The oldest houses in Historic Anacostia date back to the middle part of the 1850s. At that time, the area was called Uniontown. Uniontown was one of the first suburbs of the city of Washington. Many who lived there worked at the U.S. Navy Yard, which was located just across the Anacostia River. These houses were owned and occupied by a strictly white population. They could not be sold or rented to people of African or Irish descent. Freed blacks and the descendants of slaves already lived in the nearby Barry Farms section. In 1880, African Americans began to move into Uniontown.

As in other parts of the District of Columbia, row houses (those that are attached at the sides), were very common in Anacostia. These early houses were built from wood and had porches. Home buyers were able to choose their own styles of wooden decorations, windows, and iron fences. The architectural styles are Italianate, Cottage, and Queen Anne. During the 1930s, indoor plumbing and electricity came to the residents of the community. Today’s Anacostia includes garden apartments, brick homes, stucco houses, brick homes, ranch-style houses, and townhouses.

View Activity Page in HTML View Activity Page in PDF