History Mix: 1301 Corcoran Street, Zalmon Richards, and the Salem Witch Trials

1301 Corcoran Street, NW

Many passersby notice elegant brass plaques mounted on Washington’s numerous historic buildings, but one on the house at 1301 Corcoran Street, NW that simply reads “Zalmon Richards House” certainly tends to arouse curiosity.  Just who was this man with the odd first name, and why was he important?     

Some quick research reveals that Richards (1811-1899) was a leader in both local and national public and private education, and one of the founders of the National Education Association and the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA).  He and his second wife lived at 1301 Corcoran Street from 1882 until his death in 1899.  Her family members, on the other hand, were chiefly responsible for the infamous Salem witch trials!    

Research does not reveal the origin of his rather unusual first name, however.  It is curious to note that he signed his name only with a Z, and was known to have “vials of wrath if one called him ‘Zed.’” (Allen C. Clark, Records of the Columbia Historical Society, vol. 42/43, p. 145)  His brother was seemingly equally cursed, having been named Almarin; He served as a principal of the old Prescott High School on 8^th Street, between K & L Streets, NW., and served as a Superintendent of Police from 1864 to 1878.        

Zalmon Richards had been born on a farm in Cummington, Massachusetts on August 11, 1811, the son of Nehemiah and Elizabeth (Packard) Richards.  He attended the Cummington Academy and the Southampton Academy to prepare for his entry into Williams College in 1832.  His tuition was paid for by private teaching and small loans that he repaid after his graduation in 1836.  He also pledged himself to abstain from alcoholic beverages when he joined the Baptist church just prior to his undergraduate work. 

Richards returned to his alma mater to become the principal of the Cummington Academy after receiving a MA about 1838.  The following year, he married his assistant teacher, Minerva A. Todd, and they moved to teach at the Stillwater Academy in New York.          

Zalmon Richards photo by Mathew Brady

Richards became principal of the preparatory school for Columbian College in Washington beginning December 1, 1848.  The school was established for students wishing to enter Columbian College (now The George Washington University) and was then located at 14^th and N Streets.  Built of brick in 1822, it measured 25 by 30 feet and housed about 17 students.  It had a checkered past, due to the fact that during its first 26 years in existence, from 1822-1848, it had no less than 17 principals.  Zalmon served as its Principal until 1851.         

In the 1850’s, the termination of the school year in Washington was marked by examinations, followed by public presentation of prizes.  In 1851, a parade of two thousand students marched through the streets of Washington, joined by the Marine Corps Band, Mayor Walter Lenox, and trustees of the public schools, who were all greeted by thousands of spectators.  Richards then addressed the crowds. 

Richards and his wife purchased a 43’ x 103’ vacant lot the northwest corner of New York Avenue and 14^th Street on September 12, 1851, and opened the Union Academy the following year.  Richards attended the preliminary organizational meeting of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) on June 9, 1852 at the Masonic Hall.  He served as the organizations first President, beginning later that month.  The YMCA first occupied the buildings at 437-441 7^th Street, NW.    

The Academy flourished until 1862, when Richards was employed as a clerk at the Treasury Department during the Civil War.  His wife ran the Academy alone until the end of his Treasury job 1867. That year, Richards had become active in securing the establishment of the National Department of Education, and served as its clerk until it was transferred to the Interior Department in 1869, when he went back to teach at his Union Academy. From 1869 to 1871, Richards served as the first appointed superintendent of public schools in the District of Columbia. He was later appointed the city’s auditor from 1872 to 1874. 

Apparently, Richards enjoyed becoming intimately involved in new organizations that he had a passion for; he attended the organization meeting of the National Teachers Association on August 26, 1857, and was elected as its first president as well.  It later became the National Education Association.  Among its founding members, at least one-fourth were faculty members or administrators from institutions of higher learning, including John Seeley Hart of Princeton, Calvin Pease of the University of Vermont, and James R. Challen of Northwestern University.

Earlier, on June 3, 1861, Richards had been sworn in as a Union supporter to the city’s Common Council, representing the Second Ward.  His brother Almarin was elected from the Third Ward.  The election meeting had not gone smoothly, however, as the Star reported in its May 29, 1861 edition:     

“The meeting finally adjourned with an indefinite amount of blowing, and in going out somebody’s fist accidentally got into another body’s face whereupon half a dozen pitched into everybody in general and no one in particular, the only object appearing to be a desire to let some one fight out.  Heads went down and heels flew up; benches rolled up among themselves in a hurry, and several serious collisions occurred at the door between those getting out and others getting in.” 

