special thanks to Lord Mayor Colm Kelleher, Deputy Lord Mayor Mary Rose Desmond & Douglassonians from Cork, Ireland for visiting Capitol Hill & Old Anacostia (photos)

With a temperamental sky above, yesterday a delegation of Douglassonians from Cork, Ireland walked over brick sidewalks and stepped over blue stone curbs following in the historic pathways of Frederick Douglass from Capitol Hill to Old Anacostia

During the abridged walking tours of Capitol Hill and Historic Anacostia new historical research on the connections, associations and relationships of Frederick Douglass and the Irish community of Washington City was shared and discussed.

Of special note, the owner of 318 A Street NE kindly welcomed the delegation of a half-dozen into his private home, adorned with a painting and quotes of Frederick Douglass. In Old Anacostia the Lord Mayor of Cork visited the oldest corner store in the city.

All in all it was a wonderful afternoon of historic fellowship summoning the historic spirit of friendly sentiment and hospitality between Frederick Douglass and Ireland.

Special thanks to Deputy Lord Mayor Mary Rose Desmond, Cork City Councilmember Derry Canty, Kristin Leary and Alma Murnane.

JM / LHA

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Lord Mayor of Cork, Ireland is kindly welcomed into the interior of the former Frederick Douglass family home at 318 A Street NE.

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Lord Mayor of Cork, Ireland stops by the oldest corner store in Old Anacostia to support local business.

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An international Douglassonian delegation from Cork, Ireland walks in Lincoln Park (Emancipation Park) in Washington, D.C.

Frederick Douglass took care of “All money orders and letters on business” for launch of The Commoner

DC Public Library, Washingtoniana Division

“ALL money orders and letters on business must be directed to the editor of THE COMMONER, 316 A street northeast, care of Hon. Frederick Douglass, until further notice.”

 

SOURCE:

The Commoner, Vol. 1, No. 1., 10 Sept., 1875, p. 2

 

Frederick Douglass’ “Application for Permit to Build” for 316 & 318 A Street NE

Leaving a paper trail in this city can be ruinous, as ads on the Metro stations in and around Capitol Hill have reminded us. For a historic researcher discovering a paper trails is auspicious.

Last week, researcher and cartographer Brian Kraft shared some of the data he’s tediously gathered over the past decade on the city’s building permits.

With his help, this building permit from September 1879 to “erect two brick buildings” in the alley behind 316 & 318 A Street NE will have a life beyond his database and the microfilm at the Washingtoniana Division of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library.

According to City Directories, letters, and Douglass biographers, Anna and Frederick Douglass began living at this address in the early 1870s. I am planning on taking a trip back to the DC Archives to gather more information about this home, Douglass’ first home in Washington.

When Charles Douglass died in December, 1920 he was living at 318 A Street NE.