Farming in the Nation's Capital

*This StoryMap is best viewed using a computer or tablet*

It's difficult to imagine Washington, DC as anything other than the nation's busy capital with monuments and museums. However, there was a time when the District had tobacco plantations, large farms and estates, and produced some of the finest dairy products. The District’s long history of agriculture is relatively unknown to many of the city’s residents and visitors. This story map explores the changes in agricultural production in DC from the creation of the district in 1790 to the late 1800s. The decline of agriculture is often seen as inevitable, but this map shows that steps were taken to push agriculture out of the District, and this specifically impacted Black communities. (Note: This StoryMap recognizes that the area that became Washington, DC, once  belonged to  the Nacotchtank (Anacostan), Piscataway, and Pamunkey people who cultivated the land for food provisioning and cultural practices.)

Click on different locations on the map below to explore locations in DC that played a large role in agriculture throughout history, then explore the tobacco industry, the impacts of the Civil War on agriculture, Black labor, and market regulations. These locations and topics will appear in the story below, in which we describe how the agricultural industry in DC changed over time in terms of what was being grown, who was doing the work, and when and why the industry declined during the time period noted above.

This is not intended as a holistic history of agricultural practice in Washington, DC, but rather works to highlight some examples of farming and farming-related places in the nation's capital in its earlier periods. Most notably, we were not able to capture smaller-scale subsistence and communal farming by the residents, especially those who lacked access to large-scale land. Please refer to the end of the StoryMap for more information on the new project related to this folk urban cultivation.

Lastly, many sources used in the creation of this Storymap do not clearly identify or distinguish the race of the groups or the people they are discussing. It is assumed that when race was not specified by a source, the source creator used a default of white. When possible, we have included people's race. This is an area for more extensive research to be done and a clear indicator that the role of Black people in the District's agricultural history is often unacknowledged.

*Note on 'farms' and 'plantations' terminology* Factors such as size, crop type, profits, and the labor used to sustain them are all distinguishing features between 'farms' and 'plantations'. Throughout the map, we use “plantation” to indicate a large piece of land that is being used to grow cash crops, like tobacco. 'Farm' is used to imply subsistence crops that can sustain the estate and livestock. The term 'farm' is also used when the goods produced on the farm were sold to the public but on a much smaller scale than plantations. Slave labor was generally used on plantations, whereas tenant farmers, sharecroppers, and the owners of the farm worked to maintain farms. However, there was often a mix of all types of labor.

Tobacco was the sole crop of most plantations. However, tobacco cultivation was essentially gone from DC after 1850. The only tobacco that came out of DC after 1850 was being produced by Levi Sheriff who had plantations along the Anacostia River. In 1850, Sheriff reported 7,000 pounds of tobacco. Tobacco was a land-intensive crop. Without it, plots of land got smaller, and there was less need for so many enslaved and non-enslaved laborers.

There are several reasons why the District moved away from tobacco and towards other price-stable crops such as wheat and corn. For one, Prince George’s County in Maryland became one of the highest-producing tobacco counties in the nation during the 1850s, making it challenging to compete. Additionally, tobacco prices fluctuated greatly prior to 1850 with several periods of low tobacco prices such as the Great Panic of 1819. Tobacco also depleted soil quality, so farmers interested in practicing crop rotation or setting aside land for future tobacco cultivation required a lot of land. This became more difficult over time as the average size of farms in the 1850s in DC went from over 100 acres to around 40 acres. As the land was passed from one generation to another, it was often divided among children and split into much smaller parcels. Finally, farms began to slowly shift towards more grains, fruits, and vegetables that would serve the growing population in Washington City and Georgetown.

After the Civil War, the dairy industry grew and farmers adjusted their crops to meet this demand. They began to cultivate more grain and corn for feed for livestock and the production of wheat decreased. The rise in population in Washington City and Georgetown also incentivized farmers to grow and produce more foods that could not travel far distances such as fruits, vegetables, and meats. 

Looking at Census of Agriculture data, some of the primary crops listed include wheat, rye, Indian corn, oats, peas, beans, Irish potatoes, cotton, tobacco, sweet potatoes, barley, buckwheat, flax, and flaxseed.

