Historic Georgetown: A Walking Tour

The area known as Georgetown was once a central meeting place for nearly 40 Native American tribes situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Potomac River.  It was inevitable that the very rivers that served these native people would attract the first European settlers to the region, settlers who established Georgetown as a hustling port and key commercial center.   In 1791, George Washington fixed the small community's enduring importance by including it in the plans for the new Federal City.

Taking you down cobblestone streets, Historic Georgetown: A Walking Tour includes local sites associated with such historic figures as John F. and Jacqueline Kennedy, Alexander Graham Bell, Francis Scott Key, and Victorian novelist E.D.E.N. Southworth.  Enjoy the eighteenth-and nineteenth-century charms of Georgetown's architecture as you visit private homes, businesses, and social establishments.  Climb the stairs on which the climactic scene of William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist took place!

This is the story of Georgetown from its earliest days as a small tobacco port to its modern-day status as the most fashionable neighborhood in America's capital city.  This pictorial tour will be your guide on an entertaining and educational journey where the history of our nation can be found at nearly every turn.

Each of the seven different walking tours are arranged separately from south along the Potomac River north to Oak Hill Cemetery.  Start with:

- Tour A:  The Waterfront features 55 distinctive sites such as the Old Stone House, the oldest building in Washington, D.C., the C&O canal, early headquarters of IBM, Rock Creek Park, the Key Bridge, Roosevelt Island, and many early waterfront buildings such as Jack's Boathouse and the Washington Canoe Club, and other sites.

- Tour B:  Southwest Georgetown features 21 historic sites such as the home of William Thornton, the architect of the Capitol, many additional historic homes and streets such as Rock Hill made from the ballast of ships, Southworth Cottage that overlooked the Excorcist stairs, the homes of Senator John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy, and other prominent sites.

- Tour C:  Georgetown University features only 9 sites, but they do feature prominently during its early years such as the Old North Building where George Washington addressed the students in 1797, Healy Hall with the tall clock tower, the cemetery of the Jesuit community, and the original Observatory, among other sites.

- Tour D:  Northwest Georgetown has 15 historic sites to include the Georgetown Convent of the Visitation, the home of Alexander Graham Bell, a look at alley life in early DC history, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and the earliest homes of the first settlers of Georgetown from mansions to stable house are all featured here.

- Tour E:  North Georgetown features 15 historic sites as well, but includes the venerable Oak Hill Cemetery where Revolutionary War and early settlers are laid to rest including the daughter of Davie Burnes on whose land sits the White House, a view of Rock Creek Park, Montrose Park, the old historic Dumbarton Oaks mansion, and even a Lovers Lane among other sites.

- Tour F:  Northeast Georgetown has 27 historic sites along the streets and back alleys to include many historic houses known for early settlers to Washington D.C. such as Emma Brown, an early educator for the African-American community, merchant Edward Linthicum and others.  There is the gunbarrel fence, the P Street Bridge, the prominent Mt Zion Cemetery and an early African-American cemetery, and other sites,

- Tour G:  Southeast Georgetown has 24 historic sites to include early taverns, theatres, shops, and several historic churches such as Christ Episcopal and Dumbarton Methodist.  Here Jackie Kennedy moved from the White House in 1963 and Robert Todd Lincoln, son of Abraham Lincoln, also lived nearby, among other sites.

Altogether there are 166 historic sites, 207 images and 8 maps.  In Georgetown they still retain some of the neighborhood stores within the community where you can rest and get packaged foods.  Along M Street and Wisconsin Avenue there are many stores, the Georgetown Park Mall and many smaller convenience stores and cafes to rest.  Georgetown cannot be done in a day, so the book while priced near $20 will be a companion for the resident over a long period of time and for a visitor to refer to on their next several visits.

ISBN 0-7385-0239-1 by Thomas J. Carrier, Arcadia Publishing, soft cover book, cost, http://www.arcadiapublishing.com