History

Mentions of Brookland in the Evening Star, October 31 – November 6, 1926. Searched for Brookland, "Brookland Citizens", "Catholic University".

Clips are machine-read text (OCR) from scanned Evening Star pages on the Library of Congress's Chronicling America, lightly cleaned (line-break hyphens rejoined, stray symbols removed); misspellings are the scanner's. Newspapers this old are public domain. Each clip links to its page at loc.gov. Clips that mention race, covenants, deed restrictions or slurs are skipped automatically (keyword list: race, races, racial, colored, coloured, negro, negroes, white only, whites only, for whites, white people, white persons, white residents, caucasian, segregation, segregated, covenant, covenants, restricted, restriction, restrictions, plus a list of slurs), because they need an editor's context; legal notices and lists of private individuals are skipped too.

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  Franciscan Monastery · [between 1909 and 1919]Monastery, Brookland, D.C.
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  Brookland · [between 1910 and 1935]Grotto, Brookland, [Washington, D.C.]
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  St. Anthony's Church · [between 1909 and 1919]St. Anthony's Church, Brookland, [D.C.]
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  Catholic University · [between 1909 and 1919]Albert Hall, Catholic University, Brookland, D.C.
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  Catholic University · [between 1910 and 1926]Catholic University, [Washington, D.C.], main bldg.
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  National Shrine · [1920]Cornerstone laying, national shrine of the Immaculate Conception
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  National Shrine · 7/9/1959 [9 July1959][The National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception under construction, Washington, D.C.]

Photographs from the Library of Congress (National Photo Company Collection; U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection), each with no known restrictions on publication or in the public domain, per the Library. Titles are the Library's, written when the photos were catalogued; some use the language of their time. Each links to its record.

12th Street NEby 1901

A 1901 Washington Post story cited by Bygone Brookland says 12th Street was originally Duncan Street, while 9th was Queen, 10th Wallace, 13th Burns and 14th Argyle. Maps of the period disagreed: a 1903 Baist atlas shows an 11th Street and no 9th.

Earlier: Duncan StreetSource: Meet Me on the Corner of Lansing and Argyle (Bygone Brookland)

Brooklandlate 1880s (first subdivision 1887)

Honors: Colonel Jehiel Brooks, lawyer and War of 1812 veteran

Jehiel Brooks, a lawyer, War of 1812 veteran and treaty negotiator under Andrew Jackson, married into the Queen family's land. After his death in 1886 the estate was sold and subdivided, and developers named the new suburb Brookland. The B&O railroad's Brooks Station had already opened beside the farm.

Sources: Behind the Name: Brookland (DCist, 2011) · Brookland (Washington, D.C.) - Wikipedia · Meet Me on the Corner of Lansing and Argyle (Bygone Brookland)

Brooks Mansion (901 Newton Street NE)1836-1840

Honors: Jehiel Brooks, whose estate became Brookland

The Greek Revival house Jehiel Brooks and his wife, Ann Margaret Queen, built between 1836 and 1840 and called Bellair. It was the seat of the estate later subdivided as Brookland, became a DC landmark in 1975, and is owned by the District, housing its government-access TV channel.

Earlier: BellairSources: Behind the Name: Brookland (DCist, 2011) · Brooks Mansion - Wikipedia · Brookland (Washington, D.C.) - Wikipedia

Fort Bunker Hill Park1861

Honors: The Revolutionary War fortification at Bunker Hill, Massachusetts

Built in fall 1861 by the 11th Massachusetts Infantry and named for the Revolutionary fortification at Bunker Hill. It held 13 guns and mortars on the northern defenses, between Forts Totten and Slemmer to the west and Saratoga, Thayer and Lincoln to the east. Little of it remains.

Source: Fort Bunker Hill (National Park Service)

Fort Slemmer (Fort Slemmer Drive NE)1861

Honors: Lieutenant Adam J. Slemmer, U.S. Army

A Civil War earthwork built in August 1861 between Forts Totten and Bunker Hill, on the east side of Harewood Road just north of what is now Catholic University's Marist Hall. It was named in honor of Lieutenant Adam J. Slemmer. Unlike most of the ring of forts, very little of it survives.

