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What's in a Name? Georgetown

What's in a Name? Georgetown

07/20/2020 in DC by Katherine Brodt

Who was Georgetown named for? There are actually a few candidates. As it turns out, you’ll find a lot of Georges in this D.C. neighborhood’s history.

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Maryland
"Belair at Bowie": the Suburban Dream

"Belair at Bowie": the Suburban Dream

06/12/2020 in Maryland by Katherine Brodt

William Levitt is often called the "Father of Suburbia," after his planned communities became popular in post-war New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. When he finally came to the D.C. area, his modern and afforable homes took Washingtonians by storm.

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Maryland
"Belair at Bowie": Segregated Suburbia

"Belair at Bowie": Segregated Suburbia

06/12/2020 in Maryland by Katherine Brodt

By 1963, “Belair at Bowie” was thriving. Since its opening in 1961, over 2,000 houses were occupied. But its prosperity hid an uncomfortable truth. William Levitt’s vision of the perfect neighborhood included attractive homes, affordable prices, comfort, and community — but only one type of neighbor. From the moment Levitt arrived in Washington, local activists — and even the government — became aware of the developer’s racist policy: none of the homes in Belair could be sold to people of color.  

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Maryland
"Not Fiction, but Fact": Josiah Henson and the Real Uncle Tom's Cabin

"Not Fiction, but Fact": Josiah Henson and the Real Uncle Tom's Cabin

02/25/2020 in Maryland by Katherine Brodt

Josiah Henson is not a well-known name in American history—or even in the Washington area, where he was enslaved for many years. Born into bondage in Maryland, he lived in Montgomery County before eventually escaping to Canada—there, he served in the army, became a preacher, and established a prosperous settlement for escaped slaves. He was immortalized in Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, serving as the inspiration for the titular character. But though the novel made him a well-known and popular figure in the nineteenth century, Henson was determined to tell his own story. As he says, the truth is stranger than fiction. 

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DC
L'Enfant's Guide to Getting Fired

L'Enfant's Guide to Getting Fired

08/02/2019 in DC by Lori Wysong

It takes a lot of talent to design a city, especially one with such sweeping vistas and wide, radial streets as our Nation’s Capital.  It’s hard not to admire the vision of Major Pierre Charles L’Enfant, the engineer behind Washington, D.C. But everybody makes mistakes—even visionaries— and L’Enfant was certainly no exception.

His biggest blunder was probably tearing down the house of his boss’s nephew. 

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DC
Maryland was almost "Almost Heaven"

Maryland was almost "Almost Heaven"

07/18/2019 in DC by Lori Wysong

In the summer of 1970, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert were driving down Clopper Road to a family reunion in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Montgomery County was a much more rural place in those days, and the scenery inspired Danoff to repetitively sing “country roads, country roads, country roads.” 

Under normal circumstances, this burst of creativity might have gone nowhere, but the couple happened to be a duo of professional musicians. So, with the help of John Denver, they soon turned the phrase into the earworm we know today. 

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Maryland
Goddard Signals Apollo 11 Success

Goddard Signals Apollo 11 Success

07/08/2019 in Maryland by Emily Robinson

When Neil Armstrong announced that man had successfully landed on the moon’s surface July 20, 1969, he addressed his message to mission control, based at the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas. While Armstrong’s first word may have been “Houston,” those at mission control in Texas were not actually the first ones to hear this historic message from space. Rather, the first people to hear of man landing on the moon, were NASA personnel at the Goddard Space Center, just 12 miles from D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland. Goddard served as the main control center for receiving and directing signals and information between the manned Apollo 11 spacecraft and mission control in Houston. In fact, much of the technical success and amazement surrounding the Apollo 11 moon landing was thanks to the hard work of the scientists and engineers in Greenbelt.

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DC
L'Enfant's Funeral: An Honor 84 Years Overdue

L'Enfant's Funeral: An Honor 84 Years Overdue

06/25/2019 in DC by Lori Wysong

On April 28, 1909, a funeral procession nearly a mile long paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue and M Street, complete with fine carriages and a military escort. Throughout Washington, D.C., flags were displayed at half mast, spectators lined the streets, and school children were allowed a break from their studies to glimpse out the window and see it pass by. The man they were there to honor was Major Pierre Charles L’Enfant… who died in 1825.

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DC
When D.C. Faced a Typhoid Epidemic

When D.C. Faced a Typhoid Epidemic

06/19/2019 in DC by Lori Wysong

Ever wondered what those giant concrete cylinders lined up along Michigan Avenue are? Well, if you lived in D.C. at the turn of the twentieth century, they  might have saved your life.  

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DC
'Simply and literally stunning': Washington Reacts to the D-Day Invasion

'Simply and literally stunning': Washington Reacts to the D-Day Invasion

06/06/2019 in DC by Hannah Schuster

By mid 1944, Washingtonians had known for some time that a major invasion of Europe was in store. But when news of D-Day came on June 6, 1944, it was still a sobering event. The city reacted with a combination of pause and activity.

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Latest Posts

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From the Mixed-Up Files of the Smithsonian Museum of American History: The Heist of 1981

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The "Capitalsaurus": How a Dinosaur That Never Existed Became an Official Mascot of D.C.

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"¡Tirarlo a la calle!": D.C.'s Latino Festival of 1971

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"¡Tirarlo a la calle!": D.C.'s Latino Festival of 1971

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

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

Jousting Over Maryland's State Sport

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Boundary Stones explores local history in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. This project is a service of WETA and is supported by contributions from readers like you.

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