Barry Farm-Hillsdale in Anacostia: a Historic African American Community. Alcione M. Amos. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2021. P 7346.
This book tells the history of the African American community in Barry Farm-Hillsdale. Created as part of the Freedmen’s Bureau, the community later pushed for the desegregation of schools and swimming pools. Amos emphasizes the role of women and young people in the fight for community improvement.
Records of the Field Offices for the District of Columbia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870. Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection includes records from the Freedmen’s Bureau in the District of Columbia. Item 3.3.1 of this digitized collection includes press copies of letters sent and received by the superintendent of Barry Farm from September 18, 1867-March 9, 1869. These letters, which include transcriptions, describe resource requests for improvements, YMCA memberships, and payment records.
Letters from the South, Relating to the Condition of Freedmen, Addressed to Major General O. O. Howard, Commissioner, Bureau R., F., and A. L. African American Pamphlet Collection Copy by J.W. Alvord. 1870. Washington, D.C., The Library of Congress.
This collection of letters was written by J.W. Alvord, who was the General Superintendent of Education of the Freedmen’s Bureau. In a letter from Augusta on January 17, 1870 to O.O. Howard, Alvord writes that a similar settlement “of about one hundred families-something like the Barry Farm at Washington—where small homesteads have been purchased and are being paid for; average value of each from $100 to $500.” These letters could provide an interesting comparison between Barry Farm and other communities connected to the Freedmen’s Bureau. The Library of Congress offers both the original images and a PDF of the text.
CHS 15541 - Portion of 1887 Hopkins Plat Maps. JJ 121. 1887.
This portion of a plat map from 1887 shows the location of Barry Farm. For another portion of this map, also featuring Barry Farm, see CHS 15548.
Map of the Division of the North Half of a Tract of Land Called "St. Elisabeth," Situated on the East Side of the Anacostia River in the County of Washington, D.C.: Surveyed into One Acre Lots for Sale to Freedmen by O.O. Howard and B.D. Carpenter. 1867. Map, 37 x 125 cm. Washington, D.C., the Library of Congress.
This map from 1867 contains the land that became Barry Farm. The land, referred to as “St. Elisabeth,” was divided into one acre lots. These lots were sold to freedmen after the American Civil War. Some of the landowners’ names can be seen on this map.
History Quest DC. Office of Historic Preservation.
History Quest’s GIS map outlines over 130,000 buildings across the District. Buildings are color coded by time period. A time-lapse of these buildings can be seen on History Quest’s DC by the Decades map.
Oliver Otis Howard Collection - Howard University.
Union General Oliver Otis Howard was responsible for the purchase of the land that became Barry Farm. He was also the head of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, also known as the Freedmen's Bureau, and the namesake of Howard University. Howard University hosts a digital collection of his items, including diaries, photographs, poetry, speeches, and newspapers.
Oliver Otis Howard Papers Online - Bowdoin College.
Oliver Otis Howard attended Bowdoin College in Maine. Today, their library hosts a digital collection of several of his papers. This collection includes correspondence with Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. There is also a collection of photographs of Oliver Otis Howard.
The Online Books Page: Online Books by O. O. Howard. Edited by John Mark Ockerbloom. University of Pennsylvania Library.
The University of Pennsylvania hosts an assortment of digitized books written by O.O. Howard. Volume 2 of Howard’s Autobiography, included in this collection, features his reflections on Barry Farm and his work with the Freedmen’s Bureau.
James Barry. Gilbert Stuart. Oil on canvas, 73 x 61 cm. (28 3/4 x 24 in.). Princeton, Princeton University Art Museum.
This painting is of James Barry, who at one time owned the land that became Barry Farm.
Petition of Julianna Barry, 27 May 1862. Civil War Washington.
As part of the D.C Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862, the District of Columbia provided compensation for almost 3,000 enslaved men, women, and children. In May 1862, Julianna Barry submitted a petition for compensation for three enslaved people: twenty-one-year-old James Sanders, eighteen-year-old Rachel Sanders, and sixteen-year-old Nora Sanders. Juliana notes that fifty years prior, her husband had purchased “grand Mother of Said James, Rachel & Nora and the above named persons of color are the children of her daughter,” and asks for $3,300 in compensation. In addition to a transcript of the petition, Civil War Washington hosts images from the National Archives of the original petition.
The Anacostia Story, 1608-1930 by Louise Daniel Hutchinson and Anacostia Neighborhood Museum. Washington, D.C.: Published for the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum of the Smithsonian Institution by the Smithsonian Institution Press, 1977.