Source: Fort Slemmer - Wikipedia

Hawaii Avenue NE1939

Honors: Hawaii, then a U.S. territory

A short residential avenue from North Capitol Street to Taylor Street NE along Catholic University's athletic fields, and one of the few state-named roadways that meets no other. It was built in 1939 after a request from Hawaii's territorial delegate, Samuel W. King.

Source: List of state-named roadways in Washington, D.C. - Wikipedia

Irving Street NE1901-1905 renaming

Irving had three names before this one. The 1887 plat of the first Brookland subdivision used tree names; Bygone Brookland traces this street through Cedar, Hartford and Concord before the District's renaming, begun in 1901, gave east-west streets north of Florida Avenue alphabetical names. No source consulted says whom the current name honors.

Earlier: Cedar Street, Hartford Street, Concord StreetSource: Meet Me on the Corner of Lansing and Argyle (Bygone Brookland)

Jackson Street NE1901-1905 renaming

Jackson had three names before this one. The 1887 plat of the first Brookland subdivision used tree names; Bygone Brookland traces this street through Walnut, Indianapolis and Dover before the District's renaming, begun in 1901, gave east-west streets north of Florida Avenue alphabetical names. No source consulted says whom the current name honors.

Earlier: Walnut Street, Indianapolis Street, Dover StreetSource: Meet Me on the Corner of Lansing and Argyle (Bygone Brookland)

Kearny Street NE1901-1905 renaming

Kearny had three names before this one. The 1887 plat of the first Brookland subdivision used tree names; Bygone Brookland traces this street through Pine, Joliet and Frankfort before the District's renaming, begun in 1901, gave east-west streets north of Florida Avenue alphabetical names. No source consulted says whom the current name honors.

Earlier: Pine Street, Joliet Street, Frankfort StreetSource: Meet Me on the Corner of Lansing and Argyle (Bygone Brookland)

Lawrence Street NE1901-1905 renaming

Its name on the 1887 Brookland plat is unreadable; Bygone Brookland says it was then Keokuk and Hartford before becoming Lawrence in the District's post-1901 renaming. Hartford was also an interim name for today's Irving Street, a sign of how muddled early Brookland names were. No source consulted says whom Lawrence honors.

Earlier: Keokuk Street, Hartford StreetSource: Meet Me on the Corner of Lansing and Argyle (Bygone Brookland)

Michigan Avenue NE

Honors: State of Michigan

A state-named avenue that winds through Brookland past hospitals and colleges and becomes Queens Chapel Road at the Maryland line. Wikipedia's list of state-named roadways says it was formerly Bunker Hill Road, after nearby Fort Bunker Hill.

Earlier: Bunker Hill RoadSource: List of state-named roadways in Washington, D.C. - Wikipedia

Monroe Street NE1901-1905 renaming

Brookland's Monroe Street started as Elm Street. The 1887 plat of the first Brookland subdivision used tree names; Bygone Brookland traces this street through Elm, Lowell and Lansing before the District's renaming, begun in 1901, gave east-west streets north of Florida Avenue alphabetical names. No source consulted says whom the current name honors.

Earlier: Elm Street, Lowell Street, Lansing StreetSource: Meet Me on the Corner of Lansing and Argyle (Bygone Brookland)

Newton Street NE1901-1905 renaming

Brooks Mansion stands on this street. The 1887 plat of the first Brookland subdivision used tree names; Bygone Brookland traces this street through Laurel, Milwaukee and Providence before the District's renaming, begun in 1901, gave east-west streets north of Florida Avenue alphabetical names. No source consulted says whom the current name honors.

Earlier: Laurel Street, Milwaukee Street, Providence StreetSource: Meet Me on the Corner of Lansing and Argyle (Bygone Brookland)

Otis Street NE1901-1905 renaming

Otis had three names before this one. The 1887 plat of the first Brookland subdivision used tree names; Bygone Brookland traces this street through Linden, Newark and Fort before the District's renaming, begun in 1901, gave east-west streets north of Florida Avenue alphabetical names. No source consulted says whom the current name honors.