During the Civil War, the government took over a lot of land for military headquarters, forts, and hospitals. After the war, many landowners were not fairly compensated for the land the government had taken over and for the damages that their land suffered.

In 1863, the Gisborough estate was taken over by the government and became the chief cavalry depot for the Union Army. Gisborough was chosen for its proximity to the river and relative flatness. After the war, George Washington Young attempted to sell the property but no one bought it. The Young family was eventually awarded $2,640 by the government for damage done to the property, even though they requested around $40,000 dollars.

During the war, Mason's Island went from farmland to land that was "occupied" by Union soldiers and used as training grounds starting May of 1861. The Union soldiers departed one year later. After President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, there was a great rise in the number of freed Black people in Washington. Eventually, the 1st District of Columbia Colored Volunteers was created in response to a request from two Army chaplains, J.D. Turner and W.G. Raymond, to build a regiment made up of the growing Black population in the district. However, to avoid public scrutiny, they trained secretly on the island; even President Lincoln did not know where they were located. The group of volunteers was eventually appointed the  1st United States Colored Troops , and they were the first African American regiment mustered into federal service. The 1st USCT left the island in July 1863. Eventually, Mason’s Island became a place of refuge for the many African American refugees coming to the District as other camps were overwhelmed by the number of refugees.

When President Lincoln signed the DC Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862, effectively ending slavery in Washington, DC, the act also reimbursed slave owners up to $300 per slave. Former slaves were never paid reparations. Emancipation impacted larger farms that relied on slave labor to work the land and harvest crops. DC was less impacted by the effects of the labor shortage than the South since an influx of recently freed Black people to the District took the place of former slaves. This was good for white landowners, but it made it difficult for many recently freed Black people to own their own land and gain financial independence. Instead, free Black people continued to support the agriculture industry without fair compensation or recognition.

The Civil War had a significant impact on the agriculture industry in Washington. Farmers reduced the size of their farms, mechanized, and began to further diversify their crops to better meet the needs and demands of Georgetown and Washington City. Many landowners also decided not to return to farming in the County after the war, instead, they moved to Washington City or out of the DC area altogether. Nevertheless, farming remained a large part of life in the District, and in 1880, 50% of the heads of Black and white households were still involved in agriculture or agriculture-adjacent occupations.

Agriculture clearly played a large role in the District, yet unfortunately, the Census of Agriculture did not start recording farms in DC until 1850. The Census of Agriculture also counts farms based on ownership. Therefore, one farm rented out to different laborers or tenant farmers would only count as one farm.  The Census of Agriculture also doesn’t distinguish between white and nonwhite owners until 1900.

Tobacco, the main agricultural crop, drove the need for slave labor in the District. Tobacco is an incredibly labor-intensive crop. In 1840, two-thirds of 39 white households in Washington county relied on slave labor for various work, while 14 families did not own any enslaved people. Each household, on average, had 3-4 enslaved individuals. However, those with the largest plantations or land tended to own a larger number of enslaved people. Three families, Levi Sheriff, Susan Beall, and Ignatius Manning collectively owned 75% of slaves on the Eastern Shore of the Anacostia River.

Since tobacco was such a labor-intensive crop, the decline of the tobacco industry around 1850 also led to the decline of slavery. Even before that, by 1830, more than half of the Black population in DC was free. Free Black people worked as laborers, tenant farmers, and sharecroppers. According to the 1850 Census, 905 of 1,658 Black laborers listed their occupation as "laborer," and another 158 listed their job as "domestic" or "servant." Free Black people were also competing for work opportunities with immigrant labor and enslaved people's labor, whose owners in Maryland and Virginia would hire them out for the day in DC. Many owners sold their slaves to the South when it became less profitable to keep them as the agricultural industry in DC became less competitive. This resulted in free Black folks seeking work opportunities in domestic realms because there was more work as servants, cooks, and nurses. By 1860, 3,000 Black people listed their occupation as a servant, cook, nurse, or another similar profession whereas only 887 Black people listed their occupation as "laborer."

