Fannie and The Foxes

Photo by Mary Stapp

I never met Fannie Harward, the first owner of 5429 Cathedral, but I believe she was a strong, hard working woman with a head for real estate. She was born in 1869, just after the Civil War, on a farm near Charlottesville, Virginia.  I first found her in Washington in an1898 street directory. She was listed as a widow and a dress maker, but after considerable digging, I discovered that Fannie was divorced from a man named JL Cox in 1896. The two had a daughter named Stella who was born in 1888, but did not live with Fannie or her ex-husband.

I think she may have called herself a widow for propriety’s sake. What I do know is that she had to make own way for some time and that two of her sisters eventually joined her in DC.  In the 1900 DC census, Fannie and her younger sister Elizabeth lived together working as a caterer and a waitress. They sublet a room to a typesetter at the Government Printing Office which was right across the street. Fannie may have met her second husband, Charles, through this connection. 

Charles Harward was born in North Carolina, but moved to DC to work at the printing office. I found this poem he wrote for his deceased little sister, Mabel when he was 20 years old in July of 1887.  

Baby's Grave

Down in the verdant woodland deep, 

Where blooming daisies wave,

Where rippling waters dance and leap, 

There is a tiny grave.

Our darling babe is buried there- 

Our treasure and our pride;

She was so sweet, so pure, so fair, 

So lovely when she died.

She died as does the budding rose, 

Which Winter's breath doth blast, 

And on Jesus' breast, in sweet repose 

She is safe from harm at last.

Charles and Fannie were married in 1901.  Fannie was 33 by then and never stopped working. In 1907 the Harwards lived in a large boarding house on 13th Street NW overlooking Franklin Square. Fannie managed the property which housed over thirty tenants and was also referred to as the Cutler Hotel. Fannie's first foray into real estate, as far as I can tell, was the purchase of two lots on the alley behind the building. 

Fannie continued to buy and sell real estate. In 1910 she sold her alley lots and bought property in Cabin John, MD which she later sold to her sister Sarah. A tiny announcement of the sale appeared in the Evening Star right next to a large real estate ad for Potomac Heights.  

The Cutler Hotel was sold in 1919, and the Harwards bought their own home at 23 Iowa Circle, now known as Logan Circle. A few years later, Fannie started investing in Potomac Heights like she was playing a game of Monopoly.  Between 1923 and 1927 she bought 5429 Hawthorne Place, 5515 and 5747 Potomac Ave,  5434 Carolina Place, and 5125 and 5429 Cathedral. There could be more. Fannie is usually the only name mentioned as the first owner of these properties. Most of these houses have been torn down, but 5429 Hawthorne, built in 1923, is still much like it was.

In 1926 Fannie and Charles were living at the 5434 Carolina Place property which was a Sears and Roebuck kit house. This may be the only other building still standing that Fannie once owned. 

A year later she oversaw the construction of a handsome Dutch colonial right across the street from herself at 5429 Cathedral. Here's a snippet from the Evening Star:

A mention in the church bulletin in 1929 indicates the Harwards rented furnished rooms, so it looks like they were still in boarding house mode. Here is the only photo I was able to find of Fannie, standing on the far left with the congregation of The Potomac Heights Church for their annual group photo in 1930. 

By 1930, the Harwards were both in their 60s. The census revealed they had a lodger named Ezra A. Fox, a 27 year old man who was born in Virginia. He was working as the manager of an A & P grocery store. The next year Ezra went back to his hometown of Luray, Virginia to marry his neighbor and long time sweetheart, Virginia Kibler.

Virginia's home in Luray, VA

Virginia, mind you, had not been sitting around pining for Ezra. She had to give up her job as superintendent of Page County schools when she went to live with Ezra at the Harward's home. Ezra started working for his neighbor Early Rector at Rector's Store which was just up the street.

