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Introduction to Northwest Current Article

Jennifer Coderre has been kind enough to share with us the uncut version of her July 23, 1997 Current Newspaper Story. There were a few factual details that I corrected in her story. These have been put in double parentheses.

Most people who look northward from Adams Morgan's Walter Pierce Park see a somewhat bedraggled community garden, a narrow winding road, three Dumpsters, and a large stone house atop a tree-covered hill.

Eddie Becker sees more. He sees John Quincy Adams chatting with his brother-in-law, ((actually it was his wife's cousin)) George Johnson, about how the mill is doing. He sees Andrew Jackson's buddies throwing a victory party in the large stone house, owned by Dr. Henry Holt ((Holt owned it sometime after that)). And he sees the figures of black slaves returning from the stone quarry and blacksmith shop that once thrived on the waters of Rock Creek.

The Holt House and the land on which it sits, Becker claims, hold the keys to understanding slavery as it existed in what was then Washington County.

Deep in the recesses of the basement, he said, 18-inch-wide bunks where slaves slept may still exist. And near the house, in a location of some dispute, there is evidence of burial grounds where Native Americans and black slaves possibly were laid to rest.

Slavery "is a legacy we have that we haven't dealt with (from our) past," said Becker, an Adams Morgan activist who is leading an ad hoc committee in calling for an archaeological survey and preservation of the property.

"Slavery has existed longer than supposed emancipation," he added. "One group of people doesn't want to remember, and one group can't forget."

The Holt House, built sometime between 1805 and 1827, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Until the 1840s ((1835)), it was owned by the Johnson family, who also owned a grist mill, sawmill, blacksmith shop and orchards -- and a number of slaves.

George Johnson ((actually George's father Roger)) sold the grist mill to John Quincy Adams, who ((in latter life)) adamantly opposed slavery, around 1825 ((1823)).

South of the house, in what is now Walter Pierce Park, a Quaker cemetery was established in 1809. Slightly north of this was a burial ground for freed blacks, founded in 1870 by the Colored Union Benevolent Association. Some of the bodies have since been moved.

In 1890, the National Zoo acquired the former Johnson property and used the Holt House for its administration building until a new one was built in 1977, ((The House was use as a medical research facility by the Zoo until the late 1980's or early 1990's, then boarded up and taken off the Zoo budget)).

These facts are known, gleaned from historical documents from D.C. and Smithsonian files. What is not known is if slaves did indeed live in the Holt House or if they are buried on its grounds. "If (Becker) has documented materials that verify his claims, I'd love to see them," said Dr. Bob Hoage, a public relations official for the National Zoo.

Only in the last few months has Becker brought these historical questions -- and federal historic preservation laws -- to the attention of community and zoo officials. Hoage said the staff of animal professionals is not prepared to answer them.

"This is a new area for the zoo, and there seems to be an expectation on the part of some citizens that we at the zoo have total knowledge about all aspects of the situation," he said. "None of us are trained historians or lawyers. This is new territory, and we're trying to accumulate information and learn as we go along."

Currently the ball is in the court of Smithsonian preservation officer Cynthia Field, who is researching the validity of the claims.

Hoage said he asked the zoo director and assistant director to "encourage the folks at the Smithsonian to give us the information we need as soon as possible."

But because of budget cuts, Hoage said a feasibility study -- the first step in the process -- will not be possible until fiscal year 1999. Even then, zoo assistant director for facilities Robin Vasa said at a community meeting, the study may conclude the house should not be restored.

The zoo is taking steps to ensure that the building, now crumbling and covered by overgrown vines, does not deteriorate further. Zoo staff have cleared debris, begun removing the plant growth and mowed the lawn and plan to fix the roof, Vasa said.

But concerns are growing among neighborhood residents about not only the house's appearance, but its significance.

"The house has already received historic designation," noted Dr. Eileen Crawford, a historian who serves on the ad hoc committee of zoo neighbors. "It needs to be not only restored but used in some meaningful manner so the citizens of the District of Columbia can understand its importance."

Becker often refers to the Holt House as the "overseer's house." He calls attention to a 1967 letter from the National Zoo stating, "Remnants of the old slave quarters are still in the basement -- with bunks 18 inches wide -- but they are now inaccessible."

However, he has found no other records to support this statement.

"It's generally believed" that there are slave quarters in the basement of the Holt House, said Gretchen Ellsworth, who worked for the Smithsonian Institution for 20 years and the zoo for six.

"I remember being toured through there and it was pointed out to me ... little spaces in the basement," she recalls. "That doesn't say what kind of use they were put to."

Ellsworth remembers seeing what looked like cubicles, but says they did not look to her like bunks. "They're quite small; they would be unbearable," she said.

A now-retired historian, Ellsworth said she is skeptical of legends such as this one. But she allowed there may be some truth to the story.

Another doubter is retired D.C. archivist Phil Ogilvie, who said it is unlikely a farmer of that era would keep slaves in the basement. He would more reasonably bunk them in the attic while using the basement for storage, Ogilvie said.

The existence of a slave burial ground is also a matter of some dispute.

Paul E. Sluby, a genealogist and historian, said his records indicate it is likely that hundreds of African Americans are still buried in the area where the city park meets the National Zoo. An excavation in 1940 made 390 openings and found 129 bodies, which were moved to Woodlawn Cemetery.

However, D.C. Health Commission records list hundreds of interments annually from the 1870s to 1889.

"That's a lot of people, and they're probably still up there," Sluby said. "We know from the (health) commission they had more interments than 390 in one year alone."

In addition, the contents of the Free Young Men's Burial Ground, dating to the slave period, were moved from the northern block of 1200 V St. NW to this location, known as the Colored Union Benevolent Cemetery, Mount Pleasant Cemetery or Young Men's Baptist Cemetery.

Sluby said various records locate it "at the head of Reedy Branch," at the old Adams Mill Road (now the zoo's "Blue Road") and 20th Street, and at Adams Mill and Calvert Street.

But the only evidence Sluby has found that slaves are buried there is an old newspaper article.

"There's no exacting evidence to indicate it was a slave burial ground," he said. "That's the problem. I don't know if I would put this kind of importance on it."

Ogilvie postulated that people have jumped to the conclusion that "black burial ground" equals "slave burial ground." He also questioned the validity of 50-year-old news articles.

Ellsworth, the former zoo employee, said a similar archaeological record search at Kalorama Park produced scant information. "It's really hard to find, especially in the case of slaves," she said.

Becker and other concerned residents are proceeding with their own research and waiting to see what the Smithsonian inquiry will reveal. The site, they argued, could serve as an educational resource for the people of Washington, D.C.

"I think it's the zoo's responsibility, especially with its association to the Smithsonian Institution, that before any further land development occurs there needs to be a complete historical review of the property," said Adams Morgan advisory neighborhood commissioner Todd Mosley.

The commission has urged the Smithsonian to restore and protect the area, as has Ward 1 Council member Frank Smith. Mosley suggested the zoo or the city could install a marker or plaque to commemorate the cemetery.

"It could be a place of reverence and quiet where you could reflect on the people who are now part of the earth again," he said.

The Current is a local weekly newspaper. Including the Rock Creek Current, the North West Current and the Georgetown Current , 5125 MacArthur Blvd. NW Suite 18, Washington, DC 20016. 202/244-7223 e-mail current@erols.com.