check back towards the end of the month to look at WSIC’s Sq. 615 ownership in the 1920s and 1930s.
There weren’t too many resident owners on Sq. 551 (bounded by 3rd, Q, 1st and P Sts NW). As I mentioned in the post about Sophia Hess, there were only two. Sophia Hess, at 145 P St NW, a 65 year old single woman of German heritage. She owned 0552 lot 7.
George Adams, at 120 Q St NW, was a 40 year old African American laborer. He owned 0552 lot 26-west 20. Sophia’s post went a little long, so I am giving George Adams his own post.
So who was George Adams? That’s a good question because I could not find enough solid information. In the 1900 DC city directory there were about 11 George Adams. One George W. Adams at 120 Q St NW. The 1900 census tells me he was born in Maryland in February of 1860.
There was another George W. Adams in DC around the same time, who owned a lot of land. I don’t think he is the same guy. The other George Adams was married to Bettie Elizabeth Adams, our George Adams was unmarried.
His mother, Alice Adams, lived with him and she is the woman who connects George to Lycurgus Adams another property owner on the block. In the 1860 census relationships were not mentioned, so there are 15 people in the Adams’ household in Bladensburg, MD, Alice and Lycurgus among them. Lycurgus could have been George’s uncle, but it is unclear.
In earlier posts I was looking at the block the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company did not own, that it would later own. I wanted to look at the owners of Sq. 552 prior to WSIC ownership to see what the story was there.
There weren’t too many resident owners on Sq. 552 (bounded by 3rd, Q, 1st and P Sts NW). I thought I had more, but that was an error on my end.
The 1902/1903 General Assessment, is not always correct (dead owners), nor does it provide the minute (my NOOT) info that is as enlightening as the Recorder of Deeds records. There were two (according to the 1900 census):
145 P St NW– Sophia Hess, a 65 year old single woman of German heritage. Owned 0552 lot 7. 120 Q St NW– George Adams, a 40 year old African American laborer. Owned 0552 lot 26-west 20.
So who was Sophia Hess? She was born in Washington, DC in December 1835 and her mother was Mary Elizabeth Gebhardt Hess (d. 1869) whose name the property was in. Looking at Mary Hess’ will, she left the property to her children Sophia, William and Catharine. sigh. That’s probably why it was still in Mary’s name. Sophia never married.
In 1880 she lived at 145 P St NW with her adult siblings. William Hess was her older brother and listed as being a boarder. He was a German born 62 year old and noted as being a maimed and illiterate laborer. Frederick was listed as her brother. He was a 45 year old carpenter. Lastly, her sister Catharine was a 39 year old housekeeper. Sophia was a 48 year old clerk for the Government Printing Office. All were single.
In the 1900 census, Sophia was still working at the GPO, still at 145 P St NW, and living with siblings. William was not in the picture, but Frederick the carpenter, then 60 years old, and sister Catherine remained with her.
Sometime between 1903 and 1909 the property became part of the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company’s portfolio. In 1906 according to the city directory she was at 145 P St NW. By the 1910 census, she had moved to 1611 Lincoln Ave NE. She lived there with her sister Catherine and a grand-nephew Karl H. Townsend. At the age of 70 she was still working at the GPO, as a folder. Her grand nephew was 19 years old and worked as a clerk for the Department of Agriculture.
She was still in Eckington during the 1920 census at 1611 Lincoln Ave NE. There she lived with a nephew, a niece and two grand-nieces. And at the age of 83, she still worked at the Government Printing Office.
In 1925 she died at 1611 North Capitol St NE (could be Lincoln Ave NE?) from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 91. She is buried at Glenwood Cemetery. She never married.
This is the 3rd version of this post because I realized that the images did not transfer when I moved this from a Blogger environment to WordPress. So the links did not work. This post aims to fix that.
Although this does not mention the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company, it is about the houses the WSIC built, plus another block. Below is a 2008 post where I misremembered the name of the 1968 report, which I have below the fold. The report, A Program for Bates Street, is just 12 pages with a few pictures of residents, has mentions of rehabilitation and new construction. Fast forward, this was under Marion Barry’s tenure so it got halfway done.
I have the 1968-1974 (the dates I’m unsure of) brochure of “A Plan for Bates Street” in PDF form. It’s a big file and because it is so large, I’m not posting here. However, I will mail it to folks who ask (offer expires in 30 days). Basically, like the title says, it was the government’s plan for the two blocks of Bates, to improve the housing.
