[Mintwood-place] Neighborhood History Tours begin Thurs Sept 21

Mon Sep 18 09:37:41 PDT 2006

Dear Friends,   Three interesting history talks and walks.  Eddie.

  1)  Archeologist Mark Mack to speak on Walter Pierce Park Cemeteries Project
  2)  History of Slavery in Adams Morgan and Kalorama - Walking tour 
  3)  Walking tour of the newly created Washington Heights Historic District.
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  1)  Archaeology of Walter Pierce Park and its cemetery
  Thursday, September 21, 2006, 7:00 pm
  Good Will Baptist Church, 1862 Kalorama Road, NW (near Columbia Road –
  go up main steps and bear right to rear side door). As usual, refreshments will be served. –Denis James
  The Kalorama Citizens Association (KCA) will kick off its 2006-2007 series of monthly membership meetings on Sept. 21st . Our special guest will be Professor Mark Mack, a biological anthropologist at Howard University, who will address the meeting on an ongoing research project on the unmarked African-American cemeteries located in Walter Pierce Park. Be sure to attend this meeting to learn more of the history of this area and its society before subdivision and development began.
  KCA Zoning and Historic Preservation Chair Ann Hargrove will give the final wrap-up on the successful conclusion of the Washington Heights Historic District project. 

  ARCHEOLOGIST MARK MACK TO SPEAK ON WALTER PIERCE PARK CEMETERIES PROJECT
  Biological anthropologist Mark Mack of Howard University will be the featured speaker at our Sept. 21 meeting. He will describe plans for archeological research of the almost forgotten, unmarked cemeteries in Walter C. Pierce Community Park. Professor Mack, an expert on African-American cemeteries, will lead a small team of Howard University students this semester in a pedestrian, or "walk-over" archeological survey of the park, which was the site of the Colored Union Benevolent Association Cemetery from 1870 to 1890, as well as Washington's first Quaker Burial Ground, founded in 1807. This exacting, non-invasive survey will determine the extent of the cemeteries and the location of any vulnerable remains and/or grave goods. Students will also develop information about the men, women and children who were buried there. Last summer, when the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) planned to undertake a soil erosion mitigation project in Pierce Park, community
 residents pleaded with city officials to delay or curtail their major earth-moving plans because unmarked graves might be disturbed. Since that time, records have been found showing that at least 7,000 burials took place in the Colored Union cemetery, making the need for an archeological study even greater. Since then, DPR has delayed and downsized its plans in response to community concerns. Before becoming the Interim Curator of Howard University's Cobb Laboratory, Professor Mack was the Laboratory Director of the now-completed New York African Burial Ground Project, which opened New Yorkers' eyes to the broad extent of slavery in early Manhattan. In land size and density of graves, the 6.75-acre Colored Union cemetery at Pierce Park is remarkably similar to the New York African Burial Ground, although the New York site was used at an earlier time. KCA is leading the effort to provide funding and other support to the Howard team. 
  If you would like to contribute to the project, you can either write a taxdeductible check to KCA,  (noting: Pierce Park Archeology Project) and send to KCA, P.O. Box 21311, Wash. DC 20009, or use PayPal or a credit card at: www.kaloramacitizens.org/ join Scroll down to the pull-down menu and click on Pierce Park Archeology Project.
  – Mary Belcher is chairperson of the KCA Holt House Preservation Task Force and KCA's community liaison to the Howard University team. Questions? Call Mary at: 202-462-9069 or email her at maryjbelcher at comcast.net.
  http://www.kaloramacitizens.org/newsletters/files/kca%5Fnews%5F2006%5F09.pdf

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  2)  History of Slavery in Adams Morgan and Kalorama
Saturday, September 30, 2006,   11 am – 1 pm
Meet at the corner of 18th St. and Columbia Rd., NW, at the farmers' market space in front of the SunTrust Bank.
Learn about the history of slavery in Adams Morgan and Kalorama by touring the remnants of the estate built by John and Margaret Little and discovering artifacts from the Old Mansion and Plantation. Learn about efforts to recover the history of an African American cemetery, and discover historic Holt House, on the grounds of the National Zoo. Led by historian Eddie Becker eddie_becker_becker at yahoo.com and preservationist Mary Belcher maryjbelcher at comcast.net and presented by the Adams Morgan Business Improvement District. As one of the 26 FREE walking tours sponsored by Cultural Tourism DC in neighborhoods across Washington!.  
  Check the schedule at www.WalkingTownDC.org, pick your tours, and just show up!* Call 202-661-7581 for more information.

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  3)  Saturday, September 30, 2006, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
  Washington Heights Walking Tour
  Join the DC Preservation League for a walking tour of the newly created Washington Heights Historic District. Located on a rise (the heights) above Florida Avenue in northwest Washington , the Washington Heights Historic District is a triangular shapes neighborhood in the heart of what is today known as Adams Morgan. Come see first-hand that the Washington Heights Historic District includes on e f the most eclectic yet cohesive collections of row houses in this part of the city. Learn how the architecture of Washington Heights illustrates a neighborhood's evolution from a streetcar suburb to a vibrant urban neighborhood and commercial corridor.
  Led by architectural historians from EHT Traceries, Inc., the preservation and research firm that produced the district's National Register nomination form, the tour will cover a wealth of information on the neighborhood's history and development, and explore its late-nineteenth and twentieth-century architectural heritage.
  Saturday, September 30 th
  10:00 am to 12:00 pm
  Meet on the corner of 19 th Street and Florida Avenue, NW .
  $10 Members; $15 Non-Members
  AIA CEC: 2 Credits
  Reservations required
  Reserve your spot by sending an email to: rsvp at dcpreservation.org

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