John Little Died in 1876, Leaving His Real Property (Extending North Past the Current Boundaries

John Little died in 1876, leaving his real property (extending north past the current boundaries of the park) to his five daughters, Sophia Little, Ida Little Stevens, Margaret Sands, Finella Alexander, and Sarah Baldwin.[1] In 1880 and 1883, the five daughters subdivided the property into 11 lots.[2] In 1884, Lawrence Sands, Margaret’s husband, subdivided three of the lots (5, 6, and 7) into the current Mintwood Place. The remaining triangular property, stretching from the intersection of 19th and Columbia Roads to Mintwood Place, appears to have been divided among the sisters into a northern parcel, eventually owned by Finella, and a southern parcel, owned by Ida.

In 1890, Finella and Sophia sued the United States in the U.S. Court of Claims, claiming that construction of the Washington City Tunnel caused the well on her land to go dry.[3] The Washington City Tunnel connects the Georgetown Reservoir to the McMillan Reservoir. (An access shaft to the tunnel is located in a little building nearby on Champlain Street, next to the Marie Reed school.) The court ruled in Finella’s favor, and the government appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1893 again ruled in Finella’s favor.[4]

In December, 1903, Finella deeded[5] the northern parcel, to Thomas W. Smith, an “extensive lumber dealer”[6] and “prominent merchant and former president of the Board of Trade.”[7] According to the Washington Post article reporting the sale, the property of 91,000 square feet (approx. 2 acres) was purchased for $1/sq. ft., and contained a big frame house where Finella had lived.[8] The address of the property was apparently known at the time as 2334 Columbia Road, according to various documents, including a 1906 Washington Post article listing Mrs. Thomas Wilson Smith among “Those Receiving To-day.”[9] Thomas Smith died in March, 1919, leaving a $1 million estate, including the Columbia Road property and several others.[10] His will provided for a life estate in the house to his wife, Caroline, who died in August, 1925 and otherwise leaving the various properties in trust for 15 years after his death, with the Washington Loan and Trust Company as trustee.[11] In December 1939, the Smith heirs filed a civil action asking for the properties to be sold, as discussed further below.

With respect to the southern portion of the property, Ida Little Stevens died on January 7, 1903.[12] Apparently timed in conjunction with Finella’s sale of the northern half of the property, Ida’s estate offered the property at auction on December 15, 1903, and it was purchased by Christian Heurich, the brewer.[13] The sale was ratified some time later, and the executor of Ida’s estate, the National Safe Deposit Savings and Trust Company, deeded the property to Mr. Heurich on February 5, 1904[14] Heurich intended to build an “immense” apartment building on the site, as reported in the Washington Post in April of 1904.[15] As the article noted, it was already known at that time that Congress planned to cut Kalorama Road through the property.[16] In 1905, a jury awarded Heurich $30,666 as compensation for the taking of his land for the road.[17] In 1926, Heurich deeded[18] the property to Alonzo O. Bliss Properties trust.[19] Bliss died in March, 1927 and the obituary noted that Bliss Properties were valued between $2 and $4 million.[20]

Meanwhile, the National Capital Park and Planning Commission (known today as the National Capital Planning Commission, or NCPC) had expressed an interested in purchasing the Little property as early as 1938, budgeting $300,000 for acquisition of 3.18 acres for the “Columbia Road Playground” for fiscal year 1940.[21] In 1942, the trustee of the Smith estate reported to the court that NCPC had offered $127,500 for the property (again, only the 2-acre northern parcel, now renumbered as lot 817). In April 1942, the court issued an order ratifying the sale, and the May 6, 1942 deed was recorded on May 11, 1942.[22] NCPC’s minutes from May 14-15, 1942 reflect discussion regarding interest of private sources in trying to develop the southern portion of the park (renumbered as lots 815 and 816), noting that the additional lots comprised 46,782 square feet, i.e., slightly more than an acre. They also noted the average neighborhood park should contain about three acres and passed a motion to formally include the additional lots within the “Commission’s taking lines for park and playground purposes.” The minutes also noted that the Public Library desired to acquire the property, as did the War Production Board for an 8-story apartment building. Sometime around August 1942, NCPC changed the name of the site to Kalorama Park.[23] In 1943, NCPC continued to express an interest in purchasing lots 815 and 816, i.e., the southern portion of the property owned by the Bliss trust.[24] The trust eventually deeded the property to United States on April 25, 1946 for $233,360.[25]

