People

People of the Park

Many people have made contributions and were involved in the development of Rock Creek Park and the sites it manages.

Check back to learn about the people that helped settle the land before the park was established as well as those that contributed to the landscape you see today.

 

People significant to the history and development of....

Rock Creek Park

• Thomas Lincoln Casey

  Chief Engineer of the Army Corps of engineers and first "Superintendent" of Rock Creek Park.

• Lansing H. Beach

  As an assitant engineer he was responsible for early development of roads and trails in Rock Creek Park. The main park road was named for him when he was transferred from the District of Columbia by the army.

• Ambassador Jean Jules Jusserand

  Frequent hiking companion of President Theodore Roosevelt, he is the only person with a memorial dedicated in the main reservation of the park. 

• Clarence O. Sherrill

  Park mangager in the 1920s responsible for segregating the park.

• Ulysses Simpson Grant III

  Engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers and the last person to be in charge of Rock Creek Park under military rule. Grant Road in the park is named for him.

• Jay J. Morrow

  Chief Engineer of the United States and early manager of Rock Creek Park. Morrow Drive, the last of the park roads developed, was named for him.
   

• Charles Carroll Glover, Sr.

  Prominent banker and philanthropist whose efforts went into the creation of Rock Creek Park and the Smithsonian National Zoo.

Peirce Mill

• Isaac Peirce

  Early settler in the District of Columbia and of the land that would become Rock Creek Park.

• Abner Peirce

  Responsible for much of the estate of his father in the early 1800s and had a hand in the construction of Peirce Mill which still stands to this day.

• Peirce Shoemaker

  Son of Isaac Peirce's daughter Abigail. Inherited the Peirce family estate when his uncle Abner Peirce died unmarried with no children. Peirce Shoemaker signed the Petition for Compensated Emancipation, naming the enslaved individuals on the estate.

• The Dover Family

  One of the families descended from an enslaved person held on the Peirce estate. 

• Louis Peirce Shoemaker

  Descendant of Peirce Shoemaker. A prominant Washington, DC real estate broker, he helped make many of the land deals that would create Rock Creek Park. 

• Hattie Sewell

  Managed the Peirce Mill Teahouse in 1920 and 1921.

Meridian Hill Park

• Mary Henderson 

  Lobbied Congress in support of the acquisition of the land and its development as a park.

• George Burnap 

  Designer of the first plan for Meridian Hill Park.

• John J. Earley 

  Developed the process for producing the exposed aggregate concrete that gives Meridian Hill Park its unique character.

• Horace Peaslee 

  Primary architect for Meridian Hill Park from 1917 to 1935. He played the most influential role in the development of the park.

• Ferruccio Vitale 

  Chief designer for the planting plan, and later as a member of the Commission of Fine Arts, he played an integral role in the design and development of the park.

Old Stone House

• The Layhman Family

• Cassandra Chew

• Mary Chew Smith Brumley

• John Suter Jr.

• Barbara Smith Suter

• Marcy and Payne

• John Stallings

• James Davis

• Goddard Family

• Levy Family

• Cornelius Heine

Dumbarton Oaks Park and Montrose Park

Sarah Louise Rittenhouse

Lifelong Georgetown resident who helped petition congress to save the park land for the people rather than let it be developed.

Beatrix Farrand

An acclaimed landscape architect whose designs can still be enjoyed in many cultivated spaces today, she was instrumental in the design of the garden spaces at Dumbarton Oaks.

Peirce-Klingle Mansion

Joshua Peirce

Joshua Peirce established the Linnaean Hill estate and created a nursery business in what would become Rock Creek Park.

William Beckett

Born enslaved on the Linnaean Hill estate, William Beckett was a vital part of Joshua Peirce's nursery business. He became a businessman in Washington, DC, and was the coachman for President Grover Cleveland.

Joshua Peirce Klingle

The adoptive son of Joshua Peirce and last private resident of the Klingle Mansion at Linnaean Hill.

Beatrice Klingle

Beatrice Klingle was the only child of Joshua Peirce Klingle and was born in what is now the Klingle Mansion at Linnaean Hill. 

Northwest Washington, DC

Senator Francis G. Newlands

Francis G. Newlands was a representative from the state of Nevada who helped found the Chevy Chase community in northwest Washington, DC. He has become a controversial figure in recent years. Though he promoted the formation of the National Park Service and the Bureau of Reclamation, his "White Plank" political platform sought to disenfranchise people of color. 

 

Melvin C. Hazen

Melvin Hazen was the president of the District of Columbia Board of Commissioners from 1934 until his death in 1941. He was responsible for the removal of Reno City, a predominantly Black community in northwest Washington, DC.

Glover Archbold Park

Anne M. Archbold

A colorful member of Washington society for over 45 years, Anne Archbold donated almost 30-acres of land that would become Glover Archbold Park.

Charles Carroll Glover, Jr.

Charles Carroll Glover, Jr. was an advocate for Glover-Archbold park remaining a park, open to the public, rather than being developed into a multi-lane highway.