This book was written by historian Louise Daniel Hutchinson, who was a historian and researcher at the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum. It recounts the evolution of Anacostia from 1608 until 1930. The book contains information about the Barrys and the creation of the Barry Farm neighborhood by the Freedmen’s Bureau, as well as a wide variety of scanned primary sources.
Washington at Home: an Illustrated History of Neighborhoods in the Nation’s Capital. Edited by Kathryn Schneider Smith. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010. F194 .W34 2010.
This book on the neighborhoods of D.C. includes a section on Barry Farm/ Hillsdales.
Gottscho-Schleisner Collection at the Library of Congress.
The Gottscho-Schleisner Collection at the Library of Congress hosts 8 photographs of Barry Farm. Taken April 28, 1944, these images show the Barry Farms Housing Development from different angles.
Barry Farms Playground, Suitland Parkway and Nichols Avenue SE, March 19, 1950. John P. Wymer. 1950. Photograph. John P. Wymer photograph collection. DC History Center.
John P. Wymer took thousands of photographs around Washington, D.C. between 1948 and 1952, including this one Barry Farms Playground. DC History Center’s collection also holds a hand-drawn map that Wymer created.
Empower D.C. - Barry Farm Oral History Project. DC Public Library. 2019.
This collection of oral history interviews centers on the residents of Barry Farm. Ten different community members describe their homes and communities at a moment of urban redevelopment and displacement. Interviews include recordings, transcripts, and indexes.
Hillsdale School. 1908. Photo. DigDC. DC Public Library.
Hillsdale School was the first school in Barry Farm. It was built by formerly enslaved people in 1871. Before the Hillsdale School’s completion, African American children in the neighborhood attended privately run schools.
D.C. Mondays: Barry Farm-Hillsdale. GW Museum and Textile Museum. April 2, 2022. Vimeo. Video, 54:47.
The GW Museum and Textile Museum recorded a Zoom talk from historian and Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum curator Alcione M. Amos. The author of a book on the history of the Barry Farm-Hillsdale neighborhood, Amos talks about the lives of community residents over the 150+ years of the neighborhood’s history. One interesting story she tells is of 47 women who purchased lots in Barry Farm-Hillsdale by 1871, complete with a map of where they settled.
The Village That Shaped Us by Dianne Dale. Lanham, Maryland: Dale Publications. August 1, 2011.
This book combines oral histories with over 300 images and documents to tell the story of Barry Farm and D.C.’s Anacostia community. Written by Dianne Dale, who grew up in Barry Farm, the book spans from Barry Farm’s origins as part of the Freedmen’s Bureau to its push for Civil Rights in the mid-twentieth century. Dale’s family recollections help to paint a picture of what life was like in the Barry Farm/Hillsdale neighborhood.
Joseph Young Photograph Collection. Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Joseph Young took photos of evolving neighborhoods in D.C. from the early 2000s until 2016. The collection includes photos documenting gentrification and publications featuring these photographs.
Digital Howard @ Howard University. Howard University.
Howard University was named after O. O. Howard, who led the Freedmen’s Bureau and oversaw the creation of Barry Farm. Howard University’s digital collection hosts a few items with connections to Barry Farm, including a photo of a Votemobile that features boys from the Drum and Bugle Corps of Barry Farms and the 1869-70 Catalog of the Officers and Students of Howard University, which lists two students as living in Barry Farm.
Before the Anacostia Station: a Look at Indian Life and the Barrys Farm Settlement. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Washington: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 1992? P 3687.
Pamphlet from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
Diver and Copeland Family Papers. MS 0794.
These papers concern Jerome Diver and his wife Lucy Diver and include correspondence, tax documents, photos, mortgages, and other papers. Some of these documents concern the couple’s property in the Barry Farm neighborhood.
Occupancy Audit Report for National Capital Housing Authority, Washington, D.C. Public Housing Administration, 1961. P 3710.
1961 studies of management of Barry Farm, Langston Terrace, the Twenty-First Street Houses and other National Capital Housing Authority properties.
“‘The Most Pleasant and Healthful Place in all the Country:’ The History of Settlement and Land Use along the Eastern Branch” by Portia P. James. In East of the River: Continuity and Change. Edited by Gail Lowe. Pages 18–49. Washington, DC: Smithsonian, 2010.
James traces the evolution of inhabitants of the region known today as Barry Farm, from Nacotchtank settlements to plantation owners James Barry and William Marbury to the Freedmen’s Bureau’s Barry Farms community. The article includes photographs of the evolving community.