Earlier: Linden Street, Newark Street, Fort StreetSource: Meet Me on the Corner of Lansing and Argyle (Bygone Brookland)

Queens Chapel Road NEcolonial era

Honors: Queen's Chapel, the Catholic chapel on the Queen family's colonial estate

The old road to Queen's Chapel, a Catholic chapel on the Queen family estate near today's 20th and Evarts Streets NE. It ran from the Hyattsville area to Bladensburg Road, and today's 18th Street, Brookland's original eastern edge, was once part of it. The chapel burned more than once; its site lies under Evarts Street and Langdon Elementary.

Sources: Just Where was Queen's Chapel? (Bygone Brookland) · List of state-named roadways in Washington, D.C. - Wikipedia

Sister Thea Bowman Drive NE2022

Honors: Sister Thea Bowman, Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration

A Catholic University campus street beside the Columbus School of Law, dedicated and blessed on April 29, 2022, by Cardinal Wilton Gregory with Mayor Muriel Bowser. Bowman, the first African American member of her order, died in 1990 and is a candidate for sainthood.

Source: Catholic University names street in honor of Sister Thea Bowman (Catholic Standard, 2022)

Still looking for a reliable source on Brentwood Road NE, Bunker Hill Road NE, Channing Place NE, Douglas Street NE, Edgewood Street NE, Evarts Street NE, Franklin Street NE, Girard Street NE, Hamlin Street NE, Harewood Road NE, John McCormack Road NE, McMahon Circle NE, Perry Street NE, Quincy Street NE, Randolph Street NE, Reed Street NE, Shepherd Street NE, Taylor Street NE, Upshur Street NE, Varnum Street NE. We don't publish a name's story until we can cite one. Know it? Tell us.

• Robert Malesky interview, 2023-08-16Robert Malesky · 2023 · audio · remembers the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s

  The author of the Bygone Brookland blog describes coming to DC for Catholic University, his NPR career and how Brookland has changed since 1970. He also shares findings from his research: Black and white migration, the Old Soldiers' Home, transit, land claims older than the Civil War, and highways once proposed through the neighborhood.

  At Dig DC, DC Public Library · Bygone Brookland, Catholic University, neighborhood change, highway plans
• Barbara Currie interview, 2021-08-12Barbara Currie · 2021 · audio · remembers the 1950s, 1960s

  Currie grew up in LeDroit Park and moved with her family to Brookland in 1962, where she had close white friends even as some of their parents discriminated against her. She recalls Slowe Elementary in Brookland, being stranded at Glen Echo Park in 1966, the 1968 protests after King's assassination, and decades as a nurse.

  At Dig DC, DC Public Library (DC Oral History Collaborative) · school integration, interracial friendship, Lucy Diggs Slowe Elementary, 1968
• Felicia Jones interview, 2021-06-28Felicia Jones · 2021 · audio · remembers the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s

  A native Washingtonian who has worked for the Edgewood/Brookland Family Support Collaborative since it began in the late 1990s, and was one of its original employees hired from the Brookland neighborhood, talks about growing up in DC, a stay in North Carolina, and more than 20 years with the organization.

  At Dig DC, DC Public Library (DC Oral History Collaborative) · Edgewood/Brookland Family Support Collaborative, community services
• Carla Perlo interviewCarla Perlo · audio

  The co-founder and longtime director of Dance Place reflects on building it into a presenter, school and community arts center in Ward 5's Brookland/Edgewood area over 40 years, how the DanceAfrica, DC festival fits that history, her legacy, and the future of dance after COVID-19.

  At Dig DC, DC Public Library (DC Oral History Collaborative) · Dance Place, DanceAfrica, DC, arts
• The Brookland Literary And Hunting Club (BLAHC): It's Not What You Think!2018 · remembers the 1940s

  Six interviews recorded in 2018 with the last five members of the Brookland Literary and Hunting Club and one spouse. Nine Black professionals, many tied to Howard University, founded the invitation-only club in Brookland in 1942; for more than 75 years members met monthly to discuss the issues of the day and play poker.