A true renaissance man, on July 4, 1864, Richards even witnessed the signing of a dedicatory hymn he had composed for the opening of the Wallach School.  In 1871, he attempted a partnership with Henry R. Miles to manufacturer paper files and carpet stretchers on the Academy grounds that failed the following year.  The Academy itself was foreclosed upon in August of 1877, and the Richard’s moved into the Rugby Hotel.       

Richards’s wife Minerva died in the afternoon of July 15, 1873.  Richards married his second wife, Mary Frances Mather, on August 19, 1874, just thirteen months after the death of his first wife.  Mary had been born in Darien, Connecticut on November 5, 1835.  She was twenty-four years his junior (he was 63 she then 39).  Mary was a direct, lineal descendant of the famous Rev. Cotton Mather (1663-1728), a Puritan Minister at Boston’s Old North Church and chief cause and promoter of the Salem witch trials.  Following the wedding in Darien, they resided on the Academy grounds at 1401 New York Avenue, NW.        

They moved into 1301 Corcoran Street in 1882, and resided there until her death in 1896, and his death there at 4:15 am on November 1, 1899.  He is interred in a family plot in Oak Hill Cemetery next to his two wives.     

The Zalmon Richards house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 as an individual landmark, long before the surrounding neighborhood was considered for historic district status.  

Copyright Paul K. Williams

1938 Plane Crash in Residential Anacostia, DC

The house in the background was later razed for the freeway.

Anacostia residents today are likely unaware that their historic community was once the site of a fatal plane crash, with the deceased pilot eventually having an Air Force base named after him.  Neighbors were then well used to low flying military aircraft, however, because they were not far from Bolling Field, and Army Air base with an active runway.  The crash occurred right next to 1847 13^th Street, SE on November 9, 1938.   

     

The photo caption read:  "Two U.S. Army fliers -- Lieut. Col. Leslie MacDill, General Staff Corps Officer, and Private Joseph G. Gloxner -- were burned to death today in the worst aerial tragedy in the history of the Capital when their plane crashed on a street in Anacostia, a short distance from Bolling Field. Three automobiles were wrecked in the crash. Col. MacDill was piloting the plane."  (Library of Congress, Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative)  Col. MacDill was flying a North American BC-1, used by the Army Air Corps from 1936 to 1940.

 

Two employees of Mandell Chevrolet at 13^th Street and Good Hope Road rushed to the scene with fire extinguishers, but were rebuffed by the flames: Louis Fiedler, mechanic, and the manager, Harry Rosenthal.   As did Earl Hazel, of 1235 U street, SE.

As we’ve warned readers before, newspapers reporters were fairly verbose and not shy of telling it like it is, and the scene of a deadly plane crash is certainly not pretty.  The Washington Post of November 10, 1938 filed this story:   

Army Studies Cremation of 2 Fliers Here

Crash in Anacostia Fire Destroys Plane

Officer is Killed, Pilot Dies Also

“A special Army board last night was investigating the crash which killed and cremated two Army fliers when their pursuit plane went into a spin, narrowly missed two houses and smashed to earth in Anacostia, 2 miles from Bolling Field.

The dead were Col. Leslie MacDill, 49, of the War Department general staff, who lived at 3105 Cathedral avenue northwest, and Private Joseph G. Gloxner, of First Staff Squadron, of Reading, Pa. Both were instantly killed.

Maj. Charles P. Prime, chief investigator, said last night that eyewitnesses have given conflicting reports regarding engine trouble. Coroner A. Magruder MacDonald said he would postpone decision on holding an inquest into the deaths until he had received the Army report.

The house at 1847 13th Street, SE in the background

Trouble With Motor

The BC-1 pursuit plane piloted by Col. MacDill took off from Bolling Field at 9:36 a.m. Three minutes later it crashed on S street, a block away from the busy intersection of Good Hope road and Nichols avenue.

Accounts pieced together from numerous eyewitnesses indicate that something happened to the motor and Col. MacDill tried to get back to his field, and then with death staring him in the face aimed his plane for a narrow space between two houses in order to land on Thirteenth street, headed for an alley.

The plane cut down telephone and power wires, knocked down a pole, clipped off tree limbs and plunged into the earth between the curb and street in front of the home of Robert Thompson, 1807 Thirteenth street, southeast.

The plane immediately burst into flames, settled back on a parked car. Burning gasoline flowed down the street and destroyed three other parked cars.

