OF THE CITY OF WASHINGTON, D.C. WITH FULL OUTLINE OF THE NATURAL ADVANTAGES, ACCOUNTS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES, SELECTION OF THE SITE TILE, MANUFACTURING, AND TRANSPORTATION INTERESTS, THE PRESS, SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, SOCIETIES, PUBLIC PREFACE. THIS CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF WASHINGTON has been written almost exclusively by Hon. William B. Webb, of Washington, District of Columbia, and J. Wooldridge, of Cleveland, Ohio, although assistance has been received by each writer from numerous individuals in Washington who have taken an interest in the work. The chapters written by Mr. Webb are Chapter III., "Washington Becomes the Capital"; Chapter IV., "Permanent Capital Site Selected"; Chapter V., “Pioneer Life"; Chapter VII., "Growth and Improvement of the City"; and Chapter XXII., "The Bench and Bar." He also rendered valuable assistance in connection with Chapter XXIII., "The Prosecution of Claims Against the Government." The other chapters in the work were written by Mr. Wooldridge, assisted to some extent, especially in Chapter XIV. and Chapter XVI., by a gentleman of considerable experience in this kind of writing. But in all of his other chapters, as well as in these, he was assisted in many ways by numerous citizens of Washington, who, from their relations to certain institutions or enterprises, or special features of the history of the city, were better qualified than others to supply the data necessary to write these particular portions of the history. This was also, to a greater or less extent, the case with Mr. Webb. No one can write even a local history without numerous consultations with many of the citizens of the place. And it has been the experience of both writers of this HISTORY OF WASHINGTON that the great majority of those whom it was necessary to call upon for assistance in this way were more than usually courteous and obliging, and perfectly willing to aid to any extent in their power in the preparation of a work which they hoped would be at least creditable to those concerned in its compilation and its publication, as well as to the city of Washington itself. And inasmuch as the individuals who have given assistance in the ways referred to in the above sentences have been so numerous, it is believed that they will be satisfied if only the smallest possible number are named in this preface. Of those whom it would be impossible to omit with any degree of justice, the first is Dr. J. M. Toner, whose advice and assistance were always cheerfully and freely given, and always as freely and cheerfully accepted. The only regret in this connection, on the part of either of the writers, is that it was found impracticable, on account of the peculiar exigencies of the enterprise, to consult with him as fully with reference to several of the chapters as it was earnestly desired to do; and it is also proper to say that wherever such omission was unavoidable, the work has suffered to that extent. The other gentleman whom it is also not only a duty, but at the same time a pleasure, to recognize in this way, is Mr. David Hutcheson, assistant librarian in the Congressional Library. Mr. Hutcheson was, during the whole time of the writer's labors in that library, always courteous and obliging, going beyond the requirements of his position in making valuable suggestions and referring to newspapers and books containing necessary information; his extensive knowledge of the contents of the library peculiarly qualifying him for the performance of these acceptable services. That the work is without mistakes is not to be expected. Even Mr. Bancroft's great "History of the United States" is sometimes referred to as "merely an exhibition of the idiosyncrasies of its author"; and if such a criticism can be passed upon the greatest of American historians, how can the least hope to escape, even when writing under the most favorable auspices, which was far from being the case in the preparation of this work? But it is not designed or desired to dwell upon this particular, further than to say that a great deal of matter of greater or less value was prepared which was necessarily excluded from the work in order to avoid the production of an exceedingly unwieldly volume. But even as it is, it is believed to possess some merit; how much, must be left to the kind and considerate judgment of the reader. While upon this subject of value, it may not be inappropriate to call attention to a few of the errors in standard works corrected in this work; for it is well known to all intelligent readers of history that even standard histories contain numerous errors, and that one of the objects of a careful writer is to correct the errors of his predecessors. In Barnes's "School History of the United States" it is stated that the first public messages sent over the telegraph wires between Washington and Baltimore in 1844 were in reference to the nomination of James K. Polk for the Presidency. On page 466 of this work this is shown to be an error, the first public messages passing on the 25th of May, 1844, while the announcement of the nomination of Mr. Polk for the Presidency was not made until the 29th of that month. In "The Story of Washington," by Charles Burr Todd, it is stated on page 38 that "This account is taken from the Washington letters in the State Department, and settles the much controverted point as to the authorship of the plan of the Capitol." By this, Mr. Todd means that in the text of his work he has established the fact that Mr. Hallett's plan of the Capitol was selected instead of Dr. Thornton's. In this supposition Mr. Todd is in error, and his assumption proves that he did not read all the correspondence on file in the State Department between President Washington and the commissioners, for that correspondence shows that while at one stage thereof it was thought best to adopt Mr. Hallett's plan, yet, after further consideration, Dr. Thornton's plan was in the |