Heritage Gazette ASSOCIATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC CONGRESSIONAL CEMETERY •WINTER 2009 Arsenal Monument Wraps up NPS Activity BY MOSS RUDLEY, E XHIBIT SPECIALIST, NPS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION TRAINING CENTER he team from the National Park 1870. Designed by architect Ben- Service’s Historic Preservation jamin Henry Latrobe, who was Training Center arrived on the working on the new south wing grounds October 1, 2006. Our of the Capitol, these identical mission was to conserve, preserve Aquia Creek sandstone cenotaphs Tor replace components of the 166 reflect the classical inspiration cenotaphs that honor members of that was shaping the city plan and Congress who died in office its new Capitol building. between the years 1807 and Continued on page 6 Slight Mishap Will Reshape Entrance to Historic Congressional Cemetery lthough the dump truck coming attached for 85 years, moved for- in the front gates to pick up dirt ward with the truck. excavated by Imperial Paving The National Park Service was only going 3 miles an hour, stonemasons who were working Aits big side mirror caught on the Arsenal Monument between rungs of the wrought judged the injuries to the col- iron gate. The gate and the brick umn fatal. Ed Wood of Woody’s column, to which it had been Continued on page 9 WHAT DO YOU KNOW! Construction work is often the impetus that makes archeological work happen. Sometimes you attend to what you know is there and should be saved; other times you discover what you didn’t know. Our road construc- Arsenal Monument photo by tion has brought us one of each. Stories on page 10 and 11. Moss Rudley WWW.CONGRESSIONALCEMETERY.ORG HERITAGE GAZETTE / WINTER 2009 1 Letter from the Chair EXPERIENCE BUILDS CHARACTER Historic preservation often return to the earth, dust to focuses on a place where a dust, the ground settles back ASSOCIATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF famous person spent some down to close the final chapter HISTORIC CONGRESSIONAL CEMETERY quality time — George Wash- of that life. It is a profound Community • Leadership • Discovery ington slept here! Or where thing that has happened and BOARD OF DIRECTORS important things happened: a the texture of the ground is Patrick Crowley, Chair Joyce Palmer Linda Harper, Vice Chair Jan Gaudio battle waged, a treaty signed, a what tells us it has happened. John Gillespie, Treasurer Emily Crandall village established. It’s generally The experience of the land Alice Norris, Secretary Ted Bechtel not about the land itself but itself speaks to us as forcefully Clyde Henderson C. Dudley Brown Patti Martin about the things that happened as the old tablet upon which Frederick Davis Uwe Brandes on the land. the name and dates have been Scott Kibler Rhonda Sincavage Certainly, an historic ceme- inscribed. FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE Linda Harper tery celebrates the people who One of the important mis- Clyde Henderson are spending quality time on, sions of an historic site is to HORTICULTURE COMMITTEE or rather in, the land. But an call upon us to examine our Emily Crandall, Fine Gardening Ted Bechtol, Lawn Care historic cemetery also cele- own lives, to apply the lessons EDUCATION & OUTREACH COMMITTEE brates what has happened to of what happened here to our- Joyce Palmer, Music & Docents the land itself. The texture of selves. Are we rising to the Sandy Schmidt, Web Master Patrick Crowley, Newsletter the land, the gentle undulations challenges of our life, are we ARCHIVES & GENEALOGY COMMITTEE of the sod above its old graves making our communities bet- Sandy Schmidt & Dayle Dooley speak to us of the journey the ter places? The character of an PLANNING COMMITTEE Uwe Brandes land itself has taken. historic graveyard raises these Jan Gaudio If you visit an old burial questions in a profound yet EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ground in the early evening, subliminal manner. When a Cindy Hays CEMETERY MANAGER you will experience the land in shallow depression is all that’s Alan Davis a way most historic sites can- left, we can’t help but pause to STAFF Mary Wright not ever hope to share. As the consider what mark we will Barry Hayman sun sets beyond the horizon, leave after we have passed this HERITAGE GAZETTE: W INTER 2009 shadows gently rise up to claim way. © 2009. Association for the Preservation of His- toric Congressional Cemetery, a non profit the shallow depressions, leaving Preservation of an historic 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are fully tax- no doubt as to what the place burial ground isn’t just about deductible according federal tax laws. Funding for the preservation and maintenance of Historic is all about. Even if you took the old buildings and tomb Congressional Cemetery is provided (in part) by the Congressional Cemetery Endowment, which away all the headstones, you