facilities renewal master plan - National Zoo - Smithsonian Institution

FACILITIES MASTER PLAN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
Archeological evidence from the region suggests that Native Americans occupied various
areas in what is now Washington, DC. The lands along the Potomac and Anacostia
Rivers, Rock Creek, Tiber Creek, and the many tributaries that ran through the
Washington, DC area offered game animals and fish, a variety of plant foods, and lithic
resources. The early archeological investigations of Washington, DC revealed a number
of village, camp, and quarry sites within the present boundaries of the city.
Locations along streams were often selected by Native Americans for camp or village
sites and for the exploitation of food resources. Areas with rock outcrops were generally
exploited for lithic resources, quarrying quartz and quartzite for tools, points, and blades,
and quarrying soapstone for the manufacture of vessels for cooking and storing food.
One of the main quarrying and workshop areas was the Piney Branch quarry that was
found in 1880 by Mr. Gill of the US Geologic Survey. The Piney Branch quarry included
several workshops including one below the junction of Piney Branch with Rock Creek,
near the northeast boundary of the National Zoo. Also, along Harvard Street,
overlooking the National Zoo and on its grounds, Dr. Titus Ulke found evidence of the
manufacture of stone tools and of a village site, represented by anvils, pestles, concave
stone vessels, and pre-forms of quartz and quartzite. The presence of many quarries in
the area meant that abundant lithic resources were available for manufacturing tools and
vessels. The many quarrying spots located in the vicinity of the National Zoo indicate
that prehistoric use or occupation of the area is probable. The absence of reported
prehistoric archeological sites on the National Zoo grounds may be a reflection of site
destruction due to landscaping and construction of the National Zoo or to the lack of
archeological survey on zoo property.
The Rock Creek valley area north of Georgetown remained rural and undeveloped
through the Civil War era and for nearly a quarter of a century afterward. A
topographical survey map of the future vicinity of the National Zoo was made in 1867
that shows the sparse, estate-centered development of the Rock Creek valley, dominated
by large landowners. Within the perimeter of the future National Zoo grounds, only a
few landowners are noted – such as Dr. Henry Holt.
The Holt House was constructed by Roger and/or George Johnson between 1810 and
1830 and they also owned the Columbia Mills located on the shard bend in Rock Creek.
To satisfy debtors, the Columbia Mills was sold off from the Holt House parcel in 1823.
The Columbia Mills was constructed in the 1790s by Benjamin Stoddert, and later owned
by John Quincy Adams. The complex included a plaster-of-paris mill, a grist mill, and
several other buildings to house workers and a stable for horses (Quinn Evans, 2003). It
is not clear if any archeological remains of the mills survive.
The land around the Holt House has been graded, removing any archeological deposits
that may have been associated with the nineteenth-century use of the house. The rest of
the level land on the Holt property has been developed and is occupied by National Zoo
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