Charles Harward retired from the printing office in 1932 and died “suddenly” at home in October of 1935. A year after Charles’ death, Fannie sold her home to the Foxes as well as the house at 5515 Potomac Ave. She lived at 5515, probably until the Foxes sold the property in 1939. I am not sure where Fannie went after this, but she her address was 1725 P Street when she died in 1951. Fannie was buried with Charles in Alexandria. 

In 1936, Ezra and Virginia had a baby boy they named Allen Wayne. That same year, Ezra's boss, Early Rector, talked Ezra into buying his store and gas station which Ezra thoughtfully renamed Fox’s Market and Service Station. 

Ezra would open the shop every day at 5 a.m., and Virginia would take phone orders at home, then fill and deliver them later in the day.  When Ezra added a soda fountain to the cigar bar, Virginia made the chocolate syrup for the ice cream.  

In 1940 the Foxes rented a room to a newlywed couple named George and Sarah Wilson. Keeping it all on the block, their neighbor Raymond Pruett, who lived on Carolina Place, sold the Wilson's his parents' house at 5422 Cathedral. This happened in 1951 after Raymond's mother had died.

The Foxes ran the store until they retired and sold the property. They were active in the Palisades Community Church for most of their lives. Ezra and Virginia can be seen in the 1947 congregation shot standing in the middle of the back row.

Chasing an Elusive History

Built in 1919, the first owner listed at 5408 Cathedral was Clarence Oliver Hamilton, a housing contractor and carpenter. But in the 1920 census, he lived nearby in Cabin John, Maryland. Perhaps he built this house as an investment and never lived here, or maybe he moved in after selling his own home in 1922 ? I can only guess what happened for the next five years. 

According to the deed, the next owner was Rose Dowling. Rose’s father died in 1916, and her mother moved up the hill to 5016 Jewett street which is what Cathedral Cathedral Avenue was called back then. Rose may or may not have lived with her mother until she died in 1920 when Rose was 32 years old. 

Rose's oldest brother Marshall bought the property for Rose in 1924,  but a few years later she finally married. Rose and her new husband Paul then moved to New York.The property was listed for sale, but did not change hands again until after the couple divorced in 1945. I believe the house was rented out most of those years. I found a little gem in the Evening Star in 1927 about policemen caught up in a gambling raid. One of the arrested listed his address as 5408 Cathedral. A year later though, a different man ran an ad for a lost collie. Again I'm grasping at history straws.

I do know that William and Edith Blowe officially bought the house in 1948, but they may have been renting from Rose since at least 1935. William was a bakery salesman. They had two boys, William Jr and Peyton.  Both went to Western High school. Here's a school shot of Peyton who was named for his maternal grandfather.

By 1940, William Jr, his wife Vera and their baby Caroline all lived here as well. Vera Maceron formerly lived around the corner on Sherier Place. William married his "girl next door” in 1936.  

In 1952 the Blowes sold the house to Blanche Stevens, a former missionary teacher and specialist with the Mapping Service. Before working at the map service, Blanche had taught school in Japanese occupied North Korea from 1911-1940. (If those walls could talk, I'll bet Blanche had some interesting stories.)

In 1963 Blanche sold the house to the McFall family. Also a teacher, Frances McFall taught third grade at Key Elementary for many years and was known for taking her students on a bird watching expedition every spring.  She raised her own children here and stayed in the house until the end of her life, shortly after retiring in 2004.

All About the Brick

In 1923, a wooden frame bungalow belonging to Frank A and Fannie Ernst stood at 5422 Cathedral, but five years later a fire destroyed the house. This story was posted in the Evening Star on October 26, 1928:

And this appreciation was published in "The Beacon, " a bulletin put out by Potomac Heights Community Church: "Words fall to express to you our thanks and gratitude for all your many kindnesses and unstinted generosity in so unselfishly assisting us in getting comfortably located after the loss of our house and its furnishings by fire last Friday morning....only. a heap of smoldering ashes remain. 

