Looking east across Benning Bridge toward Deanwood, around 1895.
The house built by Levi Sheriff, photographed in 1916.
new transportation to jobs downtown and at the Navy Yard across the Anacostia River, landowners saw an opportunity. The Sheriff family had owned 330 acres east of the station since slaveholder Levi Sheriff pur- chased them from the Benning family in 1833. About two decades later, Sheriff’s daughters Mary Cornelia Sheriff Dean, Emmeline Sheriff, and Margaret Sheriff Lowrie inherited the land. After the railroad arrived in 1871, the sisters—hoping to get rich—established subdivisions they called Whittingham, Lincoln Heights, and Burrville. But sales were slow. It would be nearly another 20 years before Levi Sheriff’s grandson Julian Dean would build 20 houses in his new subdivision, Deanewood. (Julian had added an E to the fam- ily name. Although the E was later dropped, the Deanwood name stuck.) Deanwood’s development received a boost in 1890, when Benning Racetrack opened just west of the train station. Described as “the best equipped racetrack in Washington,” Benning provided en- tertainment for Washingtonians of all walks of life, as well as employment for nearby residents. train station. Described as “the best equipped racetrack in Washington,” Benning provided en- tertainment for Washingtonians of all walks of life, as well as employment for nearby residents. In 1921 the train—and by then the streetcar— brought Washingtonians from all over to Subur- ban Gardens, the city’s first and only amusement park. The park served African American families excluded from such segregated facilities as Glen Echo in suburban Maryland. For nearly two The house built by Levi Sheriff, photographed in 1916. Navy Yard across the Anacostia River, landowners saw an opportunity. The Sheriff family had owned 330 acres east of the station since slaveholder Levi Sheriff pur- chased them from the Benning family in 1833. About two decades later, Sheriff’s daughters Mary Cornelia Sheriff Dean, Emmeline Sheriff, and Margaret Sheriff Lowrie inherited the land. After the railroad arrived in 1871, the sisters—hoping to get rich—established subdivisions they called Whittingham, Lincoln Heights, and Burrville. But sales were slow. It would be nearly another 20 years before Levi Sheriff’s grandson Julian Dean would build 20 houses in his new subdivision, Deanewood. (Julian had added an E to the fam- ily name. Although the E was later dropped, the Deanwood name stuck.) Deanwood’s development received a boost in 1890, when Benning Racetrack opened just west of the
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