Fractious Family Papers - Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
The Anacostia Community Museum hosts a collection of papers from the Fractious family. William Fractious and his wife Lucy likely came to D.C. during the Civil War, and settled in Barry Farm. Several generations of the Fractious family lived in D.C., and a selection of their papers comprise this archive. Additionally, the museum holds photos from 2009 of the original A-frame house that William Fractious built in 1867-1868. Additional resources concerning Barry Farm can be found in the Anacostia Community Museum’s archive.
Solomon Brown: First African American Employee at the Smithsonian Institution. Stories from the Smithsonian, Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Solomon Brown, a resident of Barry Farm, was the first African American to be employed by the Smithsonian. This page from the Stories from the Smithsonian blog includes biographical information on Brown, primary and secondary sources concerning his life, and related classroom activities. More documents related to Brown, including a poem he wrote to memorialize fellow Barry Farm resident Isaac Brown, can be found at the Anacostia Community Museum.
If I Survive: Frederick Douglass and Family in the Walter O. Evans Collection : a 200 Year Anniversary by Celeste-Marie Bernier and Andrew Taylor. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2018.
This book provides a published collection of some of the materials found in the Walter O. Evans Collection of Frederick Douglass and Douglass Family Papers at Yale University. This text includes photographs, letters, speeches, and other writings from the Douglass family, including from Frederick Douglass Jr. and his wife Virginia L. M. Hewlett Douglass, who resided in Barry Farm. An excerpt featuring the book’s Table of Contents, Preface, Forward, and Introduction can be found on the publisher’s website.
Neighborhood History Resources for Southeast DC - DC Neighborhood History Guides - DC Public Library.
This libguide includes a link to the first of a 2-part documentary from the Humanities Council of Washington, DC called Barry Farm: Past and Present. From filmmaker Tendani Mpulbusi, the documentary includes footage from Barry Farm and interviews with Barry Farm residents from 2008-2010. The libguide also contains additional local resources, neighborhood research from the People’s Archive, and a tab featuring additional information on Anacostia.
Bolling v. Sharpe. Oyez.
In 1950, 11 African American children attempted to integrate John Philip Sousa Junior High School, resulting in a Supreme Court case. The Supreme Court unanimously decided that racial segregation in D.C. schools violated the Fifth Amendment on May 17, 1954, the same day that Brown v. Board of Education was decided. The Oyez site provides an accessible overview of the case for students.
StoryMap: Barry Farm Dwellings: A Struggle for Civil Rights in Southeast DC by DC Historic Preservation Office. February 4, 2021.
This StoryMap tells the story of Barry Farm. The Alley Dwelling Authority built the Barry Farm Dwellings in 1942 on the site of a former freedman’s village. Its construction was intended to provide additional public housing for African Americans during WWII. DC Office of Planning writes that Barry Farm provides a window into the 150 year housing struggle of Black Washingtonians as “a story of the resilience of the residents who, in spite of the effects of racial segregation, municipal neglect, and invasive welfare policies, built a rich and close-knit community.” The StoryMap contains photos and maps from different time periods to illustrate the neighborhood’s evolution through the following themes: Freedmen's Village, Public Housing, Design, School Desegregation and Tenant Activism.
Petition for Woman Suffrage from Frederick Douglass Jr. and Other Residents of the District of Columbia. DocsTeach, The National Archives and Records Administration.
The National Archives hosts a petition for women's suffrage featuring the signatures of Mr. & Mrs. Frederick Douglass Jr., Solomon G. Brown, and other members of the Barry Farm community. With DocsTeach’s activity guide (and the creation of a free account), teachers can create classroom activities using this petition.
Mapping Segregation DC. Prologue DC.
This site seeks to examine the role race played in shaping Washington, D.C. during the beginning of the twentieth century. The website hosts several interactive resources, including: From Restrictive Covenants to Racial Steering, a special exhibit on the fight for fair housing; Covenants Map, an interactive map tracing housing covenants 1940-1970; 11 different story maps, including ones on segregated schools, segregated playgrounds, segregated public housing, historic black communities, and displacement; a gallery of historic maps and real estate ads; and additional resources.
Anacostia: Segregation, Desegregation, Resegregation. “A Right to the City” Digital Exhibit. Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum.