One civilian came within 10 feet of being killed in the crash. That was Clarence W. Ohm, plumber of 1612 W street southeast. He had parked his car directly across the street from the crash, and was just getting from his car when the plane struck.

1847 13th Street, SE today.

Flames Leap 50 Feet

Both bodies were burned beyond recognition by the flames which leaped as high as 50 feet. One of the bodies was thrown from the fuselage, while the head was torn from the other. Fireman fought half an hour with water and chemicals.

Louis Fiedler, mechanic, and Harry Rosenthal, manager of Mandell Chevrolet garage at Thirteenth street and Good Hope road, and Earl Hazel, of 1235 U street southeast, rushed to the plane with fire extinguishers. The heat drove them away. Fiedler's face was scorched.

The street at the time of the crash was deserted except for Ohm. Few people were attracted by sound of the plane until it exploded because Anacostia residents have become accustomed to low-flying planes.

Heard Body Plop

Ohm related that because of a broken gasket on the exhaust pipe of his automobile, he heard nothing until a plop which suggested to him falling of a human body. From his parked car he heard a scream and saw a body on the pavement before an explosion "like a 16-inch gun" shot up huge clouds of black smoke and flames.

Still shaking from his experience last night he said, "it was the most horrible thing I ever saw. I thought the world was coming to and end. I have felt so bad all day I couldn't clean up the brains splattered on my car."

Col. MacDill was a graduate of Hanover College, University of Indiana, and the Army War College. He leaves his wife, Mrs. Marilla Augusta MacDill, and two daughters, Katherine Rose, 14, and Rose, 11.

Col MacDill was first commissioned a second lieutenant, Coast Artillery Corps, in 1912. By time of the World War he had been promoted to captain of Air Corps. Overseas he organized the Aerial Gunnery School at St. Jean de Monts, France.

In 1920 he was graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and held several commands until 1930 when he came to Washington in Plans Division, Office of Chief of Air Corps. After attending the Army and Naval War Colleges, he returned here in 1934.  The bodies of both men are being held at Walter Reed Hospital.”

Col. MacDill was a graduate of Hanover College, Indiana University, and the Army War College.  MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, Florida, is named after him.

Copyright Paul K. Williams

A Drive-In Once Across from Union Station? It's True!

Matchbook Cover from the Red Circle Food Shop

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that an Art Deco styled drive in once sat right across from Union Station.  Who would have though that land values and urban density would allow that to exist?  Well, construction began on the Red Circle Food Shop on February 25, 1937 - it was located on the northwest corner of Massachusetts Avenue and North Capitol Street, NW.  The unique round design provided both counter service inside, and curbside service for automobiles on a large rear parking lot.  It was designed by architect E. Burton Corning and built at a total cost of $24,450.   

Photographs and plans appeared in the March 1938 edition of Building News, seen here.  Its unique design of duel service meant that one kitchen was located on the ground floor, and a smaller one in a basement.  "The circular plan, says the architect, is the result of an attempt to 'get something different from the ordinary run of drive-in restaurants and at the same time keep the cost comparable" (Building News).  The angular size of the lot also played an important role in the circular design, and in fact, the building located there today follows this same curvature - the National Guard memorial Building (built 1990). 

The plan allowed for a small serving area, and a cashier that was able to handle transactions from both interior counter patrons, and those seated in their car.  Waiters entered one side, pick up their orders, pass

the cashier, and exit ont he other wide in a continual loop.  The exterior was clad in enameled red panels, lending a visual to the name Red Circle Food Shop.  A neon sign sat on top the roof, whose soffit concealed spot lights illuminating the chrome and enamel walls.  It was noted that the entire structure had year-round air conditioning.

It certainly is more interestigng than the bland food court now located on the lower level of Union Station, and would have been a fun place to catch a meal, waiting for a delayed train.    

Table service was handled from the swinging door at the right; windows were covered with flesh colored mirrors.

Dining room looking toward the cashier booth and entrance doorway. 

         Copyright Paul K. Williams

DC's First African-American Fire Station at 931 R Street

The District of Columbia Fire Department was officially organized on September 23, 1871, although several neighborhoods had volunteer and paid crews prior to that date.  These began with a fund raiser held in 1789 to purchase a hand pumping engine and buckets for the Georgetown community.  Fire Station No. 4 at 931 R Street, NW was built between 1884 and 1885, and later became notable as an all-black engine company. 

