Frederic Wolters Huidekoper (1840-1908), a railroad baron from Pennsylvania, took up residence in Washington in 1883. Although his specialty was reorganizing bankrupt Southern railroads, Huidekoper also speculated in land; at one time his United Land Company of Florida owned a million and a half acres of that state.
On a more modest scale, Huidekoper bought and subdivided various parcels in Washington as well, thereby laying the groundwork for the eventual development of Burleith, Hillandale and Glover Park. As his obituary in the Washington Star (April 29, 1908) noted: “For many years Mr. Huidekoper had also been identified with the opening up and improvement of West Washington, and his efforts have been largely instrumental in securing assistance from Congress for the development of that section of the city.”
(A detailed biography may be found in In Memoriam, Frederic Wolters Huidekoper, Society of Colonial Wars, 1910.)
Post Script
Frederic W. Huidekoper was father of Col. Frederic L. Huidekoper (1874-1940), a military writer––”The Military Unpreparedness of the United States”, 1915––and veteran of the first World War, who died of injuries incurred when he was struck by a Washington streetcar.
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Carlton Fletcher
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