This story map is part of the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum’s “A Right to the City'' Digital Exhibit. While the Barry Farm/Hillsdale neighborhood was established for newly freed African Americans, the Anacostia neighborhood (then called Uniontown) was an exclusively white neighborhood. This digital exhibit traces the evolving relationship between these two communities from segregation to desegregation with Bolling vs. Sharpe to resegregation from white flight. This exhibit includes photos, maps, and quotes from Barry Farm residents.
DC Historic Sites. DC Preservation League.
The DC Historic Sites page includes sites of historic significance and themed tours. Connections to Barry Farm can be seen on the Barry Farm Dwellings site page and the African American Civil Rights tour. Pages include background information of different buildings’ history and photographs.
Historical Archaeological Reconnaissance and Assessment, Barry's Farm, Washington, DC: Our Project Number 490-91642 by Elizabeth W. Anderson. Wilmington: Soil Systems, Inc., 1981. P 0970.
An 8-page archaeological pamphlet concerning Barry Farm.
Reports of the President's Homes Commission, Appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt. President's Homes Commission. Washington, President's Homes Commission, 1908. P 6000.
A detailed, illustrated report on housing conditions in Washington, D.C.
Barry Farm/Hillsdale: Past, Present, Future. DC Preservation League. YouTube. September 24, 2021. Video, 1:26:15.
This video is a recording of a panel discussion about Barry Farm Dwellings sponsored by DC History Center and DC Preservation League. The panel discussion includes information about the history of the Barry Farm community, efforts to preserve the Barry Farm Dwelling, and hopes for the future. Panelists include Alcione Amos from Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum, Parisa Norouzi from Empower DC, and Dr. Amber Wiley from Rutgers University. It is moderated by Sarah Shoenfeld from Prologue DC, LLC.
Online Exhibit: We Shall Not Be Moved: Stories of Struggle from Barry Farm–Hillsdale. Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
This online exhibit from the Anacostia Community Museum examines the lives of the people who lived in Barry Farm–Hillsdale. Once a thriving African American community, the Barry Farms housing development was demolished in 2019. One part of the online exhibition allows visitors to “Explore the Neighborhood” through “People and Places” and “Community Activism.” Meanwhile, the “Investigate What Happened” section gives visitors an opportunity to examine the changing history of Barry Farms and connect its story to similar stories across the U.S. Items in the exhibit include a petition for women’s suffrage signed by Frederick Douglass Jr. and other Barry Farm-Hillsdale residents, an interactive map of the neighborhood, and photographs of people who lived in Barry Farm-Hillsdale. Additional resources concerning Barry Farm can be found in the Anacostia Community Museum’s archive.
StoryMap: Census Tract 74.01 | Barry Farm | Washington, D.C.
This StoryMap is part of a larger ArcGIS project entitled Mapping Gentrification in Washington D.C., which was funded by the National Science Foundation. Principal Investigator Tanya Golash-Boza writes that “gentrification can be measured quantitatively using three indicators: 1) change in median household income; 2) change in percentage of residents with a college degree; and 3) change in median housing value.” The interactive maps provide before and after images of Barry Farm to assess the levels of investment and disinvestment in the neighborhood.
StoryMap: Barry Farm: A Community of Freedmen, Workers, and Activists. By Jocelyn Ortiz. December 3, 2019.
This StoryMap is part of a larger ArcGIS project entitled Escaping Slavery, Building Diverse Communities: Stories of the Search for Freedom in the Capital Region since the Civil War. This project was created by Professor Chandra Manning’s History 396 class at Georgetown University in 2019, with assistance from OAH and NPS. During the fall semester, students “set out to find the communities that men, women, and children fleeing slavery established in Washington, DC, and to trace what became of freedpeople, their descendants, and the communities they built over time.” As a part of this project, Jocelyn Ortiz created a StoryMap page on Barry Farm to document the community’s evolution over time. Her page includes a historical narrative, as well as a wide variety of related primary and secondary sources.
Evolution of a Community: 1972 Exhibition Records by Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
This archive represents the 1972 Anacostia Community Museum (then called the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum) exhibition “Evolution of a Community.” The history of the Barry's Farm neighborhood was featured in this exhibition. Archived resources include oral history transcripts, research files, outlines for exhibit themes and promotion, and others. Additional resources concerning Barry Farm can be found in the Anacostia Community Museum’s archive.
From Barry's Farm to Barry Farms. Anacostia Unmapped. Podcast, 4:50.