The first firefighter in the District to lose his life in the line of duty occurred on May 6, 1856, when Benjamin Grenup, a member of the Columbia Engine Company, fell from a vehicle on the way to fighting a fire at the Shreeves’ Stables on capitol Hill.  His grave in Glenwood Cemetery is marked with life sized fire hydrants carved in stone at each corner of his plot. 

Regulations for the department were first introduced in September of 1856, and a short time later, Mott style fire call boxes were placed in strategic locations throughout the city, recognized by their harp shaped cast iron poles and gas lights.  Citizens would pull a trigger at these locations to send a telegram like alarm to a central station, which noted a fire in progress near that particular pole.  The call boxes cost an estimated $200 each to purchase, install, and wire.  The Gamewell Company later expanded the system to include more than 1,500 such call boxes in the city, expanded to include police call boxes using a similar system.  We did a blog post just on the callboxes themselves HERE.    

Records kept by the Fire Department were meticulous, as reported on a yearly basis in the Report of Commissioners of the District of Columbia.  In 1880, for example, salaries totaled $71,840, and the Department had 15,600 feet of hose in good condition, 3,700 feet in fair condition, and 3,400 feed in bad condition.  They had a total of 38 horses, of which 32 were in active condition.  Each firehouse had an inventory of all items on the premises, down to the number of pliers and combs.  Gas jets, chimneys, and gas stoves seem to have caused most of the fires reported in 1880.            

Fire Station No. 4 at 931 R Street became the first all-black fire fighting company in Washington on April 3, 1919.  Prior to the forming of this company, the fire department had been racially integrated, but it was difficult for blacks to pass arbitrary and impromptu physicals and exams sprung by white leaders effectively preventing them from advancing ranks within the Department.  The request for the all-black company was instituted by one of the four black firefighters working for the city at the time who apparently believed that his only opportunity for advancement was within an all-black unit.

 

 In January of 1943, Gordon Parks photographed the fire company at Station No. 4, recording their daily activities and routines, seen here.  He included pictures of Lt. Mills and Captain J.B. Keyes, and other crew members.  Parks followed them to calls and fires, including one in front of the Mid-City Theater in the 1200 block of 7^th Street, built in 1913. 

The Department was integrated again in the early 1960s, but advancement for blacks remained difficult, often conflicting with a multiple generation immigrant population.  Following the 1968 riots, however, an aggressive recruiting campaign resulted in a more racially balanced department.  Washington, DC had its first black fire chief appointed in 1973.   Fire Station No. 4 was later changed to Fire Station No. 7, but is today a private artist studio and residence.  As reported by Urban Turf, it can be yours for just $2.65 million.  See the listing HERE.  

Copyright Paul K. Williams

Google Maps of our completed house histories

We've created Google maps of our many house histories completed to date.  Too many, in fact to fit on one map!  You can find the house histories done in NW Washington DC HERE, and the house histories completed in SE, NE, and SW Washington, DC HERE.  Note that there are so many, each map has several tabs, so be sure to click through at the bottom of the (left side) listings to see each version.  We'll always have them at the bottom of the blog, as well.  You may learn a bit about the house on your block!

And, as always, we offer a $100 discount on a new house history if we have completed one on your block!

Architect & Counterfit Money Maker Frank R. White

Architect Frank Russell White was born in Brooklyn, New York on May 2, 1889.  He attended public schools in New York, and attended the Pennsylvania Military College between 1903 and 1904.  He first came to Washington in 1908 to work as an architect for the Harry Wardman Company, for whom he worked for the next twenty-five years. 

He specialized in apartment building designs for Harry Wardman, but also designed more than 5,000 single dwelling houses for the Wardman Company.  He and his wife Carolyn resided for most of his career at 4645 Alton Place, NW. 

Perhaps his best known apartment building is the Wardman Park Hotel & Apartments at 2660 Woodley Road in Woodley Park, completed in 1917.  White also designed three of the buildings at Clifton Terrace, 14^th and Clifton Street, in 1917, and the famed Chateau Thierry at 1920 S Street, in 1918.      

White established his own practice in 1922 with an office at 1340 F Street.  One of his primary clients included Christian Heurich, for which he designed the Heurich Building at 1627 K Street in 1939. 

The Great Depression was difficult for many of the country’s architects, but apparently especially so for Frank White.  He was arrested on October 26, 1931 in Baltimore, on the charge of altering and raising $1 notes to represent $100 notes.  He pleaded guilty in December of that year, and served a two year prison sentence.    

Copyright Paul K. Williams