Chevy Chase in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Segregated by Design
Mary Ann Plummer Pilots the U.S. President
Mary Ann Plummer Harris (1820 - c. 1923) settled along Broad Branch Road in the 1840s, and in the 1850s she bought a 2.3-acre farm on this spot. It was part of a small community of free Black landowners covering 6.2 acres. Mary Ann was a free woman who had grown up along the C&O Canal in a cottage belonging to her grandfather, Capt. George Pointer, who was born enslaved but bought his freedom at age 19. Harris's two-story frame house is pictured in the 1928 newspaper clipping below. Here she raised eight children, just blocks from the Belt Plantation where enslaved men and women toiled. She sent two sons to fight in the Civil War, and was a pillar of the community.
By 1907, development had encroached on the area. Civic and business leaders led a campaign to have the community evicted by eminent domain in 1928 so a school and park could be built for white children. The Black families who had thrived here for more than 80 years scattered across the region. Oblivious to this history, a 1938 article in The Washington Post stated:
"This once-barren ground is now the hub a thriving community life." Harris reportedly lived to be 103, "still clinging to her pipe and tobacco." This artist's rendering depicts her as an intrepid eight-year-old girl piloting the boat with her grandfather, Capt. Pointer, that brought President
this page online
Erected by Historic Chevy Chase DC.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Settlements & Settlers • Women. A significant historical date for this entry is July 4, 1828.
Location. 38° 58.032′ N, 77° 4.118′ W. Marker is in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Chevy Chase. It can be reached from Broad Branch Road Northwest just north of Oliver Street Northwest, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3400 Patterson St NW, Washington DC 20015, 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.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A different marker also named Segregated by Design (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Broad Branch Market (approx. 0.2 miles away); Walter Tobriner (approx. 0.2 miles away); A Man's Recollection (approx. 0.4 miles away); Chevy Chase Theatre (approx. 0.4 miles away); Rock Creek Railway Streetcar (approx. 0.4 miles away); Colonel Joseph Belt (approx. 0.4 miles away in Maryland); Francis Griffith Newlands (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Northwest Washington.
Another marker is no longer nearby. What's in a Name? (was approx. 0.4 miles away
Credits. This page was last revised on October 29, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 29, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 184 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 29, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