The next property owner, George Estler Pruett, was born in Washington DC in 1873.  His father was an iron worker, and George became a bricklayer. In 1895, George married another DC native,  Miss Bessie Jackson. Their only child, George Raymond, was born in 1903.  "Raymond" grew up at 1912 N Street in Georgetown and attended Central High School. 

 Raymond also became a bricklayer and joined forces with his father in the building business. In the 1920s, the two of them built and sold a pair of brick houses at 3301 and 3303 Dent Place.  In 1929, Raymond was able to build a home for himself and his bride-to-be, Winifred Mae Williams at 5411 Carolina Place. 

Raymond and Winifred had four children and lived on Carolina Place until 1953. They started their family with Mary who was born in 1932.

George and Raymond were all about the brick. A year after Raymond’s house was finished, George built a traditional brick colonial for himself and Bessie at 5422 Cathedral, just around the corner from his son. I think this is a photo of George and Bessie with their grand daughter Mary.

Initials carved in a corner of the concrete floor indicate that Raymond had a hand in building the handsome garage behind his father’s house in 1932.

The Pruetts were busy men between 1933 and 1940. They built at least five more houses to sell, much like the one at 5422 Cathedral, within a block or two of their own homes. 

1939 Ad from church bulletin

Three claimed to have river views at 5404, 5406 and 5414 Carolina Place. All used to sit in a row despite the wonky house numbers. 

Two more were on the next block at 5507 and 5511 Carolina. All of these homes are still standing except for 5414. Here's the original ad for that house from 1933:

In 1940, George was 67 years old and still working according to the census. He made the papers when his pocket was picked while trying to find a seat at the movies. 

Here's a photo of Raymond taken in 1941 when he was president of the Central High Alumni Association. He is the one in the middle, grinning while handing out an award. 

George Senior died in 1943. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown. Bessie followed him in 1948.  Raymond inherited the home. Keeping it all on the block, he sold the house to the Wilsons who had been renting a room from the Fox family just down the street at 5429 Cathedral. Here's the ad from 1951:

George Albert Wilson was born in 1896 and worked as a carpenter most of his life. He and his wife Sarah E Hood both grew up in rural Maryland near Mt Airy. The two married relatively late in life, in 1940. George was 43 and Sarah was 32 when they moved into the Fox’s house as newlyweds. Sarah was working for the government as a stenographer. 

The Wilsons never had children, but both were active members of the Palisades Community Church. I could only find one photo of them buried in this congregation shot in 1946. 

Sarah was president of the church bowling league in the mid-1950s and had an extensive rose garden. She also taught piano to neighborhood children.  George died in 1973, but Sarah stayed in the house until 1990, a few years before her death in 1993. They were both buried in their home town, Mt Airy. 

Here's a recipe from Sarah copied from a church cook book. 

And here's another legacy from Sarah's time in the house- the azalea bush by the brick garage. 

All in the Rector Family

Early Breckenridge Rector was born in 1886 on a farm near Luray, Virginia. According to the Richmond Times Dispatch, he married Edna Campbell in 1908, and their honeymoon was an "an extended tour of northern cities.” By 1910 Early and Edna were living with Early’s older brother Charles and his family on H Street in Washington, DC. Early became a streetcar conductor, but he also worked in his brother's cigar shop which would lead him to his next career.

 Early, and another older brother, Carey, formed a construction business by 1922. They called their enterprise, simply enough, The Rector Brothers. One of their first projects was building two store fronts at 5441 and 5443 MacArthur Boulevard (or Conduit Road as it was known in those days.) The newly formed Potomac Heights Community Church first met as a pop-up at 5441 in January 1923 before the store officially opened in May. 

Early and Edna ran a combo deli and market in the 5441 space, and a hardware store next door at 5443. He added gas pumps to the hardware store by 1923 and rebuilt both of his buildings in 1932. To get an idea of what the market had to offer, here’s a list of stolen goods from an article in the Washington Post on March 11,1927.

