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Famous Old Market Stood on Archives Building Site t > i . . . ■ innmnim m - - _ By John Clagett Proctor. The thousands of newcomers to Wash ington in the last few years are, no doubt by this time, quite familiar with the National Archives Building, which faces both Pennsylvania and Constitution avenues and stands between Seventh and Ninth streets. But, it is safe to say, that those who haw made their home In the Capital during the last decade only have little or no knowledge of the old Center Market that previously oc cupied this site, though in its day it was one of the most frequented places in this city. Indeed, when this market building was removed in the early part of 1931 there were many Washingtonians who felt as though they had lost a dear friend, for many families had visited it several times a week for over 50 years, to lay in their food supplies, during which time they became closely acquainted with the butchers and truckers and others who had stands in this great storehouse, so necessary in a great city like the Nation's Capital. Gen. Washington, ever thoughtful of the future, was responsible for setting aside this site for a public market, which he referred to as parcel No. 7, in his authorization which he published two days before his term expired as Presi dent and which was as follows: “The public appropriation beginning at the intersection of the north side of Canal street and the east side of Ninth street west, thence north to the south side of the Avenue drawn in front of square numbered 382, thence north easterly with south side of said Avenue until it intersects the south side of Pennsylvania avenue, thence with the south side of said Avenue until it inter sects the west side of Seventh street west, thence with the west side of said street until it intersects Canal street, thence west with north side of said Canal street to the beginning." Opening Day. And here this celebrated market had ft* opening on Tuesday, December 15, 1801, and soon took on the name, ••Marsh" Market, which later was cor rupted into "Mash” Market. The original building or buildings, which were apparently mere sheds, stood on piers, and extended from Eighth to Seventh street, and it is claimed that William Rudderforth, a butcher, who resided at Greenleaf Point, was the first occupant, the second being Ezra Little, possibly the father of John Little, also a butcher, who, about 1836, purchased of Christian and Matthew Hines what is still recalled by many an early resident as Little's Woods, a tract of land of 52 acres lying to the north of Washington Heights and extending from Champlain avenue to Rock Creek. The pioneer pro duce dealers were Cruit, Cunningham, Oyster, Otterback. Steper and Betzal. By 1821, an addition was made to the market by the erection of a building to the east, facing Seventh street, which, when connected with the original struc ture, formed an L. The next addition made was the erection of a frame shed on Eighth street, which was used foT the first market for many years. Following this came the erection of what later became known as. the ‘‘New Market.” It stood between Eighth and Ninth street*, and was erected between 1828 and 1830, George Crandell, a car penter, being the builder. This struc ture remained unoccupied for some years, during which time the cattle which then roamed at large, found it to be a good sheltering place. Took StaU. According to an early account, George Keating, a butcher, was the first to take a stall in this new building, being soon followed by other enterprising men. Ad ditional sheds were afterward added on the Seventh and Ninth street sides, and the fish market was established along the canal. Prom the beginning the en tire space occupied by the market reser vation was a huge swamp, and before the erection of the New Market referred to, the site on which it was erected was a favorite gunning resort for the boys who would immediately sell their game in the market close by. The work of filling up this land was done by William Stew art. At Seventh street and Constitution avenue, prior to the building of the canal, the water in the creek often rose so high that the dealers were compelled to move to other nearby locations. Most of the dealers, we are told, dur ing the early 1800's, then lived on Green leaf Point, known to many an old-timer as the Arsenal, and from here they reached the market by a ferry boat, by way of the James Creek and Tiber Creek. At this point, when the water in the creek was high, the north wharf of the ferry was at Seventh and D streets. However, according to Christian Hines, other means of transportation wrere em ployed by the merchants of other sec tions in bringing their produce to market. “It was,” says this historian, "customary for the country people to bring in their produce, such as corn, corn meal, pota toes, apples, etc., on horseback, and in return, take back a few groceries, not forgetting a jug of whisky. The tobacco, of which there was a large quantity shipped (more particularly from George town! to Europe, was brought to market in a way that may appear strange to many who have never seen it. It was done in this manner: The hogshead containing the tobacco had a hole bored In each head, and an axle run through from one end to the other. To this axle a shaft was attached something like the shaft of a cart. To this a horse was hitched and the tobacco brought to town, up and down hills, over stones, etc. It looked precisely like the roller with which the streets are now rolled.” Sold Live Fish. And another early writer tells us: “One of the great attractions of the Center Market was the fact