stones; it’s also about the char- was created with matching funds provided by the wouldn’t need an interpretive acter of the place. And charac- U.S. Congress and administered by the National sign to tell you it’s a graveyard. ter is acquired through experi- Trust for Historic Preservation. Postal Service, send address changes to: At each of several thousand ence. For an historic cemetery, THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF three-by-eight foot plots the preserving the character of the HISTORIC CONGRESSIONAL CEMETERY 1801 E Street, Southeast earth has been disturbed, land is as important as preserv- Washington, DC 20003 opened up to accept someone ing the things on the land. 202-543-0539 • 202-543-5966 (fax) www.congressionalcemetery.org to his or her final resting place. [email protected] ATRICK CROWLEY The Association for the Preservation of Historic And as those mortal remains ~ P Congressional Cemetery is a 501(c)3 organization. All donations are tax deductible. 2 HERITAGE GAZETTE / WINTER 2009 WWW.CONGRESSIONALCEMETERY.ORG MEET OUR NEW From the Executive Director CEMETERY MANAGER After a three month search, Con- gressional Cemetery has a new his has been a busy fall. The new allowing a visitor to view a copy Cemetery Manager. Son of a roads are coming along well. of old documents executed by career Army officer, Alan Davis When I stand at the chapel and their relatives many years ago. grew up all over the world look down Ingle Street it is like Thank you very much to those including a three year residency Iseeing Dorothy’s Yellow Brick who have sent contributions for in Japan and another in Germany. Road — not really yellow, but the archival materials we are When time for college, he came very majestic in appearance. Our using. to Washington to attend Howard Board Chairman, Patrick Crow- We have contributed to an University and has been here ley, was convinced there were endowment set up for us by since. In 1990, Alan joined MCI old cobblestone swales under the Congress and held by the which was then a start-up com- munications company. In his 14 years of built-up dirt on several National Trust for Historic years with the company until its of our shorter streets. Since they Preservation since 1999. Our bankruptcy, he advanced from a are part of our history, he took a annual disbursements currently computer operator to Interna- shovel and dug up a corner to pay for contract maintenance. tional Marketing manager. prove it. The swales on Whitting- Fortunately there was enough He joined Stewart Enterprises, ham (21st) Street, have now been money this year to work on our the second largest American excavated and an “historic” road trees. Over the past five years, cemetery management company, that will look like it did in 1850’s 100 dead or dying trees were and was assigned to National will replace the broken asphalt. removed while 300 trees were Harmony Memorial Park. Har- We have really moved ahead planted. This year we lost one mony was founded in 1825 in in our archiving work under the tree to a storm, removed several NE Washington. Although it supervision of Historian Sandy others, and pruned the old trees. moved to Landover, MD in Schmidt. Dayle Dooley, one of We have developed a wonderful 1960, there are generations of the Dozen Decent Docents, is relationship with certified family members just like in Con- heading up the preservation and arborist Bill Shelton and his crew gressional. At Harmony, Alan filing of hundreds of thousands from Capitol Tree Care. His men recruited and managed the sales force, monitored the physical of pieces of paper that concern a are professional and respectful of condition and appearance of the site in the cemetery. She and the our grounds. property, and developed a other volunteers are protecting And a sad note is the depar- genealogy program. the old records in plastic sleeves ture of Moss Rudley and his Alan was an early resident of and making files for each site. wonderful team from the the Car Barn and knows Capitol The only problem with this job National Park Service Historic Hill. His experience in develop- is that some of the letters are so Preservation Training Center. ing and implementing strategic interesting that it takes a long They have been with us for two business marketing plans and time to get them filed. Some day years, and have become friends industry research with MCI will we hope to scan the documents, to us, and certainly to our stones. benefit the development of a new and add a link to our website ~ CINDY HAYS cemetery business plan to expand the number and variety of sites available for sale. He is already developing a property survey to PLEASE NOTE ~ Our image of Joseph Gales in the Summer 2008 confirm what sites are still avail- Heritage Gazette should have included an attribution to the artist able, and his respect for family George Peter Alexander Healy and the U.S.