Strange and Obscure Stories of Washington, DC
Little-Known Tales about Our Nation's Capital
Rowland, Tim
- Strange
- and
- Obscure
- Stories
- of
- Washington,
- DC
- is
- a
- collection
- of
- wild
- but
- true
- tales
- about
- our
- nation’s
- capital.
- Starting
- in
- the
- early
- days
- of
- the
- republic
- and
- reaching
- into
- modern
- times,
- the
- book
- recounts
- odd
- and
- humorous
- events
- that
- didn’t
- make
- their
- way
- into
- the
- history
- books.
- Along
- the
- way
- the
- book
- introduces
- a
- host
- of
- memorable
- characters:
- •
- Land
- speculators
- James
- Greenleaf
- and
- Robert
- Morris,
- whose
- financial
- shenanigans
- almost
- took
- down
- the
- Federal
- City
- before
- it
- was
- even
- established
- •
- Civil
- War
- madam
- Mary
- Ann
- Hall,
- who
- ran
- the
- city’s
- most
- upstanding
- brothel
- and
- died
- with
- an
- estate
- valued
- at
- $2
- million
- •
- The
- “Treasury
- Girls—the
- first
- wave
- of
- female
- workers,
- hired
- to
- cut
- individual
- bills
- from
- printed
- sheets
- of
- cash
- (with
- scissors),
- who
- prompted
- a
- government
- investigation
- into
- immoral
- behavior
- in
- the
- workplace
- •
- The
- NSA’s
- secret
- staff
- of
- African
- Americans
- who
- went
- to
- work
- in
- code
- rooms
- after
- Harry
- Truman
- desegregated
- the
- federal
- workforce
- •
- The
- 1960s
- activist
- who
- drew
- attention
- to
- a
- rat
- problem
- in
- poor
- neighborhoods
- by
- shuttling
- them
- in
- his
- station
- wagon
- to
- the
- toniest
- parts
- of
- Georgetown
- Readers
- will
- also
- find
- out
- how
- a
- hurricane
- saved
- the
- city
- in
- 1812,
- how
- a
- demonstration
- of
- the
- world’s
- largest
- naval
- gun
- nearly
- killed
- the
- president,
- and
- about
- the
- tree
- at
- Washington
- Cathedral
- whose
- origins
- trace
- back
- to
- the
- Holy
- Land
- at
- the
- time
- of
- Joseph
- of
- Arimathea.
- With
- Strange
- and
- Obscure
- Stories
- of
- Washington,
- DC
- in
- hand,
- the
- city
- will
- never
- seem
- the
- same again.
