Maps

Maps, plats and diagrams, illustrating various aspects of the development of Georgetown Heights, Upper Georgetown, and Glover Park.

The dotted line represents the Indian trail from Col. George Beall’s house, near the confluence of Rock Creek and the Potomac River, past Sugarloaf Mountain, to the Indian town of Canavest, on Heater’s Island, near Point of Rocks, Maryland. The route corresponds, more or less, to Wisconsin Avenue, River Road and Darnestown Road. (Map of the Potomac River, 1711, in Baron Christophe De Graffenried, Relation du Voyage d’Amérique, 1716.)

(For the source of this map, see Georgetown Historic Waterfront, pages 8, 9, 11, 85, and 87.)

Deep Branch, later known as Foundry Branch, Map of the Territory of Columbia (Andrew Ellicott, 1794), detail.

Map of the State of Maryland (Dennis Griffith, 1794), detail.

Detail, Carte geographique, statistique et historique du District de Colombie, 1825 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Ghosts of DC)

The earliest Maryland land tracts of the future District of Columbia. (Map of Historical Parcels, National Park Service brochure on Rock Creek.)

Ninian Beall’s Rock of Dumbarton, 1703 (Diagram by Priscilla W. McNeil, 1991)

“Map of Georgetown,” drawn by Frances Leota Soars (Finney), in A Portrait of Old George Town (1951).

Colonial Georgetown with its Ten Additions, by Chas Langelan, “Lost Early Maps of Georgetown,” The Portolan, Journal of the Washington Map Society, No. 104, Spring 2019), p. 30.

Detail of the Langelan map showing the upper end of the Beatty and Hawkins Addition to Georgetown.

Land Tracts of Georgetown Heights, circa 1800. (Maryland land grants within the District of Columbia as of December 10, 1748 (Prince George’s County) and their Date of Survey, compiled by Priscilla W. McNeil)

The characteristic shape of Salcom and Knaves Disappointment––”being one and the same”. (Diagram by Priscilla W. McNeil, after a plat drawn by Thomas Orme, Surveyor, April 21, 1800, Hall of Records, Annapolis.)

The characteristic shape of Salcom and Knaves Disappointment, as reflected in the northern part of Beatty & Hawkins’Addition to Georgetown. (Detail of “Map of Georgetown in the District of Columbia”, William Bussard, 1830)

The northern part of Beatty & Hawkins’Addition to Georgetown. (Detail of “Map of Georgetown in the District of Columbia”, William Forsyth, 1871)

The northern boundaries of the Corporation of Georgetown are shown in red on a modern street map. (Prepared in 1974 by Col. Robert B. Curtiss, of the Burleith Citizens Association.)

Acquisition of property in lots 250 to 300 of Beatty and Hawkins’ Addition to Georgetown during the period 1800-1870 (dates approximate). Back Street, West Street, Fayette Street, and High Street Continued correspond to the present Tunlaw Road, Whitehaven Parkway, 35th Street, and Wisconsin Avenue. (Detail of the 1814 Fenwick map of Beatty and Hawkins’ Addition to Georgetown, 1770.)

Rev. Stephen Bloomer Balch’s subdivision of Georgetown, called Wilberforce, circa 1820. (Diagram by Carlton Fletcher)

Approximate locations of early property owners in Rev. Stephen Bloomer Balch’s subdivision of Georgetown, called Wilberforce, circa 1820. (Diagram by Carlton Fletcher)

Western sections and lots of Holy Rood Cemetery. (West is up.)

Eastern sections and lots of Holy Rood Cemetery. (West is up.)

Georgetown and parts of Washington County, Topographical Map of the District of Columbia, surveyed in the years 1856-1859 by Albert Boschke, (detail).

Upper Georgetown Heights, Topographical Map of the District of Columbia, surveyed in the years 1856-1859 by Albert Boschke, (detail).

Upper Georgetown, Topographical Map of the District of Columbia, surveyed in the years 1856-1859 by Albert Boschke, (detail).

Topographical Map of the Original District of Columbia and Environs, Showing the Fortifications Around the City of Washington, by E.G. Arnold, C.E., 1862 (detail). This wartime map of the defenses of Washington gives signs of having been published in haste, presumably to satisfy a public eager to know how the nation’s capital was to be defended: the engraver rendered the names of local property-owners Frizell, Kengla and Poor as Frinell, Kanby, and Paw!

War Department Map of the Defenses of Washington, 1865 (detail).