“Smashing a plate glass window, thieves gained entrance to the store of Early B Rector…and made off with $200 in cigars, $50 in cigarettes, $10 in candy, $7 worth of soaps and a quantity of shoestrings, pencils, chewing gum, beads and phonograph needles.” 

Today Chu's Cleaners occupies the old gas station and DC Boathouse was in the store space.

Early also bought two lots on Cathedral Avenue in 1925. He built a house for himself at 5411 in 1926, and the brick house next door to himself at 5409 seven years later in 1933. 

This home was kept as a rental property for about 40 years. The first tenants were Max Kossoris, his wife Esther, and their son Peter. Max was born in Russia in 1902 and eventually became a senior statistician at the Department of Labor where he worked to prevent industrial accidents. The Kossoris shared the home, perhaps by subletting, with an elderly couple, Jerry and Edith Kirby. 

Meanwhile not a mile down Conduit Road towards F.S. Key School, Early's brother Carey built a similar deli/market at 5105, and another store front at 5107 in 1928, plus a gas station at 5101 in 1933. All of the buildings have been renovated, especially the former gas station on the corner, but you can see the other two store fronts were once identical. 

After Prohibition ended in 1933, both Rector brothers attempted to get liquor licenses for their establishments in 1934. The neighborhood quickly shot this idea down. One location was too close to the Palisades Community Church, and the other was too close to Key Elementary School. 

Carey and his wife, Zula moved here and ran the shop from 1927 until they both retired in 1943. Zula died in 1959 and Carey in 1960. I wonder if they built this addition on the back of 5107?

Early and Edna Rector also lived in the neighborhood until the end of their lives. They never had children. Early died at home in July 1973, and Edna died two years later. The two homes on Cathedral Avenue were left to Edna’s nieces and nephews. The heirs sold the rental property, but the house at 5411 stayed in the family for many years.  Barbara, one of Edna's nieces, bought the family home with her husband Les Allison and lived here until Les retired in 1994. 

Ad from 1929 church bulletin

Glen Echo and the Finlon House

Frank Matthew Finlon was born in October 1878 in Carbondale, Pennsylvania. His parents were Irish immigrants, and his father was a watchman. In 1900, Frank still lived at home, and was working as a carpenter for the railroad. He married Theresa “Tessie” Buckley in 1903 when they were both 25 years old. The groom planned to work in the mines as a carpenter, but his luck changed. Instead he became the first manager of Luna Amusement Park in Scranton.  Because of his work experience, he may have been hired to construct a mini railway when they were building the park in 1906. In the 1910 census, the Finlons were still living in Scranton and had three small children: Genevieve, Harold and Eleanor. 

The family moved to Maryland in 1911 when Frank became the construction manager of Glen Echo Amusement Park. He was a very busy man building and designing both rides and structures around the park. 

May 1913 ad in Washington Times

I found the paragraph below in a Park Service history of Glen Echo.

"In 1925 the Glen Echo amusement park Dance Pavilion is converted into the Crystal Ballroom, whose 7,500 square-foot maple floor is believed to have been retained from the earlier structure built in 1911 and wholly upgraded in 1921. The ceiling, made by amusement park superintendent Finlon and his wife, is of a lattice frame covered by a fine silk cloth.” 

Frank also built the housing for the Dentzel Carousel which is the only ride still operating in the park today.

Glen Echo 1925

Quite the leap from Carbondale.

The family lived a bit of a fairy tale life making their home on the second and third floors of the Chautauqua tower which was built in 1891. They lived there from about 1911 until 1925.  Their last child, Clare was born in 1913. In 1914, the shake shingle roof caught fire, but luckily no one was hurt.  

I wonder if the bustle of the place was getting to Frank by 1924. According to a mention in the Evening Star, when he was asked what he thought of the new chimes of the nearby Epiphany Church, he replied "I can't hear a thing you say on account of those damn bells."

