The Old Stone House was built was built in 1765 on what was then Bridge Street (now M Street) in Georgetown, ten years before the Declaration of Independence and almost 30 years before the founding of Washington D.C. Built of locally quarried stone as a one story structure by a cabinetmaker named Christopher Layman, the building would serve as both his home and shop. After his death later that year, Layman’s widow sold the building to Cassandra Chew who added a rear kitchen in 1767 and a second floor soon thereafter. The third floor was added in the 1790s. Over the next hundred and fifty years, the building would change hands, and uses, many times. By 1953, when the National Park Service purchased the property, it was the site of a local car dealership. The Park Service has since restored much of the Old Stone House to an 18th Century appearance and it is open to the public as part of C & O Canal National Historical Park. It is considered the oldest standing structure in Washington D.C. on it’s original foundation, and is one of very few pre-Revolutionary buildings to be found in the District.
Interestingly, the Park Service points to a mistaken identity as one of the reasons the Old Stone House was preserved. On March 29th, 1791 George Washington was meeting with area landowners to discuss the purchase of land by the federal government to establish the new capital city. Washington and his friend (and future first designer of the city), Pierre Charles L’Enfant, were staying at the Fountain Inn, better known as Suter’s Tavern after its owner John Suter. Suter’s son John Jr. was, at that time, running a clock shop out of the Old Stone House. As the years passed, memories got a bit fuzzy and the two properties became confused in local lore. In an effort to preserve the location of that fateful meeting, the Old Stone House stood stoically while Georgetown grew up around it. Before George Washington’s historic meeting, they had gathered for dinner at Washington’s old friend Uriah Forrest’s house down the street – which we will see in the next post in this series.
The Old Stone House is located at 3051 M St NW, Washington, DC 20007 and under normal circumstances is open to the public. The Park Service has a clock from John Jr’s shop on display in the House.
D.C.’s Oldest Homes was intended to be a single post with an overview of the history of some of the beautiful buildings from the city’s first decade and before. The more I looked at the history of each property, though, the further down the rabbit hole I went. I hope you enjoy this series of brief posts looking at each property individually. All photos are available for sale and licensing. To find out more about The Old Stone House visit the National Park Service’s website HERE.