DC Neighborhood Names From Back in the Day (From A Reader)

After last week’s discussion and nearly unanimous opposition to the name Tivoli North for parts of 14th Street north of Monroe in Columbia Heights, a reader did some interesting research and found the cool map above.

The reader writes:

“I don’t advocate one way or another for what names people apply to the neighborhoods (though NoMa, Atlas District, and Hill East make me slightly queasy) but I thought it was interesting to see the historical names and dates of the subdivisions. The map is based on data in a study in the journal of the Historical Society of Washington in 2002.

Obviously there are some gaps, such as the neighborhood Red Derby is in. I assume that the areas not highlighted were subdivided after 1902, the end of the study’s time period.

There is no mention of several names we use today — Park View, 16th St. Heights, Crestwood, etc. Someone had questioned if Lanier Heights was real, and it is/was (see #97).

Petworth was one of the first subdivisions laid out in accordance with the street grid of the original city, in anticipation of regulations that would soon require such patterns. At that time it did not extend towards the corner of NH and Missouri Aves.

Brookland was laid out in several stages and surrounded other subdivisions such as Metropolis View (110) and Cuckold’s Delight (11).

The names Mt. Pleasant and Pleasant Plains were already in use before these subdivisions were laid out. They referred to quite a large area, from Rock Creek Park and Adams Mill in the west, Florida Ave. in the south, Spring Rd. and Rock Creek Church Road in the north, and Park Place and North Capitol Street in the east. I don’t know if there was a clearly defined border between them, but Mt. Pleasant seems to be to the west and south and Pleasant Plains to the north and east. So to say that Pleasant Plains is a part of Columbia Heights is actually reversed; Columbia Heights was created out of part of Pleasant Plains.”

Key to the map:

11. Cuckold’s Delight, 1/21/1890 (Jackson, Irving, Hamlin, Brentwood, 15th, 16th NE)

14. Beale’s Subdivision, 10/30/1901

17. Bellevue, 5/16/1888; part of Pleasant Plains

18. Bloomingdale, 6/17/1889

20. Brightwood Park, 8/27/1890 Continues after the jump.

21. Brookland, 9/5/1887

22. Addition to Brookland, 10/15/1895

23. Addition to Brookland, 9/5/1889

24. Sherwood’s Addition to Brookland, 4/27/1901

25. South Brookland, 5/16/1889

26. West Brookland, 8/24/1894

27. West Brookland Park, 7/6/1892

36. Mt. Pleasant (Chapin Brown’s), 9/20/1883

37. Chillum Castle Manor, 5/20/1891

39. Clermont, 3/2/1895; part of Pleasant Hills & Turkey Thicket

47. Columbia Heights 11/1/1881; “Part of Mt. Pleasant and Pleasant Plains, being north part of Stone Farm; hereafter to be known as Columbia Heights.”

48. Columbia Heights 3/27/1883; “Part of Mt. Pleasant and Pleasant Plains, being south part of Stone Farm; hereafter to be known as Columbia Heights.”

49. Columbian College Lands North, 3/11/1882

50. Columbian College Lands South, 12/1867

57. Denison & Leighton’s Subdivision, 4/1844, 6/30/1884; part of Mt. Pleasant and Pleasant Plains into Lots 44-117

58. C.W. Dobbins’s Addition, 7/7/1887; part of Prospect and Mt. Pleasant

62. Eckington, 5/28/1887

63. Center Eckington, 12/15/1891

64. West Eckington, 4/6/1891

66. Edgewood, 7/19/1890

73. S.J. Goss’s Subdivision of Part of Pleasant Plains, 7/20/1874

85. Holmead Manor, 10/8/1891; part of Pleasant Plains, Lamar’s Outlet, and Slippery Hill

86. Holmead’s Subdivision of Part of Pleasant Plains, 7/3/1883

87. Howard University, 4/10/1867; part of Mt. Pleasant

88. Ingleside, 8/20/1891; part of Mt. Pleasant and Pleasant Plains

89. Walbridge’s Subdivision of Ingleside, 8/30/1893

97. Lanier Heights, 11/21/1883; parts of Jackson Hill and Mt. Pleasant

99. Le Droit Park, 6/1/1873

100. Addition to Le Droit Park, 11/14/1891; parts of Mt. Pleasant and Port Royal

101. Addition to Le Droit Park, 10/20/1892

109. Hall & Evans’ Subdivision of Meridian Hill, 9/1867

110. Metropolis View, 4/1891

113. Moore & Barber’s Addition 3/18/1901; part of Bloomingdale

114. Moore & Barber’s Second Addition 12/17/1901; part of Bloomingdale

116. Mt. Pleasant, 10/1866; part of Pleasant Plains and Lamar’s Outlet

117. Part of Mt. Pleasant, 1868

118. Breed’s Place, 7/17/1888 (within #116)

119. Wright & Dole’s Division of the Widow’s Dower, 1/7/1867; part of Mt. Pleasant

122. North Brightwood, 7/2/1901

123. North Columbia Heights, 12/4/1901

130. Petworth, 1/16/1889

133. Estate of Jno. A. Purner, 12/1881; part of Pleasant Plains

138. Rosemount Park, 4/12/1884

139. Scheutzen Park, 4/29/1892; part of Pleasant Plains

149. Todd & Brown’s Subdivision of Part of Pleasant Plains and Mt. Pleasant, 1868

155. University Heights, 4/30/1890

156. University Park, 4/23/1884; part of Mt. Pleasant

160. Washington Heights, 12/5/1882

161. Washington Heights, 2/1/1888; part of Mt. Pleasant

164. White Croft, 8/12/1901

167. Whitney Close, 12/9/1886