George Washington House (Bladensburg, Maryland)

George Washington House

George Washington House November 2008
Location Baltimore Ave. at Upshur St., Bladensburg, Maryland
Coordinates 38°56′28″N 76°56′29″W / 38.94111°N 76.94139°W / 38.94111; -76.94139Coordinates: 38°56′28″N 76°56′29″W / 38.94111°N 76.94139°W / 38.94111; -76.94139
Area less than one acre
Built 1755 (1755)
NRHP Reference # 74002198[1]
Added to NRHP August 7, 1974

The George Washington House, or Indian Queen Tavern, is located at Baltimore Ave., at Upshur St., in Bladensburg, Prince George's County, Maryland. It was constructed in the 1760s.[2] The  2 1⁄2-story structure is constructed of brick Flemish bond on ends. The plan is rectangular, with a gabled roof, exterior end chimneys, gabled shingled dormers. There are first and second-story center entrances, each with a transom. There is a full-width one-story porch with balustraded deck and side entrances. The structure includes a later two-story rear addition. The structure is Georgian.[2]

It represents the last remnant of a social and commercial complex established in the 1760s by Jacob Wirt, whose son William Wirt later became U.S. Attorney General and an 1832 presidential candidate. The Indian Queen Tavern gained its reputation as the "George Washington House" through an assumption that "George Washington slept here." Research in primary sources has shown that the extant structure was never a tavern during Washington's lifetime, although it is possible that he stayed in the frame Indian Queen Tavern formerly located next to the present structure.[2] The brick tavern began to be known as the "George Washington House" before 1878 when it was being used as a hotel. The structure also housed Jacob Coxey's "army" of unemployed during an 1894 march on Washington, D.C. to demand relief.[2] It now serves as headquarters for the Anacostia Watershed Society.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 4 John A. Styer (January 1974). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Indian Maid Tavern" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
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