This brief podcast episode recounts the history of Barry Farm. After the Civil War, the U.S. government purchased 375 acres of land from David and Juliana Barry’s tobacco plantation. They did not tell the Barrys their plans for the site, where they allowed formerly enslaved people to purchase one acre of land for between $125 and $300. This episode traces the evolution of this community from the Civil War to public housing during WWII to the threat of displacement for more than 250 families with the demolition of Barry Farms in 2019.
The Living New Deal: Washington DC. The Living New Deal, The University of California, Berkeley.
The Living New Deal provides a compilation of digitally mapped geographic sites connected to the New Deal. In Washington D.C, there are multiple sites connected to Barry Farm, including Barry Farm Playground, Barry Farm Dwellings, and the Barry Farm Dwellings Administration and Community Building. Pages for these sites include a description of the project, a record of the agency responsible for the project, and source notes.
Barry Farm Forever Poster. DigDC, DC Public Library.
This photo captures a poster on a light pole. The poster reads “Barry Farm Now Barry Farm Forever.”
National Register of Historic Places Nomination. D.C. Office of Planning.
This 31-page document contains papers concerning the process of nominating Barry Farm Dwellings to the National Register of Historic Places. The application includes historical information of the area, photos of nominated buildings, and statements on the significance of the Barry Farm Dwellings. Additional documents concerning the movement to put the Barry Farm Dwellings on the Register, as well as information about other sites on the National Register of Historic Places, can be found on the Office of Planning’s website.
The George Goodman League.
In 1977, the Barry Farm Community Summer Basketball League was established. Originating at the Barry Farm Housing Projects, the original league ran until 1995. In 2000, the league was renamed after Barry Farm resident George Goodman. Today, the league hosts two games a night during the summer featuring a wide variety of talented basketball players. The Anacostia Community Museum hosts a short (2:05) video about the League.
The Beat! Go-Go Music from Washington, D.C. by Kip Lornell and Charles C. Stephenson. Updated and rev. new ed. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2009.
This book explores the history of Go-Go music. Go-Go “reflects the District's African American heritage,” as “its super-charged drumming and vocal combinations of hip-hop, funk, and soul evolved and still thrive on the streets of Washington, D.C., and in neighboring Prince George's County, making it the most geographically compact form of popular music.” The book notes the role that Barry Farm had on some Go-Go artists, most notably Junk Yard. Additional resources concerning Go-Go can be found in the Go-Go Archive at DC Public Library.
DC Public Library Digital Resources. DC Public Library.
DC Public Library’s archival collections and databases contain a vast array of resources related to Barry Farm. Materials include reports from the Department of Playgrounds, reports of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia, reports on the operations of the Engineer Department of the District of Columbia, and various newspapers. Databases such as Nineteenth Century Newspapers and JSTOR provide primary and secondary sources about life in Barry Farm.
Ward 8 Heritage Guide: A Discussion of Ward Eight Cultural and Heritage Resources by Patsy M. Fletcher and Kim Elliott, DC Historic Preservation Office.
This guide, from the DC Historic Preservation Office and the District of Columbia Office of Planning, identifies important locations across Ward 8. Several of these sites are located in the Barry Farm neighborhood, including Barry Farm Recreation Center, Barry Farm housing development, and Campbell AME Church. The guide includes maps to demonstrate the evolution of Ward 8 over time and outlines a plan to protect historic sites.
Archaeology in DC Brochure. D.C. Historic Preservation Office, Office of Planning.
This brochure from the D.C. Historic Preservation Office details archaeological efforts in the District of Columbia. One of the case studies is about Howard Road, while another surveys Anacostia/Barry's Farm. Objects recovered from the site provide information about the daily lives of Barry Farm residents, such as the type of foods they were eating and the frequency with which they repaired their homes. The report also mentions artifacts found in Barry Farm that predate European colonization of the land.
Old Anacostia & Hillsdale, African American Heritage Trail. Cultural Tourism DC.
This page from Cultural Tourism DC highlights some different points of interest in Anacostia and Barry Farm/Hillsdale. A few sites connected to African American heritage in the area include the Barry Farm site, Solomon G. Brown residence site, and Macedonia Baptist Church.
Anacostia Historic District Brochure. D.C. Historic Preservation Office. Last Revised March 2007.
This brochure from D.C. Historic Preservation Office provides information about the history of the Anacostia Historic District. It includes a section on Barry’s Farm/Hillsdale, noting that by 1880, the community was filled with skilled workers, including wheelwrights, teachers, blacksmiths, grocers, and midwives. The brochure also notes the difficulties of formally preserving the history of the area.