Anacostia Community Museum
East of the River: Continuity and Change
September 15, 2007 – November 9, 2008
Change is the overwhelming theme in the history of communities in Far Southeast Washington, D.C., beginning with the change in the lives of Native American residents resulting from contact with the first European residents in the early 1600s. It continued with the development of communities such as Good Hope, Uniontown, and Barry Farm. The growth of modern infrastructure transformed land use. Multi-family apartment buildings converted the earlier, almost rural, village-like atmosphere into a contemporary urban landscape. Throughout its dynamic history, southeast Washington, DC has maintained an abiding sense of community that connects individuals, families, religious institutions, and other local organizations.
Students at Birney Public School line up with their teacher behind a horse-drawn ice wagon to look at a large block of ice held by a man with tongs. Washington, D.C., 1899. Photo by Frances Benjamin Johnston. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