In 1926, Frank escaped “those damn bells.” He went into the building business and started with a large home he built for himself at 5419 Cathedral Avenue. All four of his offspring were still living at home when the family moved in: Genevieve was 20, Harold was 19, Eleanor, 17, and Clair was 16. Three out of four of the “children” were still living on Cathedral 14 years later in 1940.  Eleanor, the go-getter, had married John Beamer around 1937, but all of the other siblings married late in life. The oldest son, Harold, continued to work at Glen Echo until he joined the Navy during WW2. 

Frank probably never retired. He worked in the building business for about a decade, but the amusement parks drew him back. He helped rebuild the Chesapeake Beach, and managed Tolchester Park near Rock Hall, Maryland for the last five years of his life. He fell ill and died at home in February 1942 at the age of 62 and was buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery. By 1950, all of his children had finally married and probably moved out. Tessie died in 1963 and was buried with Frank. She still lived on Cathedral Ave.

Addendum:

Harold Finlon followed in his father’s footsteps and worked at both Glen Echo and later in Chesapeake Beach. He married the love of his life, Mildred Garland in about 1943. Mildred was also a fan of amusement parks, and had many fond memories of summers in Chesapeake Beach. where her father had built 6 cottages in 1922. 

In 1948, Harold quit his job with the Navy and became the superintendent of Chesapeake Beach's amusement park.  Harold and Mildred had two sons, Harold Jr or “Finny” and Allen. Like their father, both boys were raised in an amusement park, and for many years, children gained free admission to the park on Finny’s birthday,

 

Harold died in 1969, and the park closed in 1972. The park's Dentzel carousel was taken down, but Mildred rescued one of the kangaroos and kept it in her basement. 

Mildred was a power house. She worked as a public school teacher in Washington DC for many years before she married Harold, and also in Calvert County where she was an early advocate for integrated schools. She was also a founder of the Chesapeake Railway Museum where she donated her kangaroo. 

Full House

This beautiful “semi” bungalow at 5415 Cathedral was built with Number One Pine in 1922, perhaps by its first owner John A. Rhine who was a carpenter by trade. John Augustus Rhine was born in Mechanicsville, Maryland in 1876. His father Augustus Rhine, was a blacksmith. John and his wife Florence married in 1897 in DC, but lived in the nearby Arlington and Mt Rainier before buying the property on Cathedral Ave.

 In 1930, the Rhine’s adult daughters Beulah and Edith, plus their daughters' families lived there as well. John Rhine, now 54, was working as a carpenter. Beulah’s husband John Padgett was an electrician, and they had two little girls- Virginia and Dorothy. Edith’s husband Elmer Smallwood was working as a milkman while she stayed home with Elmer Jr age 2. Their daughter Gladys came along in 1932. Perhaps it was the Depression that drove them all under one roof.  The Rhines tried to sell the house for several years. Here’s an ad from 1929.

In 1935 the house finally sold to Nellie Hogan, a single working woman. Nellie was born on a farm in Natural Bridge, Virginia in 1883. Both of her parents were born in Virginia and were descendants of Irish immigrants. The Hogans were a large, close knit family, and Nellie was the third of eight children. 

By 1910, Nellie had moved to DC and was living with her uncle Michael.  In 1922 there’s a mention in the newspaper of a Miss Nellie Hogan being a registered nurse at Georgetown Hospital, and I believe this is how she made her living. I can’t find Nellie in the 1930 census, but in 1940 she was listed as a nurse working in a public hospital. She also rented rooms to supplement her income. In 1940, two other families lived at 5415 including a young couple from the midwest, Jack Winkler, a butcher, and his young wife Irma, plus Frederick Bolton, a “medical instructor,”his wife Jessie, and their teenage daughter Constance. Here’s an ad from 1937.

In 1945 Nellie’s sister Mary also moved in while studying at Catholic University to be a nurse. Nellie died in 1958 “suddenly” at home. She was 75 years old, and she left the home to her siblings.