There are records indicating that Black folks operated as hucksters in addition to being laborers, and often sold vegetables, meats, and other goods at many of DC’s markets, including the Center Market. Those selling at the District’s markets as hucksters or out of carriages had to have a license. These licenses could cost up to $50, which limited opportunities to operate legally, and the fine for not having a license could be as high as $20. In 1836, the new city law prohibited the mayor from granting licenses to free Black people except for licenses for driving carts and carriages. These laws all worked to discourage free Black folks from entering the city to engage in market activities as sellers. The 1836 law was eventually struck down in the same year, but it is an example of how Black people's participation in food production and sales in the city was systematically discouraged and penalized.

Nevertheless, some Black folks managed to find success at the markets despite these restrictions. In 1810, Alethia Tanner managed to buy her freedom by selling vegetables at Lafayette Park, or today’s Lafayette Square. Her freedom cost $275, and she also managed to free other members of her family. Today, Alethia Tanner has a park in the NoMa neighborhood dedicated to her.

Health and sanitation concerns also greatly impacted what was sold at markets. In 1832, in the midst of a cholera epidemic, the Board of Health put regulations in place that restricted the sale of fruit and certain vegetables. There was also a brief ban on alcohol. A newspaper article from the Daily Union in 1850 implied that President Zachary Taylor ate vegetables the night before he died of cholera, linking vegetables and cholera together. This heightened public concerns about the cleanliness of markets. These markets were incredibly important to enslaved and free Black people as well as those that participated in agriculture as noted above. Thus the closure of markets and regulations had a disproportionate impact on Black residents' ability to support themselves and their community and also disincentivized them to pursue agriculture.

George Lindner’s farm was one of the last farms in DC. Lindner, a German immigrant, grew vegetables on his land for nearly 52 years, and the land was in his family for 77 years since the Civil War. The farm came to a close in 1939 when the land was needed for the construction of a road. The family farm is approximately located on 3801 Wheeler Rd. SE. On the map below you can see Lindner's property, as well as where the proposed road would go right through his property.

Lindner's farm closing marks the end of a long history of agriculture and a way of life. The fall of agriculture, though seemingly a natural progression, was calculated and had a disproportionate effect on Black people. The Civil War, the introduction of new transportation methods, market regulations, and more, all worked to create an environment where agriculture was not profitable or sustainable.

The effects of this can still be seen in the District as current growers struggle to find land and navigate a complicated system.  Click here  for a summary of interviews with current and prospective growers in DC.

In conducting this research, we found that many had already done extensive research on areas relevant to the larger story we were trying to tell. We did not want to replicate their work, and instead, we have linked their work below for those who are interested. Our bibliography also contains a comprehensive list of sources that are incredibly informative.

History of Black-Owned Farmland in DC (Made in conjunction with this map) - click  here.  Fort Reno - click  here  Mason's Island as an Employment Depot - click  here  Barry Farms - click  here  Current Urban Farms in DC - click  here 

However, there were also many things we could not find that others should explore more in-depth. In our efforts to tell the story of the decline of agriculture in Washington, DC, we had hoped to find more policies, ordinances, or laws that would show a concerted effort to reduce agriculture's influence, and how these policies impacted Black residents of the city. Information about the government taking over land during the Civil War, information on Black growers, statistics on the number of black-owned farms, and the role of tenant farmers and sharecroppers, were not as readily available or accessible as we had hoped.

We also learned that there had been persistent gardening and farming practice in the city's Black communities, where people were growing food for themselves, for the community, or even for sale. We are trying to gather more information on this type of "folk cultivation" in DC by asking the public to share if they have information about a garden or a farm that was being tended in this way. The below map shows the location identified as having had gardens or farms that were being tended with the intention to feed others. If you have information to share, please fill out this form, or pass it along to someone that you think will have information to share. (Please note that the information you share is manually being added to the map, so it may take up to a week to see the newly submitted location appear on the map.)

This research was funded by the  Jessie Ball DuPont Foundation . We also thank the group of local advisors with experiences and knowledge of urban farming in DC, who provided insightful guidance throughout the project.