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    Meet the man who defied George Washington
     
     
    The "Obstinate" Mr. Burns
    When George Burns refused to give up his land to the D.C. city planners, it sparked a long feud with President George Washington.
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    Reagan Assassination Attempt
     
     
    March 1981: The Tourist From Hell
    On March 30, 1981, a visitor arrived in Washington, on a mission to assassinate President Ronald Reagan.
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    Baseball Legends
     
     
    Washington's "One Legged War Hero"
    Despite losing his right leg in WWII, Bert Shepard defied the odds and played for the Washington Senators in 1945, becoming a local hero.
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    Prince William Forest Park
     
     
    Secrets in the Forest
    Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to begin your training as a World War II spy in the forests of Prince William County, Virginia.
DC
"Say your say, do your thing, stand up and be counted": The First National Black Deaf Advocates Conference

"Say your say, do your thing, stand up and be counted": The First National Black Deaf Advocates Conference

11/04/2022 in DC by Emma O'Neill-Dietel

In June 1981, Black Deaf leaders gathered in Washington to sew the seeds of an organization that would have a profound impact on the Black Deaf community. After centuries of exclusion in both Black and Deaf spaces, organizers came together to make a space of their own. With goals to educate, empower, and strengthen the community, this conference led a call for Black inclusion and leadership in Deaf organizations locally and nationally.

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DC
The Flight and Flop of Washington's Rival Civil War Balloonists

The Flight and Flop of Washington's Rival Civil War Balloonists

10/28/2022 in DC by Emma Tanner

Military leadership, including President Lincoln, saw the potential of military balloons, and the public believed they would change the landscape of the Civil War, aiding the Union’s eventual success. Only two years later though, what would be known as the “Balloon Corps” would be dissolved. So, what ended the use of this promising and successful aerial endeavor?

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DC
The First Sushi Spot in Washington, D.C.

The First Sushi Spot in Washington, D.C.

10/21/2022 in DC by Karis Lee

When Japanese immigrant Kojiro Inoue first moved to the Washington area in 1971, D.C. had some Japanese restaurants but couldn’t boast of any that offered sushi. It was for good reason—hardly anyone seemed interested in the idea of eating raw fish. “Sushi wasn’t popular,” explained Inoue to The Washington Post years later. So when Inoue decided to start a small sushi bar within Sakura Place, a Japanese restaurant in Silver Spring, the endeavor wasn’t without its risks. However, Inoue saw potential.

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DC
Game, Set, Match: How Arthur Ashe Made Tennis Accessible in Washington

Game, Set, Match: How Arthur Ashe Made Tennis Accessible in Washington

10/14/2022 in DC by Emma Tanner

In the 1960s, Arthur Ashe paid a visit to inner-city Washington to participate in a “block party” tennis demonstration. The experience left a lasting impact on him. He would return to Washington and, with the help of friends, create a professional tournament in D.C. which would make the sport more accessible to inner-city African Americans.

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DC
Ford's Theatre's Forgotten Tragedy

Ford's Theatre's Forgotten Tragedy

10/07/2022 in DC by Emma O'Neill-Dietel

Ford’s Theatre is remembered today as the site of a national tragedy that changed the course of American history, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. However, just 28 years later, a second tragedy occurred there that claimed 22 lives and injured many more.

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DC
Ethel Payne: First Lady of the Black Press

Ethel Payne: First Lady of the Black Press

09/30/2022 in DC by Jenna Furtado

One of just two Black women in the White House Press Corps during the 1950s and 1960s, Ethel Payne repeatedly demonstrated her determination to deliver the truth to her readers -- informed by her experience. Responding the criticism that she should be more objective, Payne responded, “I stick to my firm, unshakeable belief that the black press is an advocacy press, and that I, as a part of that press, can’t afford the luxury of being unbiased…when it comes to issues that really affect my people, and I plead guilty, because I think that I am an instrument of change.” 

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Maryland
How the B&O Railroad Almost Gave Kensington, Maryland its Name

How the B&O Railroad Almost Gave Kensington, Maryland its Name

09/23/2022 in Maryland by Katherine Brodt

Kensington, Maryland boasts the second-oldest continuously operational railroad station in the country, serving D.C. commuters since 1891. In 1894, as the area started to grow as a commuter suburb, "Knowles Station" was set to be officially incorporated as a town in Maryland... until a man named Brainard Warner pushed back.

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Maryland
Turkey Tayac's Fight for the Piscataway People

Turkey Tayac's Fight for the Piscataway People

08/24/2022 in Maryland by Meaghan Kacmarcik

For years, Turkey Tayac fought almost singlehandedly for the rights and recognition of his Native American group, the Piscataways. In the 1950s, he found some unlikely allies and successfully fended off an effort to build high rise apartments on sacred Piscataway lands in southern Maryland. A few years later, he helped convince the National Park Service to preserve the land for posterity. It was a remarkable achievement, and Turkey Tayac's work for inclusion would continue, even after his death.

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DC
The Perils of Pandemic and War: Spanish Flu Brings D.C. to its Knees

The Perils of Pandemic and War: Spanish Flu Brings D.C. to its Knees

08/15/2022 in DC by Meaghan Kacmarcik

It was the start of October and the dog days of summer in the nation’s capital had officially come to an end. The crisp autumn air, a relief to most Washingtonians in years past, was an ominous foreshadowing of the days and weeks to come. There would be no more open windows in homes, streetcars, or workplaces for the foreseeable future. With an invisible killer hanging in the air, Washington would soon find itself in crisis — and transplanted war workers bore the brunt of it.

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DC
Mighty Yet Stubby: A Four-Legged War Hero Takes D.C. By Storm

Mighty Yet Stubby: A Four-Legged War Hero Takes D.C. By Storm

08/09/2022 in DC by Meaghan Kacmarcik

Stubby, the World War I war dog looms large in animal and American military history. By no means a professionally trained canine, Stubby was smuggled from Connecticut to France where he first served in a morale position. He took on a greater role as he got used to warfare, aiding the troops any way he could. When he came back to America, he became a celebrity, especially in Washington, DC.  

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