After writing about wealthy out of state owners with the name Eustis, I didn’t want to try to hunt down the other owners. But one owner had an unusual enough name that I figured why not. Lycurgus and Sallie Adams owned a part of lot 26 on Sq. 552. Lot 26, according to the 1902/1903 General Assessment lot 26 was in 4 parts. Lycurgus and Sallie owned a western lot. George W. Adams owned a portion of the lot with a structure on it. Levi Adams owned an eastern section. Edmund G. Hines owned a portion along the alley.
Lycurgus, also Licurits/ Lycurkus Adams was born around 1842-1844 and died in March 1922 in Prince George’s County, MD. He was an African American born to Josaiah and Elizabeth Adams in Maryland. He was drafted, but it doesn’t look like he served in the Civil War.
It appears that he was born and raised in Bladensburg, MD and he lived there and died there. He did wander into Washington, DC to get married to Sallie Nash (Mash?) in June 1887. He was a farmer, who owned his own land and lived on River Road.
His last will and testament, gives a sense of who another Adams was who also owned parts of lot 26. Levi Adams was his brother. His will directs that his DC property be sold upon his death. According to a search of the Evening Star, his executor Marion Duckett, did that the following year of his death in September in a public auction. Of a side note the farm he left his son, Joseph E. Beaman Adams of 907 Westminster St NW advertised to sell those 18 acres in October 1923. Lycurgus’ lot was sold to William Adams at auction. It is unclear how William was related, if at all.
In all honesty, I have zero to negative interest in these two women, so let me just get through this.
At some point in time between 1903 and 1909 the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) purchased lots from these women so they could add Sq 552 to their project. Mary Clarice Eustis owned lots 15-23, and Louis Eustis Hitchcock owned lots 9-14 and 24. I’m going to guess these were nothing more than investment properties for them.
Who was Marie Clarice Eustis? Marie Clarice Eustis Hofmann was born Marie Clarice Eustis in New Orleans in 1866, if I have the right woman. She was the daughter of Senator George Biddle Eustis and Ellen Buckner Eustis. In 1887 she married her 1st cousin (ewwww) George Peabody Eustis Corcoran, the brother of Louis Eustis Hitchcock. They divorced and in 1905 she married Polish pianist, composer, and inventor Josef Hofmann. They divorced in 1924. She eventually died in 1956 at the age of 90 in Aiken, SC.
Her cousin Louise Marie Eustis was born in Cannes, France in 1867 to George Eustis and Louise Morris Corcoran Eustis (daughter of WW Corcoran of the famous Corcoran Gallery). She married polo player ThomasHitchcock Jr in 1891. They both loved horses. They had four children Celestine E. Hitchcock Peabody (1892 –1935), Helen Louise Eustis Hitchcock Clark (1898–1979), Thomas Hitchcock (1900–1944) and Frank Center Eustis Hitchcock (1908–1957). She died in an accident in 1934 in Aiken, SC at the age of 66.
When looking at the General Assessment for 1902/1903 one of the biggest property owner for the block bounded by 3rd, Q, 1st and P St NW, Sq. 552, Wm. R. Riley, not the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC). WSIC’s time will come later.
William R. Riley owned lots 1-2, 4-6, and 29-32.
Who was William Robinson Smith Riley? He was born July 19, 1817 in Appomattox County, VA and died in DC on January 15, 1893.