A network of signal stations ringed the city and extended up and down the Potomac, by which the capital received word of enemy movements. The signal station at the Camp of Instruction can be seen just north of Georgetown. The network of stations around Washington included one on the Capitol Dome. (J. Willard Brown, The Signal Corps in the War of the Rebellion, 1896)

The Signal Camp was in line-of-sight communication with a tower eight miles upriver, at Peach Grove (now Tyson’s Corner), and with the main signal station, on the roof of the Winders Building, next to the White House. Messages were conveyed by waving a flag to the right or left in a binary code. At night, turpentine torches on long poles took the place of flags. All signals made in view of the enemy were in cipher. (J. Willard Brown, The Signal Corps in the War of the Rebellion, 1896)

Military Map, 1865, detail. (Library of Congress)

Detail of the Topographical sketch of the environs of Washington, D.C. : survey of locality for public park & site for a presidential mansion to accompany report of N. Michler, Major of Eng’rs, Bvt. Brig. Gen’l U.S.A., 1866. (Library of Congress)

(Real Estate Directory of the City of Washington, D.C., Suburbs of Washington City, Serial Number 50, 1874, plate 1, DC Public Library)

Arrangement of lots in the northern extension of Beatty & Hawkins’ Addition to Georgetown (Real Estate Directory of the City of Washington, D.C., Suburbs of Washington City, Serial Number 50, 1874, plate 1, DC Public Library)

Hopkins, 1878, detail.

Hopkins, Atlas of Washington D.C., 1879, detail.

Hopkins, Atlas of Fifteen Miles Around Washington (Philadelphia : G.M. Hopkins, 1879), detail.

Map of the Real Estate in the County of Washington, D.C. (Carpenter), 1881, detail.

“Localities in Which Aboriginal Relics Were Found In and Near the District of Columbia,” (detail) Louis A. Kengla, 1883. (DC Public Library)

Topographical map of the District of Columbia, Corps of Engineers, 1884, detail.

Topographical Map of the District of Columbia, U.S. Engineer Corps, 1884, detail.

Map of Washington, D.C., and environs, Axel Silversparre, 1887 (Library of Congress)

Hopkins, 1887, detail.

Plan of Extension of Massachusetts Avenue from Boundary St. to Tennallytown Road, circa 1887, detail. (Peabody Room, Georgetown Branch Public Library)

“Wesley Heights, adjoining new Methodist University” Washington, D.C. : Howell & Greenough, 1890 (Library of Congress).

The contours of land purchased for the new Naval Observatory, and the proposed Massachusetts Avenue bridge over Rock Creek, in 1891. (Maps accompanying the report of the operations of the Engineer Department of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1891: compiled by Capt. W.T. Rossell, U.S. Eng’rs; compiled by Capt. J.L. Lusk, U.S. Eng’rs, [detail].)

The path (dotted line) of the new Washington Acqueduct under Burleith; the original irregular shape of the Barber parcel purchased for the new Naval Observatory; and the proposed Massachusetts Avenue bridge over Rock Creek, in 1891. (Maps accompanying the report of the operations of the Engineer Department of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1891: compiled by Capt. W.T. Russell, U.S. Eng’rs; compiled by Capt. J.L. Lusk, U.S. Eng’rs, [detail].)

Sectional Maps of the Distict of Columbia (City Excepted), US Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1892, sheets 42, 43, 53 [detail].

Sectional Maps of the District of Columbia (City Excepted), US Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1892, sheet 41 [detail].

Sectional Maps of the Distict of Columbia (City Excepted), US Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1892, sheet 41 [detail].

Sectional Maps of the Distict of Columbia (City Excepted), US Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1892, sheet 53 [detail].

Sectional Maps of the Distict of Columbia (City Excepted), US Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1892, sheet 42 [detail].

Hopkins, Atlas of Fifteen Miles Around Washington (Philadelphia : G.M. Hopkins, 1893), detail.

“Burleith” and “The Cedars”, Hopkins, Atlas of Fifteen Miles Around Washington (Philadelphia : G.M. Hopkins, 1893), detail.

Plat of Grounds of the Industrial Home School, Showing Relation to the Street Extension Plans, June 9, 1900. (Office of the Surveyor, District of Columbia)

Baist’s Real Estate Atlas, 1903, Plate 18 (detail, with thanks to Ghosts of DC).

Baist’s Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Washington (Philadelphia: G. Wm. Baist, 1903), Plate 18 (detail, with thanks to Ghosts of DC).

Burleith, Baist’s Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Washington (Philadelphia: G. Wm. Baist, 1903), Plate 18 (detail).

Map of Property of Henry Kengla, Deceased, 1906.

(Kengla estate map overlaid on Google maps by Robert J. Carlson.)

Map of Property of Henry Kengla, Deceased, 1906 (overlaid on Google maps by Robert J. Carlson).

