Roads to Diversity

—Adams Morgan Heritage Trail —

The Rock Creek Valley, once home to Native Americans, had attracted European settlers by 1703. Before he became president in 1825, John Quincy Adams purchased Adams Mills on Rock Creek from his cousin. The mills, just down the hill, processed flour and plaster. While other millers here relied on slave labor, the anti-slavery Adams refused to do so. The park to your left was once part of a pair of cemeteries established back when this hilltop lay beyond the city limits. After the Smithsonian began building the National Zoo in 1889, the cemetery associations moved remains nearest the zoo to other locations, including Woodlawn Cemetery in Southeast Washington.In 1941 excavations began for new apartments where the park is today. In 1981 residents succeeded in creating Community Park West on the empty site. In 1991 the park was re-named for the late Walter Pierce, a high-profile member of the coalition that created it. That coalition included Washington's Society of Friends (Quakers) and Charlotte Filmore, founder of the Filmore Early Learning Center. Filmore was born in 1898 and lived to the age of 104. Her center provided low-cost and free day care to more than 500 African-American children. Its last location was 1811 Ontario Place, to your right. During winter you can see a mansion on the Zoo grounds. It is Holt
House, named for a physician, Dr. Henry Holt, who farmed the area. Captions:During the Civil War, Cliffburne Barracks and Hospital occupied this area. 1909 map shows where the Society of Friends and Union Benevolent Association cemeteries once were located. Planting a garden in Community Park West, 1978. Henry Holt, son of Dr. Henry Holt and last private owner of Holt House, sits in front of the house, 1899. Walter Pierce, above, and Charlotte Filmore, two leaders in efforts to create a park. Reverse:
The Adams Morgan story begins with its breezy hilltop location, prized by Native Americans, colonial settlers, freedom seekers, powerful Washingtonians, working people, and immigrants alike. Unlike most close-in neighborhoods, Adams Morgan has never been dominated by any of these groups. Today's rich diversity is the legacy of each group that has passed through.Follow the 18 signs of the Roads to Diversity: Adams Morgan Heritage Trail to discover the personalities and forces that shaped a community once known as "18th and Columbia." Along the way, you'll learn how school desegregation led to the name Adams Morgan, and you'll meet presidents and paupers, natives and immigrants, artists, activists and authors.Roads to Diversity: Adams Morgan Heritage Trail, a booklet
capturing the trail's highlights, is available at local businesses. To learn about other DC neighborhoods, check out City Within a City: Greater U Street Heritage Trail, beginning at 16th and U Streets, and visit: www.CulturalTourismDC.org.Roads to Diversity is dedicated to the memory of Carolyn Llorente (1937-2003).Contributors and sponsors of the Adams Morgan Heritage Trail.Caption:Clean-up Day in Community Park West, 1978The Washington Post

Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.

Show me all markers in:  Washington, DC  |  20009  |  District Of Columbia  |  United States of America

"Suburban" Development
A People Without Murals Is A Demuralized People
Tragedy at 18th and Columbia
Serving the Neighborhood
Archaeology in Adams Morgan
Soldiers and Sailors Buried at Mt. Pleasant Plains Cemetery, 1870-1890
Kalorama Triangle
The ?Duke? Ellington Memorial Bridge
The Artistic Life
Lanier Place

• GPX
• KML
• LOC

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.