In addition to the below posted Tuesday and Thursday hours, the Peabody Room is open the first Satur
Named in honor of 19th century merchant, banker & philanthropist George Peabody (1795-1869), the Peabody Room is a special collections of Georgetown neighborhood history. Established in 1935, the collection houses books, photographs, maps, manuscripts, newspapers, artwork, and artifacts documenting Georgetown's two and a half centuries.
Operating as usual
Daily National Intelligencer
January 11, 1823
To learn more about Mr. Parrott's connection to Georgetown, click on https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=68712 and https://georgetownmetropolitan.com/2015/09/25/now-and-a-long-time-ago-montrose/.
Georgetown Courier
January 11, 1873
Unfortunately, Mr. Cassin's entry in https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45172191/william-deakins-cassin does not include Mittie (July 21, 1869 - January 10, 1873) and another daughter who died young, Nannie (April 13, 1860 -September 2, 1861). Internment information for these two little girls was derived from Wesley E. Pippenger's indispensable work https://tinyurl.com/h9khzrs7.
Where else can you see a late 1960s autographed 8 x 10 glossy of Robert Redford (made out to the Biograph Theater) displayed next to a 1757 deed from George Beall bequeathing 1,380 acres extending from upper Georgetown to Tenleytown to his son (Beall was a co-owner of the land that became Georgetown)?
Why, at the Peabody Room of course!
See these and lots of other treasures tomorrow, Saturday, January 7th, from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Third floor, Georgetown Neighborhood Library, 3260 R Street, NW.
So, have you?
Jerry McCoy's curatorial work and story-telling and the remarkable history of Georgetown on display, make the Peabody Room a must-visit...
Happy 2023!
What would you like to see more of from the pages of the 1822 Intelligencer and the 1922 Star?
The Georgetown Courier
December 28, 1872
Daily National Intelligencer
December 27, 1822
A favorite of genealogists and researchers of local DC history, the announcement of the first publication of a Washington city directory appeared 200 years ago today. The 148-page directory sold for $1.00 (about $25.50 today).
A facsimile edition was published in 1938 by R. L. Polk & Co. (city directories publisher). While DCPL special collections has numerous copies of this edition, it does not house a copy of the original imprint.
A useful list of all individuals that appear in the directory may be viewed at http://www.theusgenweb.org/dcgenweb/geography/dc_people_1822.shtml
Has anyone ever seen the 1822 edition?
Merry Christmas to you non-resident property owners!
(First of four full pages listing taxes due.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/interactive/2022/2022-dc-trivia/
The 2022 Fiendishly Difficult Washington Trivia Quiz
https://peabodyhistorical.org/2020/12/was-george-peabody-the-inspiration-for-scrooge/
Let's dig into this historical Christmas rumor. Head to our Blog for more.
Georgetown Courier
December 23, 1872
This confectionery was located on the north side of M Street between 31st and Wisconsin Avenue.
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As bad as DC rats are now, they used to be worse — in the mid 1960s, there were more rats living in Washington, DC than there were people! The problem was pa...
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The Independent is an important voice in the community of readers and writers dedicated to book reviews and writing about the world of books.
Elf and friend are here at the Peabody Room!
When are you going to visit?
Open today until 6:00 pm and Thursday from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm
The Georgetown Courier
November 30, 1872
First Street is the section of today's N Street located on the west side of Wisconsin Avenue (High Street). Wanting to know more about "Mr. Welch" who owned the referenced mansion, a quick consultation of the 1872 Boyd's Washington, DC Directory indicated that a James S. Welch lived at 29 1st Street. Welch was co-owner along with Abraham H. Herr of Herr & Welch, a flour milling operation that was located at Potomac and Grace Street.
No wonder he lived in a mansion!
Knowing that 29 1st Street, if extant, was located on the south side of N between Wisconsin and Potomac, a quick survey of https://tinyurl.com/5n8b9suu narrowed down the only possibility of Mr. Welch's mansion being 3248 N Street. Originally constructed in 1808 as a two-story brick house for Walter Smith, a third floor topped by a mansard roof was later added to the structure.
With a current address in hand, the Peabody Room's house file for 3248 N was pulled and confirmed Mr. Welch's residency. In 1888 the mansion became The Baptist Home for Aged & Retired Persons and served in that capacity until it was sold in 1962. Today the property is a 7-unit condominium.
Mr. Welch is interred in an unmarked grave at Georgetown's Oak Hill Cemetery. Visit https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35519595/james-sylvester-welch .
To peruse the 1872 or other DC city directory years, use your DCPL library card at https://www.dclibrary.org/ancestry
A very small collection titled "Labor Contract and Inventory of Enslaved Persons in Georgetown" has recently been added to DigDC. This collection consists of two manuscripts that document the existence and work of enslaved people and free laborers in Georgetown in the early 1800s. The manuscripts include a contract for the labor of an unnamed enslaved man; and a log of enslaved people and free laborers.
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Alan Rubin (1936-2022), Founder of the Biograph Theater - The Georgetowner
Alan Rubin, founder of the Biograph, a landmark M Street repertory theater, died of complications from Parkinson's...
George Peabody mentioned in the New York Times!
The Amazon founder, estimated to be worth $124 billion, suggested in an interview on CNN that he would donate most of his money to charity in his lifetime, the first time he had made such a pledge.