According to his obituary published in the Evening star. January 16, 1893, page 6:
William R. Riley Dead A Well-Known Citizen Expires After a Short Illness
In the death of Mr. Wm. R. Riley this city loses one of its substantial citizens. His death occurred yesterday at his late residence, No. 7 Iowa Circle [Now Logan Circle]. Mr. Riley had reached the advanced age of seventy-five years. He was, however, a man of active habits, and while not exactly vigorous, yet he was seldom ill. His last sickness lasted only six days. On Monday just a week ago he was taken sick in his office in the Riley building, 9th and E streets. He was removed to his residence and by Thursday pneumonia developed which resulted in his death at 1 o’clock yesterday. He had planned to leave for Florida today where his wife was staying. Mrs. Riley was at once informed of the illness of her husband and reached home Saturday morning. Mr. Riley had spent practically all his life in this city. He came here with his father from his birthplace in Accomac, Va., when only four years of age. When quite young he entered a dry-goods’ house as a clerk, and when still a young man he became the owner of the store in which he had started in life as a clerk. The same business ability which marked his early career enabled him to amass a considerable fortune. He was identified with a number of the substantial business enterprises of the city. He was the founder of the Arlington Fire Insurance Company, and a director in that company at the time of his death. For a number of years he was one of the directors of the Washington Gas Light Company. He established the West End Bank and until recently was the president. He was a member of the old city council, was connected with Columbia Lodge of Odd Fellows, and was an active member of Ascension Church. Six children survive him, two sons and four daughters. The funeral services will be held at the Church of the Ascension Wednesday morning at 11 o’clock, and Rev. John H. Elliot will officiate. The interment will be in the family lot in Congressional cemetery.Continue reading WSIC- Property Owner of Sq. 552- William R. Riley
In my last post about the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company I noticed that the WSIC owned Sq 615 but not 552, yet. By 1909, it looked like they took 552 over, with a few holdouts. In 1903, there were 32 lots.
In the 1880 census there were about 11 households on the whole block. Then in 1900 there were about 25 households, nine of those were home owners.
Lot Owners
1 William R. Riley
2 William R. Riley
3 Jos. E & Sallie B. Roach
4 William R. Riley
5 William R. Riley
6 William R. Riley
7 Mary E. Hess
8 Baptist Home of D.C.
9 Louise Eustis Hitchcock
10 Louise Eustis Hitchcock
11 Louise Eustis Hitchcock
12 Louise Eustis Hitchcock
13 Louise Eustis Hitchcock
14 Louise Eustis Hitchcock
15 Marie Clarice Eustis
16 Marie Clarice Eustis
17 Marie Clarice Eustis
18 Marie Clarice Eustis
19 Marie Clarice Eustis
20 Marie Clarice Eustis
21 Marie Clarice Eustis
22 Marie Clarice Eustis
23 Marie Clarice Eustis
24 Louise Eustis Hitchcock
25 Revere R. Gurley/DeWitt C. Chadwick/ Mollie Phillips/ Alice L. Wyckoff Trust/ Phoebe Hamilton
26 Lycurgus & Sally Adams/ George Adams/ Levi Adams/ Edmund G. Hines
27 Frederick B. Jones/ Jas. B. Nourse & C.M. Jones Trustees
28 Robert A. Golden
29 William R. Riley
30 William R. Riley
31 William R. Riley
32 William R. Riley
It appears the main owners were William R. Riley, Louise Eustis Hitchcock, Marie Clarice Eustis, and the Adams family. Other owners of interest are the owners of lots 3 and 28, the last lots to be divided and developed. We’ll look at these people and see if there is any connection with the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company, the organization that will eventually own their land.
So enough procrastinating, let’s get into the Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) role in making the blocks that are bounded by Q, North Cap, P and 3rd Streets NW. Those would be Squares 552 and 615. Because of George Kober’s The History and Development of the Housing Movement in the City of Washington, DC ( 1907) we know they were building housing in the early aughts.
But the WSIC didn’t own all of the block, so in order to figure out which lots on those two blocks to look at I went to the General Land Assessment Files, 1902-1938, and looked at 1902/1903 Assessments. Because 552 comes before 615, I looked at that first. I did not see WSIC mentioned, at all. I was confused. If I had just looked at the Sq 552 map at TruxtonCircle.org, I would have seen why.
Hopkins Map, 1887 of Square 552, bounded by 3rd, Q, 1st and p Sts NW.
Bates Street did not exist in 1887 nor apparently 1902.
Source- Baist, Library of Congress. 1903 map of Sq. 552
I also compared the 1902/1903 assessments to the 1933/1934 assessments and there were a whole different set of lot numbers. For Square 552 in 1902/1903, there were lots 1-32, as you can see from the images above.
1909 Color-Source- Baist, Library of Congress.
By 1909, when the above image was mapped, the whole character of the block changed. There appears to have been a few hold outs, with lots 3 and 28. By 1933 they had been absorbed.
In the back of my head, I am wondering if any strong arming was involved to convince owners to sell. Well, that would be something to explore in my next post, where I look at the 1902/1903 property owners.
Her cousin Louise Marie Eustis was born in Cannes, France in 1867 to George Eustis and Louise Morris Corcoran Eustis (daughter of 