It appears that properties purchased by NCPC were managed by the National Park Service in conjunction with DC Recreation Board, which had been created by Congress in 1942. In October, 1944,[26] NCPC assigned control of the Kalorama Park playground to the Recreation Board. In 1947, NPS prepared a general development plan of the park for the Recreation Board, showing proposed landscaping, recreation center, and play equipment, etc. The recreation center appears in a 1951 photograph at the historical society, so it appears that the building was built sometime between 1947 and 1951. On February 12, 1971, the Superintendent of the Office of National Capital Parks for the National Park Service transferred jurisdiction of the park (now known as Reservation 655) to the District of Columbia for recreation and related purposes (but ownership to the land remains in the federal government).[27]

[1] See DC SHPO Archaeological Report # 409/Archaeological Investigation at Site 51nw061, Kalorama Park Washington, D.C., Final Report prepared for: C & E Services of Washington, prepared by the Louis Berger Group, Inc. May 2010.

[2] In 1880, the sisters originally divided the property into 9 lots in Liber Governor Sheperd folio 107 in the DC Surveyor’s Office. In 1883, Ida, Sophia, and Finella subdivided lot 2 into lots 10 and 11 in Liber Governor Sheperd folio 170 in the DC Surveyor’s Office.

[3] Alexander et al v. United States, 25 Ct. Cl. 329 (1890)

[4] United States v. Alexander et al, 148 U.S. 186 (1893)

[5] Deed dated December 2, 1903, recorded December 23, 1903 in Liber 2793 Folio 124 at the DC Recorder of Deeds

[6] Wash Post Dec. 13, 1903 p. T3

[7] Washington Post, March 8, 1919, p.3

[8] See note 7, supra. The article also noted that a sale of 60 feet of frontage on Columbia Road to the south of this property was also to be sold by other of the John Little heirs the following Tuesday.

[9] Washington Post, February 14, 1906, p. 5. Today, the park address is 1875 Columbia Road.

[10] Washington Post, March 8, 1919, p.3.

[11] See case file for Civil Action No. 5070 in the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia, available at the National Archives.

[12] She is buried in Congressional Cemetery along with several of her sisters and other relatives.

[13] Washington Post, December 16, 1903, p. 14.

[14] February 5, 1904 deed recorded February 8, 1904 in Liber 2764, Folio 342 at the DC Recorder of Deeds.

[15] Washington Post, April 9, 1904, p. 13. Note that this article notes the square footage of the southern portion of the property of 43,439 sq. ft, or approximately 1 acre, and refers to 283 feet of frontage on Columbia Road, but the 1903 article, supra note 17, indicates that he purchased only 60 feet of frontage.

[16] An Act Authorizing the joining of Kalorama avenue, ch. 1763, 33 Stat. 514 (April 28, 1904).

[17] Washington Post, December 13, 1905, p. 16. The Congressional act provided for a jury to determine the amount of damages.

[18] Deed dated April 3, 1926, recorded April 6, 1926 at Liber 5735, Folio 30 at the DC Recorder of Deeds.

[19] See Bliss v. United State, 373 F.2d 936 (1967) for a background of the Alonzo Bliss trust.

[20] Washington Post, March 6, 1927, p.6.

[21] See NCPC minutes from September 29-30, 1938, and the Washington Post, December 13, 1938, p. 1 “$2,000,000 Is Asked to Extend Parks. 29 Items Listed in Report; Biggest Is For Playground on Columbia Road.” Earlier efforts to purchase a neighborhood park date back to 1906, when the Washington Heights Citizens Association was formed with the primary purpose of establishing a park, as described in the Washington Post on April 11, 1906, and a 1912 effort by the Association to have Congress purchase the nearby Truesdell estate, as described in the Washington Post on April 10, 1912. According to the 1906 article, Truesdell was one of the organizers of the Association.

[22] May 6, 1942 deed recorded May 11, 1942 at Liber 7752, Folio 87 at the DC Recorder of Deeds.

[23] Washington Post, August 14, 1942, p. 21, noting that the name change was in recognition of the instrumental work by Kalorama Heights Citizens Association in procuring the park (erroneously adding “Heights” to the name of the association).

[24] See also October 21, 1943 NCPC minutes again noting that 2.07 acres had already been acquired and that additional land and funding was needed for the “Kalorama Park Playground” and Washington Post June 19, 1943 noting that a playground at Kalorama and 19th had been added to the Recreation Board’s master playground plan by NCPC.

[25] April 25, 1946 deed from the Bliss trustees to the United States, recorded Mary 21, 1946 in Liber 8270, Folio 549 at the DC Recorder of Deeds.

[26] See October 19-20 NCPC minutes.

[27] Transfer of Jurisdiction recorded in the DC Surveyor’s Office in Book 162, Page 1.