He was a geologist before discovering art house movie theaters in San Francisco. With friends, he opened one in Georgetown.
The Georgetown Courier
November 9, 1872
The corner of Beall and Greene is today O and 29th Street
Reminder: Daylight saving time ends tomorrow at 2:00 am, so don’t forget to "fall back" and set your clocks back one hour!
In honor of today's 125th anniversary of the opening of the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress, stop into the Peabody Room this week and received a free vintage postcard!
Open Tuesday till 6:00, Thursday 12-7, and Saturday from 10-1 and 3-6.
(Postcard giveaway courtesy of Jerry A. McCoy!)
In October and November 1972, scenes for the movie, The Exorcist, were filmed at sites on or close to the Georgetown University campus. The Quadrangle, Dahlgren Chapel, Healy Hall, Old North, Kehoe Field, the Lauinger Library steps, and the “Exorcist Steps” (74 stone steps offering a convenient ...
Happy Halloween!
Good 2013 article on author William Peter Blatty in the WaPo at http://tinyurl.com/k8tgab6 .
Georgetown Courier
October 26, 1872
Update on the raising of the 1865 Georgetown Market. Seven thousand dollars is equal to about $164,000 today.
Tending to the dead: Meet the man who lives at DC’s Oak Hill Cemetery - WTOP News
This spooky season, WTOP’s DMV Download got the scoop on cemeteries from a man who lives on the grounds of one in D.C.
The Georgetown Courier
October 19, 1872
(Surprised to learn that the 1865 Georgetown Market was raised two feet!)
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Dear Friends,
Please join us for a celebration!
We are so happy to announce that the armillary sphere at the Entrance Ellipse in Montrose Park is ready to be reinstalled! Please join us on Sunday, October 23rd from 3 to 5 pm. We will celebrate the return of the sphere and honor Sarah Louisa Rittenhouse in whose memory the sphere was originally erected and who was the driving force behind the creation of Montrose Park.
And our next Volunteer Day will be Saturday, October 29, 9:30 am to 12 noon. Hope to see you!
Thank you so much,
Georgina Owen Horsey
President, Friends of Montrose Park
Friends of Montrose Park is an official partner of the National Park Service, supporting Rock Creek Park through its SOLVE (Sustaining Our Lands with Volunteer Energy) stewardship program.
The Evening Star
October 13, 1922
(Does anyone know if current owner PNC Bank has plans to celebrate the structure's 100th anniversary?)
The Evening Star
October 12, 1922
The Sunday Star & The Washington Daily News
October 1, 1972
Happy !
This menu is from the Hamilton Arms Coffee House, located at 1232 31st Street, NW in Georgetown from 1939 to 1957. The staining at the top wasn't the result of spilled coffee but was due to water damage from the 2007 Georgetown Neighborhood Library fire!
Today the Peabody Room was visited by Sue Hyde Dodge Casner and her brother, Charles Tyler Dodge, GGG Grandchildren of Francis Dodge, Sr. (the man in the portrait behind them). The siblings are holding a group photograph of Mr. Dodge's six sons that was taken March 3, 1877 at the studio of C. M. Bell, 459/461 Pennsylvania Avenue (the day before the presidential inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes).
Dodge, Sr. fathered eleven children. Ten of them are interred at Georgetown's Oak Hill Cemetery!
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38696798/francis-dodge
In light of the fact that this painting turned 50 years old this year, I thought I'd try again to see if anyone might know who the artist is. Thank you!
George is here!
3260 R Street NW, 3RD FLOOR
Washington D.C., DC
20007
| Tuesday | 10am - 6pm |
| Thursday | 1pm - 7pm |
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Stay cool and safe this holiday weekend!
The Peabody Room is pleased to unveil its latest acquisition! This “Regulator No. 4” pendulum wall clock was manufactured by the Sessions Clock Company of Forestville, Connecticut. It was purchased by Joseph Clinton Tribby (1875-1953), owner of J. Clinton Tribby, Jeweler and Optician, located at 3115 M Street NW, between 1910 and 1928. Tribby’s father, Charles Ellsworth Tribby, founded the business in 1864 at 512 7th Street (in today’s NW quadrant). By 1875 Charles Tribby had relocated to Georgetown at 120 Bridge Street (north side of today’s 3100 block of M Street NW). In 1940, 3111-3119 M Street was demolished with J. Clinton Tribby having prior relocated next door to 3123 M Street. Long known as “the Tiffany’s of DC,” this landmark Georgetown business remained in operation until 1977. If you patronized Tribby's or have materials related to this business or the Tribby family, please let us know in the comments! Acquisition of the clock is courtesy of The Samuel M. Levy Family Foundation.
Happening now.
Georgetown's first snow of 2014!
Istituto Italiano di Cultura Washington
Whitehaven Street NWEmbassy of Brazil in Washington, DC
Massachusetts Avenue NWEmbassy of Türkiye, Washington D.C.
Massachusetts Avenue NW
Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission
Library of Congress/Adams
Department of Energy & Environment
1st Street NE
Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
G Street NW
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Pennsylvania Avenue NW
United States Conference of Mayors
I Street Nw 4th Floor
Washington Metropolitan Police Dept.
Indiana Avenue NW
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
I Street SE
Millennium Challenge Corporation - MCC
14th Street NW
House Committee on Education and Labor Republ
Rayburn House Office