Spring 2000

The Holt House: A Hidden Washington Treasure
by Barbara D. Bates

Standing within 100 yards of the Adams Mill Rd. entrance, Holt House is a Washington treasure. Holt House, dating from the early 1800s, forms the core of a rich cultural landscape that has been shaped for more than 200 years by events and people significant to the history of this city. It lies hidden among the trees blanketing Jackson Hill on the southeast grounds of the National Zoological Park. But the trees are not all that is keeping this place hidden from public view. Ever since the Zooâs administrative offices moved out in 1988, Holt House has remained vacant. The boards covering up its doors and windows serve to hide this structureâs rich past and great potential as well.

Holt House has been listed on DCPLâs Most Endangered Places of Washington for the second year in a row, and attention to the plight of this structure continues to grow. An initiative by neighbors and preservationists alike is currently under way to further explore the fascinating historical facets surrounding Holt House and to forge a preservation plan that would aid its owner, the Smithsonian Institution, in restoring this important cultural landmark.

Before the creation of the District of Columbia, the grounds on which Holt House resides were part of a Maryland land grant owned by the Beall family. By 1795, Benjamin Stodder, who became the first Secretary of the Navy, had acquired more than 863 acres of land from the Beall family. In December 1800, Stodder sold 42.5 acres to his friend Walter Mackall, a member of a family of builders, who owned the property until 1804, including the house. It was owned from 1804 to 1809 by a family of millers headed by Jonathan Shoemaker who ran the Columbian Mills, which was on the property. Roger Johnson, an iron businessman in Maryland, and his sons were the owners from 1809 to 1835. In January 1835, the sons of Roger Johnson sold the property on which the House is located to Dr. Aston Alexander, founder of the American Medical Association. He owned the property and the house until 1844. Between 1838 and 1841, Dr. Alexander rented the house to Amos Kendall, another important figure on both the federal and local levels. Kendall served as Postmaster General under President Andrew Jackson, and donated land for Gallaudet University.

Holt House acquired its current name in 1844, when Dr. Henry Holt, a physician and farmer, purchased the house along with 13.5 acres, calling Jackson Hill his address. His family owned the property until July 1890, when the Zoo Commission of the Smithsonian Institution bought it as part of a land acquisition to create the National Zoological Park. The Smithsonian Institution employed well-known architects, Glenn Brown and William Ralph Emerson, and the firm of Hornblower and Marshall to work on the house. In 1891, Frank Baker, the first Superintendent of the National Zoo, began using the house as administrative headquarters. The house continued to serve administrative purposes until 1988.

In 1964, Holt House was listed on the DC Inventory and designated a Category II Landmark by the Joint Committee on Landmarks for its significant contribution to the ãcultural heritage and visual beauty of the District of Columbia.ä When it was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, it was described as a five-part mansion of the GeorgianöFederal style. Vacant since 1988, Holt House suffers severe deterioration.

To see Holt House is to be drawn to it. Preserving this property calls for the will and commitment of the National Zoo and the community. Public and private partnerships and a sound and feasible development plan will be needed. The National Zoo does not have sufficient funds to implement plans for Holt Houseâs restoration. Establishing an affiliate association could assist in raising the outside funds necessary to carry out the rehabilitation of the structure.

Community interest in rehabilitating Holt House is gaining momentum, and DCPLâs Landmarks Committee is playing a key role. On a recent wintery morning, the committeeâs task force on Holt House, led by cochair, Wanda Bubriski, made a site visit. Braving the cold and ice, they headed south on the foot path along Rock Creek, passing the markers indicating the former locations of the Adamsâ Mills and other historic sites, before winding their way up Jackson Hill to the house. Among the group was Sarah Veerhoff, great granddaughter of Frank Baker, the Zooâs first superintendent. She shared information on the important figures who visited the house after it became part of the National Zoological Park, thus reinforcing the significance of the house to the Zooâs history.

In the spirit of Save Americaâs Treasures, the public-private partnership between the White House Millennium Council and the National Trust for Historic Preservation dedicated to celebrating and preserving the nationâs threatened cultural treasures, there is a need to raise awareness of the benefits of saving Holt House and to recognize it as the Washington treasure that it is.

More detailed information on the background of the property is currently available at the following two web sites: http://www.si.edu/oahp/holthous/start.htm and http://www.innercity.org/holt. Another Web site, still in the planning stages, will have links to the sites mentioned above and provide updates on research and efforts to save this house, including the DCPLâs efforts.