that many flsh dealers sold flsh alive. When the flsh were caught in the Potomac, or else where, they were brought in live boxes, and it was no unusual sight to see flsh Jumping about the flsh stands as pro spective purchasers inspected them. If no sale was made the fish were simply dumped back into the baskets and then Into the live boxes, which were floating in the canal, only 25 feet south of the market. The stock could be kept alive as long as desired or until sold, and the method had many advantages over cold storage, the chief of which was its in expensiveness." On the Avenue side of the market Bite was erected, about 1825, what was known as the Scale House or Watch House, the lower part of which was used tor weighing pork, butter, etc. Here * was also the office of the clerk of the market, John Waters, who held this po sition for 30 years or more. The Auxil iary Guard, organized in 1842, long undqr the command of John H. Goddard, had its headquarters here until the present Metropolitan Police was created in 1861. From the beginning and for several decades later, the market was protected from destruction by fire by a small hand engine into which the water was poured from leather buckets passed down a line1 of men from the nearest pump or cistern. This engine was kept in a small build ing on the east side of Ninth street, a little south of Pennsylvania avenue, and a fire company known as the Phoenix used it. In 1839, a two-story brick en gine house, with a hall on the second floor, was erected for the Perseverence Fire Company in the center of Eighth street at the south side of the Avenue. This building was surmounted by a cupola in which was installed a fine toned bell. Corporation Laws. The corporation laws at this period, respecting people of color, slaves or free, required them to be in their homes by 10 o’clock at night in summer and 9 o'clock in winter, and this bell struck those hours. Many families not in cluded in the scope of ordinance thought these hours good ones for their own children to retire by, and accordingly applied them to the young folk of their household, and when the bell pealed out the retiring hour, it also meant to these youngsters what taps means to our sol dier boys today. This engine house was destroyed by fire in 1855. In the Harrison-Van Buren presiden tial campaign of 1840. a log cabin was erected in the vicinity of the engine house. The cabin was decked with coon skins, with a live coon or two and other insignia of Tippecanoe, and had on tap a barrel of hard cider which was lib erally patronized. Apparently music had its political charm in those days as it does today, for it is said that at the meetings held here every night a fiddler was engaged in scraping out the tune of "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.” In the parking to the north of old market, our grandparents may have seen their first circus, which had its tents here in 1830. But though the grand finale of the original Center Market came about rather unexpectedly on December 19, 1870, yet by many it was not seriously regretted, for, after all, its smouldering ruins represented only the ashes of a lot of nondescript frame buildings and sheds that had become an eyesore. Of the burning of this old market one ac count says in part: "About 12:55 o'clock yesterday morning a forked tongue of flame was observed leaping forth from the roof of the main market building, apparently from a point on the north wall about 30 feet from the Ninth street entrance. Within a few seconds a sheet of fire burst forth and spread with lightning rapidity all over the building, then attacking the pitch roof of the temporary addition across Eighth street, quickly communi cated to the main building from Eighth to Seventh street. ‘‘In 10 minutes the entire structure, extending from Ninth to Seventh street, was a perfect mass of flame and smoke, while the locality for two blocks around was lighted up as by the glare of a noonday sun. The sheds on the south of the main structure were soon on fire, extending as far south as the fish market sheds, the flames taking in their course the old watch-house, which was speedily a mass of ruins. "As soon as the first fire was seen, Special Officer Thomas Young ran to the Central guardhouse to cause an alarm to be turned in from box 25. The police telegraph, as usual, was out of order, and no communication could be had with headquarters. Officers ran out to strike the next nearest box, but some of their confreres were before them, and, as stated at headquarters, boxes 34 iBank of Washington) and 29 (Seventh and E streets) were rang in simultaneously, 29 being obtained by the instrument first. The alarm was struck for that box, and soon the clanging gongs of the engines were heard from the four quarters of the city. "Franklin No. 2, Union No. 1, and Columbia No. 3 got to work on the west ern side of the building, while South Washington No. 4 was stationed by Chief Holmes to w’ork on the Seventh street side to protect the property on the east side of that street, as well as to fight the flames which rapidly approached from the west. The steamer Henry Ad dison, from Georgetown, was on the ground, and did good service. "The firemen worked like Trojans, and heavy streams of water from their hose were soon distributed upon the burning mass, but without avail. The immense area covered by the flames was too great for our department to cover, and not withstanding the great exertion, it was impossible to stay the progress of the Puerto Rico Hopes to Find New Prosperity in Vanilla By Malcolm D. Lamborne, Jr. Never, since the Yankees landed on Its south coast 43 years ago, has the island of Puerto Rico