Map of the Permanent System of Highways of the District of Columbia, Office of the Engineer Commissioner D.C., 1911 (Library of Congress, with thanks to Ghosts of DC)

Baist’s Real Estate Atlas, 1913 (detail, with thanks to Ghosts of DC).

Baist’s Real Estate Atlas, 1916 (detail).

Baist’s Real Estate Atlas, 1919. (Detail)

Baist’s Real Estate Atlas of Washington D.C., 1921, Plate 24, detail. (With thanks to Ghosts of DC)

Charles C. Glover property between Foxhall Road and Huidekoper Place, Baist’s Real Estate Atlas, 1921, Plate 24, detail. (With thanks to Ghosts of DC)

Northwestern Glover Park, before residential development. At upper right, the horseshoe-shaped Mt. Alto Veterans Hospital. Below that, on the other side of Tunlaw Road, farmhouses, pastures and woodlots.

(Detail of the Aerial photographic mosaic map of Washington, D.C., Aerial Photo Section No. 3, U.S. Army Air Service, Bolling Field, Washington, D. C. [1922], Library of Congress. For additional photos, see Aerial Photography.)

Charles C. Glover property, north of Tunlaw Road, Baist’s Real Estate Atlas, 1921, Plate 24, detail. (With thanks to Ghosts of DC)

Cathedral Highlands, La Colline, and Powder Mill Road, Baist’s Real Estate Atlas, 1921, Plate 24, detail. (With thanks to Ghosts of DC)

Development between Tunlaw Road and 37th Street, Baist’s Real Estate Atlas, 1921, Plate 24, detail. (With thanks to Ghosts of DC)

Observatory Heights, between Huidekoper Place and Tunlaw Road, Baist’s Real Estate Atlas, 1921, Plate 24, detail. (With thanks to Ghosts of DC)

Northwest Highlands, Baist’s Real Estate Atlas, 1921, Plate 24, detail. (With thanks to Ghosts of DC)

The National School of Domestic Art & Science (Mount Alto Inn), Baist’s Real Estate Atlas, 1921, Plate 24, detail. (With thanks to Ghosts of DC)

Baist’s Real Estate Atlas, 1925. (Detail)

B. H. Gruver’s map to his exhibit home on Tunlaw Road. (Evening Star, September 19, 1926, p.3)

Relation of Calvert Street to Snyders (Schneider’s) Lane, 1931.

The original right-of-way for Arizona Avenue in Glover-Archbold Park, and vestiges of Northwest Highlands––Vale Place, V Street, and Ulm Place––on the southern fringe of Glover Park. (Washington, D.C., City and Capitol, W.P.A., 1937)

The western terminus of the D2 line, Guide Map, Capital Transit Streetcar and Bus Lines, Washington D.C., corrected June 1, 1942 (detail). (DC Department of Transportation)

Baist’s Real Estate Atlas, 1945. (Detail)

(A Pocket Map of Central Washington, The National Geographic , September 1948)

Glover Park (Glover Park Citizens Association,1951)

Baist’s Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Washington (Philadelphia: G. Wm. Baist, 1954). (Detail)

Baist’s Real Estate Atlas, 1960. (Detail)

Map of Burleith and environs, Edgar Farr Russell, circa 1961, detail. (Peabody Room, Georgetown Public Library)

U.S. Geological Survey Map, 1965 (photorevised 1983).

(Google Maps, 2013)

Map of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3B and Residential Permit Parking Block, no date. ANCs were created in connection with the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973 to consider city policies and programs affecting their neighborhoods.

Map of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3B and Residential Permit Parking Block, including Glover Park, and part of Cathedral Heights (no date). ANCs, created in connection with the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973, consider city policies and programs affecting their neighborhoods.

Additional Resources

For a map of every structure in the city by square and lot, showing year built, original owner, and other useful information, as it appears at the Office of the Surveyor, the legal office of record for land records in the District, be sure to check out Historical Data on DC Buildings and Historic Data on DC Buildings.

A Quick Search allows anyone looking for information about a certain lot to search the system for that information. You will need your square and lot number to begin. (Consult the Baist atlases for the history of any property lot numbering changes.)

The system includes many types of maps, as well as survey books, condo books, assessment and tax books, and subdivision books and county books. An Advanced Search allows searches using Book and Page references directly to Surveyor’s Office records.

SurDocs Manual

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkvhtgusKCY

https://dcra.dc.gov/node/1220456

Library of Congress digitized map collections:

Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)–Maps.

Real property–Washington (D.C.)–Maps.

United States–District of Columbia–Washington–Georgetown.

United States–District of Columbia–Washington.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

D.C. Public Library digitized map collections.

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Carlton Fletcher