Georgetown in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Benjamin Banneker and Suter's Tavern
Georgetown African American Historic Landmark
2020
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 10, 2023
1. Benjamin Banneker and Suter's Tavern Marker
Inscription.
Benjamin Banneker and Suter's Tavern. Georgetown African American Historic Landmark. When President George Washington commissioned Andrew Ellicott to mark the boundaries of the nation's capital in 1791, Ellicott chose Benjamin Banneker as his assistant. One of Maryland's most illustrious free African Americans, Benneker was a mathematician and astronomer. The first plans for the "federal city" were delivered to Washington at Suter's Tavern on this site, also known as the Fountain Inn, making it the birthplace of the nation's capital. Occasionally slave auctions were held outside. Ellicott and engineer Pierre L'Enfant made the inn their headquarters while planning the city, and the first auction of lots to raise money for the federal buildings took place here, grossing a little over $2,000. Rather than lodging in Suter's, Banneker slept in a tent at the surveyors' camp and worked on the first of his six almanacs. He sent one to Thomas Jefferson, as proof of the intellectual ability of African Americans.
When President George Washington commissioned Andrew Ellicott to mark the boundaries of the nation's capital in 1791, Ellicott chose Benjamin Banneker as his assistant. One of Maryland's most illustrious free African Americans, Benneker was a mathematician and astronomer. The first plans for the "federal city" were delivered to Washington at Suter's Tavern on this site, also known as the Fountain Inn, making it the birthplace of the nation's capital. Occasionally slave auctions were held outside. Ellicott and engineer Pierre L'Enfant made the inn their headquarters while planning the city, and the first auction of lots to raise money for the federal buildings took place here, grossing a little over $2,000. Rather than lodging in Suter's, Banneker slept in a tent at the surveyors' camp and worked on the first of his six almanacs. He sent one to Thomas Jefferson, as proof of the intellectual ability of African Americans.
Erected 2020 by Georgetown African American Historic Landmark Project.
is in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Georgetown. It is on K Street Northwest just west of 31st Street Northwest, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3109 K Street Northwest, Washington DC 20007, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Another marker is no longer nearby. The Georgetown House (was about 600 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 10, 2023
2. Benjamin Banneker and Suter's Tavern Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on December 10, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 10, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 1,204 times since then and 137 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on December 10, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
