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| Add Photo — Add Link — Add Commentary — Correct this page — Print | | Southwest in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic) |
The Law House In Peace and War
River Farms to Urban Towers
— Southwest Heritage Trail —
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By Richard E. Miller, June 27, 2009 | |
| | | 1. The Law House In Peace and War Marker | | |
Inscription.
To your left across Water Street is the Thomas Law House, now a community center for the Tiber Island cooperative. The Federal style house was designed by William Lovering in 1794 for businessman Thomas Law and his bride Eliza Parke Custis, granddaughter of Martha Washington. At first the house stood at the foot of Sixth Street overlooking the Potomac. Since then, time and engineers have changed the shoreline, so the house is now farther from the water. It is one of very few to survive the 1950s urban renewal.
After the Law’s time, the area grew commercial. During the Civil War the house became the Mt. Vernon Hotel. Guests witnessed Union troops embarking for the South from the busy Sixth Street wharf and the return of stunning numbers of wounded. “Quite often,” recorded poet Walt Whitman, “they arrive[d] at the rate of 1,000 a day.” Here President Lincoln greeted Union reinforcements arriving to defend Washington from attack by Confederate General Jubal Early in 1864. At the war’s end, Washington’s regiment of the U.S. Colored Infantry marched triumphantly from here up Seventh Street to cheering throngs.
Around 1913 the Law House became the Washington Sanitarium’s Mission Hospital, ministering to the area’s working class and poor, black and white. In 1923 Dr. Henry G. Hadley purchased | | | | 
By Richard E. Miller, June 27, 2009 | |
| | | 2. The Law House In Peace and War Marker, illustration on reverse - | | "Civil War activity on the 6th Street Wharf, 1863. The Law House, then the Mount Vernon Hotel, flies the American flag." (Library of Congress.) | | |
the house to operate as a clinic. According to Southwester Phyllis Martin, he “was a family doctor to the people of Southwest.” In 1952 Hadley built Hadley Memorial Hospital in far Southwest. The clinic here closed in 1961.
Erected by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 12 of 17.)
Location. 38° 52.483′ N, 77° 1.252′ W. Marker is in Southwest, District of Columbia, in Washington. Marker is on the Washington Channel Promenade west of Water Street, SW. Click for map. Marker is on the walkway, off the parking lot at the end of Water Street and two blocks south of the 6th Street/M Street, SW, intersection. Marker is in this post office area: Washington DC 20024, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. All Aboard! (approx. 0.2 miles away); Blending Old and New (approx. 0.2 miles away); Harbour Square (approx. 0.2 miles away); Titanic Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Linking the "Island" to the City (approx. 0.2 miles away); Military Education at Fort McNair (approx. 0.3 miles away); Escape from Slavery (approx. 0.3 miles away); Housing Reform and the Syphax School (approx. 0.3 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Southwest.
More about this marker. [Photo captions:]
On the upper right is a photo of The Law House in 1927. Also in the upper right are portraits of Thomas Law and Eliza Parke Custis. Thomas Law married Martha Washington’s granddaughter Eliza Parke Custis and brought her here to their “honeymoon cottage” overlooking the river.
In the lower section of the marker is a reproduction of a newspaper describing the U.S. Colored Troops formed in Washington, above a photo of the troops. This rare 1864 photo, shows the “First U.S. Colored Infantry,”Washington’s own regiment, which returned here in triumph in 1865, as described in the Daily National Republican.
To the lower right is a photo of Dr. Henry Hadley and his wife, nurse Anna Hadley.| | | | 
By Richard E. Miller, June 27, 2009 | |
| | | 3. The Thomas Law House--1252 6th St., SW. | | |
Also see . . .
1. The Thomas Law House. (Submitted on July 2, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
2. Hadley Memorial Hospital. (Submitted on July 2, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
3. Black Copper and Bright: The District of Columbia's Black Civil War Regiment. (Submitted on July 2, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
4. Other River Farms to Urban Towers - Southwest Heritage Trail markers. (Submitted on July 6, 2009.)
Additional keywords. USCT |
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By Richard E. Miller, June 27, 2009 | |
| | | 4. The Law House In Peace and War Marker | | with the Law House visible in the background beyond Water Street. | | |
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By Richard E. Miller, June 27, 2009 | |
| | | 5. The Law House In Peace and War Marker, center right - | | view northward along the riverwalk with the "Spirit Cruise" excursion boat (docked, left) and its terminal at the old 6th Street Wharf site (center, middle). | | |
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By Richard E. Miller, June 27, 2009 | |
| | | 6. The Law House In Peace and War Marker--close up of the 1st U.S. Colored Infantry photograph | | |
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Credits. This page originally submitted on July 2, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 1,456 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on July 2, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
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