seen such feverish activity as is taking place today. Millions of dollars are pouring into the vast defense system that must make the Island—and the Panama Canal—safe from possible Axis attack. But while this work is rushed through apace, another campaign is underway— not so feverish but nonetheless vitally im portant. It is a campaign to make the 2.000.000 citizens of our far-from-pros perous Caribbean possession safe from the attack of poverty. And the main factor in the campaign is, strangely enough, an orchid. Its name is Vanilla planifolia—which most of us know as just plain vanilla. In this product, scientists and eco nomic planners in Puerto Rico and in the Department of Agriculture in Wash ington foresee a crop which, once intro duced on a paying basis, promises big things. Some of the more enthusiastic claim it may one day even replace “King Sugar Cane.” Like its colorful sister, the flower-shop orchid, the vanilla plant ranks among the most profitable crops known to horticulturists. It attains ma turity in three years and continues to bear, barring the appearance of root rot, for many years. The plant grows well in shaded sections of Puerto Rico’s mountains, where even in the so-called dry season there is an abundance of rain. Greatly increased planting under the di rection of the Mayaguez Federal Experi ment Station already is underway in three sections of the island. At present, most of the world’s supply of vanilla lies idle on the docks and plantations of Madagascar. War has put a stop to its shipment abroad. In the event Germany takes over the is land, the Nazis will sell Madagascar's rich vanilla store in their own queer way of doing business. That is why Puerto Rico’s scientists are working day and night to establish a crop. Puerto Rico has known what it is to lose world markets. Its coffee, a thriving crop before the last war, was world renowned. A great hurricane destroyed it, and by the time rehabilitation was underway and replanting began to pro duce for export, the market was lost. It has never been recovered. On these same uplands where once grew coffee, the vanilla is flowering. The vanilla project here is divided into three parte. Scientists are seeking the cause and cure of root rot, which at tacks the plant at the peak of its life; they are working on methods, both old and modem, of curing the bees to pro i duce the best vanilla; and they are doing their best to convince planters that sugar cane is not the end and means of Puerto Rico’s existence. In this last they have the greatest obstacle to hurdle. Sugar is the No. 1 crop of the island and has been since the days of Spanish Conquistadores. Agriculturists here have no delusions about their task of educating the is* landers, who, although possessing the soil and climate for a great range of food products, import a vast majority from the mainland. A single pound of cured vanilla beans brings $10 on the market today, explains Miss Francisco E. Arana, an island-edu cated chemist with the experimental sta tion. From a pound of these beans can be taken about two and a half gallons of extract. Little wonder they call it one of the most profitable crops known to man. “The fragrant vanilla is a native American plant. Its use was discovered and practiced by the Aztecs,” Miss Arana said. The unripe vanilla pod, she explained, has no aroma, but it develops during a process of curing. The pods will cure if left on the vines, but they are usually split, causing a loss of contents and de tracting from their value. As a result, the beans are picked for curing when mature or Just as they begin to ripen. conflagration. It really burned itself out, for In three hours the space occu pied by the buildings was thoroughly cleared. •The new sheds recently erected by the Market House Co. on the Avenue, near Ninth street, as well as the sheds of the fish market, are all that remain standing of the motley group which Saturday night were filled with buyers. The abutments of the walls of the main building also stand. •‘The flames swept from the Ninth street end of the main building to the frame structures fronting on that street and south of the butchers’ market. Rap idly devouring the feed store and cook house of Mr. Clayton, they approached the feed house of Alfred Jones. Some noble hearts were hard at work endeav oring to save some little of the property of the poor dealers, and five or six en tered Mr. Jones’ place with that inten tion. Among these were Joseph Reed and (as subsequently ascertained) Solo mon Hammond and Reuben Alpheus Boyd. Mr. Reed states that while he with others were struggling to remove some bales of hay, he heard the cry: “Get off there, the place is tumbling!" He rushed out, his clothing all singed, and succeeded in making good his es cape. A second after he heard a crash and the roof of the structure fell In. Not seeing the men who were behind him, he gave the alarm that two men were inside. Water was brought, the burning embers were quenched, and soon Mr. James Kelly and Officers Markwoori and Roderick drew forth from the ruins the charred and mashed remains of two human beings. The bodies were taken to the Central guardhouse ana placed in a cell to wait identification. Origin of Blaze. "Of course, the stories told as to the origin of the fire were many and varied. Some had it that the catastrophe was the work of incendiaries, that the build ing had been fired in half a dozen places, while others shook their heads and said the Market House Co. had caused it to be done to rid themselves of the expense of arbitration, cost of building, etc. ‘‘Our inquiries have been made on every hand, and the most intelligible and reliable story seems to be that of Special Officer Thomas Young, who states about as follows: ‘An old man named Brenehan, who keeps his tem porary fruit stand at the comer of Seventh street and Pennsylvania avenue, had the privilege of using a little room on the north side of the building, about 30 yards from the Ninth street entrance. About half an hour before the fire, Mr. Young noticed the old man putting his things away, and shortly after depart. The fire appeared to originate directly from this room, and the supposition is that the old gentleman dropped fire ot some kind In the inflammable material which was stored therein, and left the place without noticing it.’ The matter will doubtless be yet more thoroughly investigated, in order to get at the truth of these statements.” Grave Inconvenience. While the burning of these buildings was really a godsend, yet the great in convenience it gave the marketing public could hardly be estimated, for ever so many families depended entirely upon the merchants here for (heir daily food supplies and the next nearist market at this time for them to go to was the Northern Liberty Market, then located at Mount Vernon Square, where now is the main building of the Public Library. Therefore, for the Imperative reason indicated, it did not take long for the Washington Market Co. to secure a charter from Congress the same year the old building was destroyed. The stockholders were Matthew G. Emery, Fitzhugh Coyle, Alexander R. Shepherd, Moses Kelly, H. D. Cooke, M. Tinker, Hiram Libby, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Hild reth, F. B. Whitney and Gen. Ordway. Ths new Center Market, the one that was removed 10 years ago for the Archives Building, was one of the finest and largest market houses in the country. It was commenced in the spring of 1871 and completed during the summer of the following year. Over the north aide of this market was for manv years the armnrv r.f *v>» District of Columbia National Guaid, and well does the writer particularly recall when the guard turned out to take part in the Spanisn-American War. Apparently the local boys were on their to#s just waiting for the Presi dent's call and immediately responded with 1.800 strong, marching from the armory with hearts beating to the tunes of “Yankee Doodle,” “Dixie'1 and The Girl I Left Behind Me.” The boys got a great sendoff from the large crowd that had assembled at the Pennsylvania avenue entrance to the armory, and the main body was soon on its way to the Soldiers’ Home grounds, where it was planned to pitch its temporary camp, while a smeller detachment was marching up the Con duit road to guard the Washington Aqueduct. Mistake in Orders. However, like the King of France, who marched up the hill and then marched down again, so did our soldier boys upon this occasion, for a mistake in orders had been made and the boys were ordered back to their armory. September 9. 1898, saw a different set of men marching up me Avenue from those who had passed in review on May 21. What they suffered and endured during their few months in the Army, only one who saw them on their return to Washington can possibly have an idea. On June 10. 1930. President Hoover signed the Joint resolution providing for the closing of the Center Market by January 1. 1931, and a few weeks after this the wreckers had begun tearing down the building, the last portion to go being the tower at the northeast comer of the market, which was dynamited on February 35. Just prior to this, Philander Johnson. The Star’s poet for many years, penned the following lines: THE OLD MARKET HOUSE. The good old market house we knew With smiles or with a frown. Fate deemed it something to pursue And tried to bum It down! But it a natural way will go. Upon the ancient site Like a great tomb at last will show New walls of splendid height. And in memoriam we’ll tell Of beef and fish and fowl And various other things they sell Where hungry buyers prowl; Of blossoms gay and spices sweet And simple friendly chaff. Upon your monument complete Well writs your epitaph. The citizens who recollect The days of long ago Kind thought of you will not neglect Amid the statelier show And laughter, mingled with a sigh, Will mention memories dear And say, “Good friend, in days gone bv The Market House Stood Here!” Left: A view of the old wholesale market which was located to the west of Center Market on the Constitution avenue side of the present Internal Revenue Building. It was removed about 1931. Below: The old Center Market removed in 1931 on the site of the National Archives Building. The Seventh street side is at the left with the Pennsylvania avenue side which also housed the National Guard Armory at the right. How Teamwork Is Gained By British Air Force Continuing the series of the personal adventures of members of the R. C. A. F. in England, Flight Lt. W. J. Bundy of Regina writes this article on experiences as a member of the first army co-operation squadron of the R. C. A. F. By Flight Lt. W. J. Bundy. As on« who has just returned from active service duty with the Royal Canadian Air Force in Britain for the past 10 months, I can tell you something of what I saw. Our flrat army co-operation squadron was dispatched overseas early in the winter of 1940 and it was with consider able excitement and satisfaction that I learned that I was to follow them over seas with the advance party of the «econd army co-operation squadron. We left Canada in May, and were well settled on a Royal Air Force station in the south of England by the time the main body of the squadron came over in the following month. We were soon all at work at our ap pointed task of co-operation with the Canadian