It is not at all in my mind to write a
history of Georgetown. Several have been
written, but I do want, very, very much, to
paint a portrait of this dear old town of my
birth where my parents, my grandparents,
great-grandfathers and one
great-great-grandfather lived, and which I
love so dearly.
A portrait, partly of its physical features,
its streets, its houses and gardens, some of
which still exist in their pristine glory
but, alas, many of which have gone the way
of so-called progress. In place of the
dignified houses of yore, of real
architectural beauty, stand rows of cheap
dwellings or stores, erected mostly in the
seventies and eighties when architecture was
at its worst. In 1895 it was that the old
names of the streets were taken away and
from then on we've been just an adjunct of
Washington.
Not
only of its physical side do I wish to tell,
but I want to paint a picture of the kind of
people who lived here, from the beginning up
through the gay nineties--nearly one hundred
and fifty years. Of the kind of things they
did, their work, their play, their thoughts
and their beliefs, for the character of the
town, like human beings, was formed largely
by their beliefs, and these old
Scotsmen--for they were greatly in the
majority--laid a great deal of stress on
their Presbyterian form of Christianity.
Witness the oath that had to be taken by the
Flour Inspector on February 24, 1772: "I,
Thomas Brannan, do declare that I do believe
that there is not any unsubstantiation in
the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper or in the
elements of bread and wine, at or after the
consecration thereof by any person
whatsoever."
And yet, with this strong prejudice, they
cooperated and lived on friendly terms with
the Roman Catholics who, very soon after the
taking of this particular oath, founded
their college and established their convent
for teaching young girls.
All
down through the years and to this day I
think that has been the hall-mark of the
real Georgetonian. A great deal of fashion
has come to Georgetown, as in the early days
of the bringing of the government when
Washington City was a waste and almost
entirely one big mud puddle, and the foreign
ministers and many high in our government
sought the comfort and dignity of this town,
which was then far from young.
Again in later years there has been an
exodus across Rock Creek of men and women
high in the government; in the diplomatic
corps; in industry; in literature and the
arts; lured hither by the quiet dignity of
the old-time atmosphere.
There are today living in Georgetown
descendants of nearly every one of the
original makers of the town, and all through
these years the old friendships still
persist and flourish.
Grace Glasgow Dunlop Ecker
Notes about the book:
Source: Peter, Grace Dunlop. A Portrait of Old George Town. Richmond, Dietz Press, 1951.
Online Publication: This book was scanned, ocr'd and thoroughly checked for errors.