Top of the Town

—Tenleytown Heritage Trail —

Before the Civil War (1861-65), the land behind you was part of the 72-acre farm of Giles Dyer. As a Southerner, Dyer depended on enslaved people to work his fields.

Because of its elevation, Dyers land was taken by the Union Army in 1861 for a fort and observation post. After the war, the Dyer family recovered the property, then sold it to developers. Soon "Reno City" lots sold for $25 with a $5 down payment.

Frederick "Fritz" Bangerter, a young Swiss immigrant, bought several lots to establish a dairy farm, raise a family, and build houses to rent. African Americans who had sought safety and work at Fort Reno during the Civil War also bought lots or rented Reno City houses, as did other white and black families. Many worked nearby as laborers and domestics. By 1900 Reno City was 75 percent African American with three black churches, a black Masonic lodge, and a black school among its 100 buildings. Generally black and white families lived side by side.

In 1902 the U.S. Senate Park Commission suggested preserving the city's historic ring of Civil War forts, including Reno, as parks. The plan was shelved, but as land around Reno filled in with new housing for whites, federal planners again eyed Reno City as a good spot to create a park, schools, and reservoirs. Doing so would also satisfy



those desiring to remove the aging, racially mixed enclave. Thus, between 1928 and the early 1950s, the federal government bought or condemned Reno City houses and razed them, dispersing the 80-year-old community and its businesses and institutions.

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Show me all markers in:  Washington, DC  |  20016  |  District Of Columbia  |  United States of America

The Civil War Defenses of Washington
Reservoir/Reno City
Fort Reno
Fort Reno
Luis Alves De Lima E Silva, a War Memorial
In Touch with the World
Fort Reno
Fort Reno
Set in Stone
Beer, Popcorn, and Penny Candy

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