A Pioneer on Foxhall Road
The John B. Hammond House
John B. Hammond, "dealer in builders' materials and mantels," according to an 1895 newspaper notice, moved into this eccentric house at 3115 Foxhall Road NW when it was built in 1891.1 It was one of the first houses built in the far suburb of Wesley Heights DC. It still stands, although significantly modified. Among the many changes, the observation tower has been removed.
Developer John F. Waggaman, who built the Hammond House, envisioned a bucolic new community in far northwest Washington. He called it “Wesley Heights” after methodist leader John Wesley—a nod to nearby American University, which was a Methodist institution. However, Waggaman built only a few houses. By the 1920s, developer W.C. & A.N. Miller acquired the tract and began building its own style of houses. Miller advertised Wesley Heights as “The Garden Spot of Washington,” and marketing homes in the carefully curated suburban neighborhood exclusively to white owners. Racial covenants like those applied to Wesley Heights, which were typical for their era, were ruled unconstitutional in 1948. Designed for privacy and tranquility, homes in the neighborhood have remained sought-after properties ever since—surrounding the once isolated Hammond House on all sides.2
“Two Large Firms Assign,” Washington Post, Mar. 28, 1895, 2.
Diane Shaw, “Wesley Heights and Spring Valley” in Kathryn Schneider Smith, ed., Washington At Home, 2nd ed., (2010), 415-17.
Wonderful photograph and super new format! Thank you so much for your work!