DCNHT: Shaw Guide

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr., spoke at Shiloh’s Men’s Day in 1960.

Massachusetts Regiment of Colored Soldiers (portrayed in the movie Glory ).In 1966,when city planners used Shaw Junior High’s atten- dance boundaries (including Logan Circle,U Street,and Midcity) to create the Shaw School Urban Renewal Area, the name Shaw came into common use. Before the Civil War, the area was still mostly rural.But running through it was Seventh Street, one of the city’s earliest roads.Seventh Street connected Maryland farms to Center Market on Pennsylvania Avenue and the docks in Southwest Washington.Early on, merchants set up shop on Seventh between Center Market (begun in  ) and Mount Vernon Square, just south of the Shaw Heritage Trail route.The completion of the Northern Liberty Market on Mount Vernon Square in  led merchants and trades- men to build houses nearby.Doctors and shop- keepers occupied three-story buildings,doing business on the street level and living above.The Civil War ( - ) expanded the federal gov- ernment,adding government clerks to the mix. The war also brought three Union Army camps to the area.These installations attracted formerly enslaved men and women seeking jobs and shel- ter.After the war ended,many remained. By  sturdy houses faced Shaw’s streets,while simple dwellings,stables,and coal sheds filled the back alleys behind them. Poor African Americans and whites created communities in the alleys.As improvements in transportation Andrew Carnegie

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