  At Dig DC, DC Public Library (DC Oral History Collaborative) · Brookland Literary and Hunting Club, Black professionals, segregation, poker
• James Butts interview, 2018-04-20James Butts · 2018 · audio

  A longtime social worker whom three DC mayors appointed to run a city department talks about public service, college in segregated Alabama, a Howard University social work degree, work with SNCC and helping found the RFK Foundation. He also stresses the literary side of the Brookland Literary and Hunting Club.

  At Dig DC, DC Public Library (DC Oral History Collaborative) · Brookland Literary and Hunting Club, public service, civil rights
• Walter K. Robinson interview, 2018-04-18Walter K. Robinson · 2018 · audio · remembers the 1940s

  Born in Baltimore in 1920, Robinson recalls leaving Howard University for the Army Air Corps in 1941 and becoming a Tuskegee Airman, a career at the post office in DC, and segregation and desegregation. For decades, the archive notes, the Brookland Literary and Hunting Club was where he went for relaxation and companionship.

  At Dig DC, DC Public Library (DC Oral History Collaborative) · Tuskegee Airmen, Brookland Literary and Hunting Club, segregation
• Jock Banks interview, 2018-06-19Jock Banks · 2018 · audio

  Born in 1953 and one of the club's younger members, Banks, a lawyer and the son of a doctor and a teacher who both played poker, followed his father into the Brookland Literary and Hunting Club. He talks about white flight, the later return of white residents, and the history and decline of the club's poker group.

  At Dig DC, DC Public Library (DC Oral History Collaborative) · Brookland Literary and Hunting Club, white flight, neighborhood change
• BLAHC Reflections: Women Take a Seat at the Table2022

  A 2022 extension of the club's oral history project, created with All Souls Church, records women whose lives touched the men of the Brookland Literary and Hunting Club, which ended in 2019. They tell their own stories, talk about card games as a source of friendship through segregation and the pandemic, and add memories of the club.

  At Dig DC, DC Public Library (DC Oral History Collaborative) · Brookland Literary and Hunting Club, women, segregation, COVID-19

Search the archives yourself: The People's Archive, DC Public Library · Historic Chevy Chase DC Oral History Archive · Humanities Truck Community Archive, American University · Tenleytown Historical Society · Boundary Stones (WETA) · Glover Park History: Oral History and Reminiscences · Cleveland Park Historical Society Oral Histories · Rainbow History Project Digital Collections · hometown DC (DC History Center) · Hola Cultura: Adams Morgan History · Citizens Association of Georgetown · Peabody Room, Georgetown Neighborhood Library (DC Public Library) · Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum Archives: A Right to the City Exhibition Records · Ruth Ann Overbeck Capitol Hill History Project · Mosaic Theater H Street Oral History Project · Library of Congress, Manuscript Division · Anacostia Community Museum Archives (Smithsonian) · Naval History and Heritage Command, Navy Department Library · The Catholic University of America Archives · Bygone Brookland · Dig DC, DC Public Library · hometown DC (HumanitiesDC / Historical Society of Washington, D.C.) · Dig DC, DC Public Library's digital repository · A Right to the City exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum Archives (Smithsonian) · Rainbow History Project Digital Collections · Palisades Community Association · Forest Hills Connection (neighborhood history series) · Foggy Bottom Association History Project: Oral Histories · George Washington University Special Collections Research Center · Woodley Park Community: A Sketch of Our Past · Empower DC: Ivy City · Power of Preserving the Black Deaf Experience (Dig DC) · Gallaudet University Archives. Summaries are ours; the recordings and their rights stay with each archive.

• DC Historic Preservation Office, Historic Data on DC Buildings (HistoryQuest), CC BY 4.0
• Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), Chronicling America, Library of Congress; public domain

History data refreshed Nov 2.