Is This The Smallest House in Washington, DC?

Have we stumbled onto the smallest house in Washington, DC?  Measuring just ten feet wide by sixteen feet deep, and only one story in height, we certainly think so - it's a mere 160 square feet!

The one room house on Capitol Hill, now an apartment under renovation, is located at 302 12^th Street, SE.  At first glance, it appears connected to a house next door, but it is an independent structure.  Intrigued, I located the original building permit that was issued to J. A. Clark in 1912 for a “coal office.”  It provided the measurements and the cost to construct – only $150!

Researching a bit further, the 1914 City Directory listed Bernard A. McDonnell living in the adjacent house at 300 12^th Street, a coal merchant.  It had been built in 1895 by Richard Rothwell, who rented it out.  McDonnell was new to the coal business.  In 1910, according to the census, he worked as a bartender in a saloon while he rented 510 B Street, SE.  He lived there with his second wife, Florence, whom he had married in 1903.  Both of his parents had been born in Ireland.   

Earlier, he worked as a clerk, and according to the 1891 City Directory, he operated a restaurant at 1102 8^th Street, SE.  It still exists today and was most recently home to Taco City DC (left).  In 1899, he was a bartender at 507 E Street, SW, a building since demolished.   

McDonnell had been born on June 15, 1856 in Alexandria, Virginia.  He died in Washington DC on May 10, 1924 at the age of 67 and was interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery in that city.    

                                                            Copyright Paul K. Williams

The African-American Mo-So-Lit Club in Washington, DC

Continuing the fascinating history of 1327 R Street that we posted yesterday, in 1925 the house was sold to an organization called the Mu-So-Lit Club, who used it as a meeting house until 1961.  A steward of the Club named Charles Elzey resided in the house that year, according to the City Directory.  

The Mu-So-Lit Club was organized by representatives of the educated class of blacks in Washington, D.C. in 1905.  Some of its members were Kelly Miller, George William Cook, F. Morris Murray, G. Smith Wormley, Thomas H. R. Clarke, Robert H. Terrell, James A. Cobb and A. Mercer Daniel. The club's first president was Francis F. Cardoza, of which Cardoza High School is named.

Very little remains of the history and operations of the club and its activities.  The archives at UMass Amherst contains a letter the Mu-So-Lit Club to W. E. B. Du Bois (William Edward Burghardt), written in 1930 from 1327 R Street signed by Carrie W. Clifford (1862-1934) informing him that he will soon receive a formal invitation to attend the next meeting of the Mu-So-Lit Club.

A 1945 rooster of the 12^th Special Boxcar Battalion published on January 7, 1945 documenting the World War II activities of the military unit on Peary, Hueneme, and Banika in the South Pacific listed Isaac Sherman Taylor as an occupant of the house, likely a steward of the Mo-So-Lit Club.    

The club was mentioned in the October 3, 1932 Washington Star, above left, in the February 5, 1940 Washington Star, above center, and the February 18, 1950 Washington Post, above right.   

Several images of activities of the club were captured by noted local photographer Adison Scurlock, and are housed at the National Museum of American History.  Seen below are images of the Mu So Lit Club Lincoln-Douglas Dinner held in 1940. 

On September 25, 1961, the Mo-So-Lit Club sold the house to the trustees of the Alpha Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, who would continue to own it until 2019. 

Copyright Paul K. Williams

Hidden History: The Famous Photographer who Built 1327 R Street NW

The house at 1327 R Street, NW has an interesting history that we recently uncovered: it was built by and home to a notable photographer George Prince and was later the location of the African American Mo-So-Lit Club.  This post will focus on Prince (get it?), and one tomorrow will develop the the latter (get it?).  

It was built immediately after the issuance of building permit number 2249 which was issued by the city on June 14, 1888.  Photographer George Prince hired well known architect Thomas Franklin Schneider to design the residence, which was built at a cost of $12,000, a substantial sum for the time.  

George Prince and his family moved into 1327 R Street after it was completed, likely in the late fall of 1888.  He had been born in Washington, DC in March of 1846, according to the 1900 census (above).  He married Mary Ann McCormick on January 20, 1871 in this city.  Together, they had six children that included John A. (b. 1872), George Loren (b. 1876), Arthur Clare (1879-1950), Maria (b. 1880), Ethel Veronica (1881-1953), and Leslie Edgar Francis (b. 1886).

George Prince was one several prominent photographers in Washington, DC, and according to the 1891 City Directory, maintained a studio at 403 11^th Street, NW.  More than twenty of his photographs are archived at the Library of Congress, including his images of the McKinley inauguration in 1899, and the 1912 inauguration of President Roosevelt.  He signed his portrait photographs as “George Prince, fotographer.”  His portrait of President Roosevelt taken in 1900 appears at right. 

    

One of Prince’s competitor’s in the portrait photography business in Washington, DC was none other than noted Civil War photographer Mathew Brady.  While his thousands of images from the conflict are famous today, in the 1880s and 1890s, they were virtually worthless and not yet part of the federal government’s collection.

Meanwhile, Brady had more menial photographic duties such as taking a group portrait of the members of the Patent Convention on the steps of the Patent Office in April of 1891.  The April 12, 1891 Washington Post reported that George Prince appeared on the scene at the same time, and began to set up his own photographic equipment – Brady promptly positioned himself in front of Prince’s camera (left).  A skirmish ensued, and Prince pushed Brady.  Brady complained and eventually a $25 fine was incurred by Prince.  Just four years later, Brady, blind from his exposure to developing chemicals, died and was interred in Congressional Cemetery on Capitol Hill.        

Carl Steiger posted the only known photograph of George Prince on the website Find-A-Grave, seen at right.

  

George and Mary Prince divorced on October 5, 1899, an unusual event for the time.  Mary was awarded a monthly alimony of $100, also an unusually high figure for the time when a modest brick house could have been built in the city for $2,000.  On May 18, 1909, the Washington Post reported that Mary had George arrested when she learned that he was removing furniture from his own house and planned a move to Seattle.  The courts awarded her with a $3,000 bond to ensure future alimony payments. 

Beginning in 1908, other married couples began to be listed as occupants at 1327 R Street along with Mary Prince; the 1910 census confirmed that Mary and two of her children (Leslie and Maria) were listed as tenants.  George Prince later married a woman named Clara.

 Mary Prince died on November 14, 1927, and her ex-husband George Prince died on November 13, 1929; both are interred in Rock Creek Cemetery. 

Copyright Paul K. Williams