Army in Britain. We worked directly with the British Army corps commanded by Lt. Gen. Andrew Mac Naughton. Gen. MacNaughton occasionally flew with us, and lt was considered quite an honor to have Canada’s distinguished soldier as a passenger. Gen. MacNaugh ton flew with us for two reasons. The first was to investigate the problems confronting us, the army’s eyes way up in the air over the battle front. The second reason was that he wisher to see from the air the disposition of hi troops on maneuver to watch their be havior so as to be able to correct tactic? errors and the errors of commissio: and omission. Our machines were sturdy Westlan Lysander monoplanes built expressly fo the job of army co-operation. Thej were not very fast as fast aircraft go today, but they served us well. They were designed for taking off from small field just behind the front lines, and they climbed quickly and well. The under carriage also served other purposes. The two spats covering the wheels carried the machine-gun* operated by the pilot, both firing In a forward direction. Stub wings projecting horizontally from the wheel spats carried either bombs or canisters loaded with supplies, which we dropped to supposedly isolated units cut off from help and reinforce ment. We were supposed to work closely with the army, and closely it was. We flew at anywhere from 3,000 feet to beneath the tree tops. As the army trained, we aided In their education. We watched motorized con voys on the move to see that traffic moved smoothly and that there were no bottleneck!. If hitches developed, we reported it quickly so that the com manders could devise a remedy. During sham battles we swept low over the troops and dropped ammuni tion and food to units cut off from their fellows. Ws descended to within a few feet of the ground to pick up messages with the aid of a hook suspended .from the air craft. We dropped carrier pigeons by para chute. We aided in training the Canadians in gas warfare. We sprayed the troops with an imita tion gas so that the troops could gain experience in donning their gas masks quickly, so that the medical units could practice in picking up and evacuating supposed victims of gas. Perhaps ths most thrilling- phase of army sshoohnq tee us was familiarizing our Canadian soldiers with dive bomb ing attacks. We stalked our prey, playing hide and seek behind low hanging clouds, tall trees and hill tops. We tried to catch them by surprise, plummeting suddenly out of the sky upon the long line of troops, trucks and tanks. With engines setting up a terrific racket, we dropped to within a few yards of their heads, released imaginary bombs and then roomed back into the sky to wheel and dive again. Calibrating the anti-aircraft guns of London was another of the varied chores we were called upon to carry out. One of our machines would fly back and forth, back ar.d forth, over the area within the particular field of fire of the anti-aircraft battery with which we were working. Our wireless telephone kept us in continuous communication with the battery in the city far below. The anti-aircraft crew worked out the speed, altitude and course of our machine with the aid of its range finders and predictors, while the gun crews went through the motions of firing at us. The anti-aircraft crew would wireless to us their instrument calculations as to our height, speed and course, and a glance at the air speed indicator, altimeter and compass pro vided u* with an instant check on the accuracy of their calculations. If raiders appeared to bomb London, we were strictly on our own. We were not allowed to leave the area. We could stay at our altitude and take our chances of getting hit by anti-aircraft shells speeding upward to blast the Germans. Of course, the raiders them elves provided another hazard. Our second alternative was to duck :own among the balloon barrage and ilay hide and seek with those bulbous monsters until the raiders went away. I saw something of the Poles. At one R. A. P. station Polish lads were being trained for service with the bombers. They flew In slow and reliable Avro Anson training planes such as you see overhead In Canada every day from British commonwealth air train ing plan achools. They learn bombing with small practice bombs which they drop at targets on a practice bombing range. One day several Poles took oft for bombing practice. To make the bombing more realistic the armorers had loaded the Anson's bomb racks with light 40-pound general purpose bombs instead. Half an hour later the observers at the practice range telephoned the air drome to complain that the Anson and the Poles had failed to put In an ap pearance as scheduled. About three hours later the Anson landed on the airdrome, the Pole* grinning happily. “Practice bombs — practice range," they explained. “General purpose bombs —Dunkirk." They had flown the length of the English Channel In a training machine for a lone bombing raid on Dunkirk. The Norwegians earry out long and hazardous flights to their own country. The Netherlander know the marking of Netherlands squadrons serving with the R. A. F. There Is a former Nether lands airline pilot who knows his country like he does the back bf his hand. He is a silent and taciturn man. He goes out alone, and returns with bomb racks empty, his face a little less somber. The Czechs, too, are regular visitors to Germany and to their own homeland. The Free French are dashing pilots. We had a number of them on our own station. They do not wear R. A. F. uniforms, but earry an with their navy blue uniforms with the gold facings. k ft The National Archives Building, Constitution avenue between Seventh and Ninth streets. i i k