Who was Howard University Created for?
A Study of Howard University and Its Surrounding Area from 1867-1890
Between 1800 and 1860, 10,000 Black Americans had settled in Washington, DC, illuminating a deficit of resources for newly freed Black Washingtonians. With the closing of Camp Barker in 1863, thousands of Freedpeople in the northwest section of the district were in desperate need for vehicles for social mobility, providing a perfect environment for a comprehensive education system.
The Expense
The majority of the Freedpeople who sought an education at Howard University were considered indignant. Therefore, the University built-in departments that allowed students to work to pay off their tuition.
LeDroit Park
One example of how university students transformed the land beyond the university grounds is the creation of LeDroit Park.
The Purchase and Conversion
In May of 1870, the Freedmen's Bureau purchased the area which now contains LeDroit park for $60,000. Since it was, in effect, undeveloped swampland, the area was essentially unusable. For the next few years, the agriculture department focused heavily on transforming the land into something habitable.
“Much of the laboratory work of the first students in Agriculture consisted in clearing the ground, fencing it in, and draining the creeks which crossed it.”- Walter Dyson
Source: Dyson, Walter. The Founding of Howard University. Washington, DC. Howard University Studies in History.
The Sale
On February 22, 1873, The University sold the land, also known as the Miller Tract, to brother-in-laws Amzi Barber and Andrew Langdon for $115,000, making a profit of over $48,000.
One of the original plans for the development (undated)
Image Courtesy of Library of Congress
Four years after the purchase, the brothers had built 41 detached and semi-detached houses with a romantic Victorian style architecture that was extremely hard to find in the district.
An example of the romantic Victorian architecture that was common in the neighborhood.
Image Courtesy of Historical Society of Washington, D.C.
A White Enclave Amidst Black Progress
An Advertisement for the New Neighborhood (1877)
The brothers created and marketed the new area as a "rural escape" for the Washington elite. They advertised its "picturesque" feel while emphasizing it's proximity to Washington City.
Barber and Langdon thoroughly screened potential buyers, searching for "the very highest type" in order to preserve the neighborhood's exclusivity. The neighborhood was occupied by government officials and the most elite urban professionals such as doctors and lawyers.
Image Courtesy of Moorland-Springarn Research Center at Howard University
The Fence War
For 'security measures', the developers installed a brick and iron fence that surrounded the entire neighborhood in order to prevent "intruders," as well as guards at all the entrances. In turn, this forced all the Black residents in the surrounding area to completely circumvent the neighborhood when they needed to enter Washington City.
All of the students who were responsible for developing and raising the land were now prohibited from stepping foot onto it.
Over the years, residents of Howardtown, the neighborhood which housed a mixture of working class freedmen and Howard University professors and was directly north of LeDroit Park, attempted to tear down the structure three times. It was removed for good in 1871. Eventually, the neighborhood was integrated by Octavius A. Williams, an African-American barber, who moved in 1893.
From Preparatory Student to Agricultural Department Head
An Attempt to Revitalize the Black Sheep with William H.H. Hart
Born to an enslaved woman and a slave trader in Eufaula, Alabama in 1857, William H. H. Hart "walked from Alabama to Washington" in order to pursue an education at Howard University. Graduating from the Preparatory Department in 1880, he continued on to spend 4 years in the collegiate department and then received his law degree in 1887. He is one of the most successful students to have not only graduated from the Law school, but the Preparatory school as well.
"When have at times spoken of you as I have always felt since making your acquaintance as the noblest colored man in the National Capital, I have been met with a look of surprise and doubt which raised in my mind a question whether my judgment may not be in some measure colored by my affection." - Frederick Douglas
Source: Douglas, Frederick. Letter to William Henry Harrison Hart. April 27. 1894.
Although he was born to a Black mother and White father, Hart chose to identify as Anglo-Saxan. However, his peers, including Frederick Douglas, referred to him as a Black man.
Image Courtesy of Moorland-Springarn Research Center at Howard University.
In 1897, Hart became the first Dean of the Agriculture Department at Howard University. His vision was to establish the department to mirror his institution for dependent boys, The Hart School.
A copy of an examination given in 1901.
Image Courtesy of Moorland-Springarn Research Center at Howard University
Looking Back and Looking Forward
Howard University was created to fill the void of quality education for formerly enslaved people. There is no doubt that they were responsible for the literacy of thousands and the social mobility of hundreds. However, a deeper dive into the inner workings of the university during the early years demonstrates how the university was also responsible for creating a social hierarchy among the Black community that can be seen in the large divides in the early 20th century. However, Howard University was the first of its kind. Regardless of inequities, its impact is unmatched by any other historically Black institution and its legacy will continue for centuries.
Special thanks to the Moorland-Spingarn Center at Howard University.
About the Author
Maya Moretta is a Junior in the College at Georgetown University. She is studying United States History.
