 
Old Stone House
Photo courtesy of the DC SHPO
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The Old Stone House, located at 3051 M Street in Georgetown, was built in 1765,
making it the oldest standing building in Washington, DC. The exterior of the
house is constructed of locally
quarried blue granite. The house was built by Christopher Layman, a cabinetmaker
by trade, as both a residence and a shop. Layman died shortly after constructing
the house. It was sold to
Cassandra Chew who added a wing to the rear of the house in 1767. The street
(then called Bridge Street) was a main thoroughfare for road traffic from the
Western frontier and paralleled
the canal into Georgetown. The house has been used throughout its history as
a residence or residence/shop, until it was purchased in 1953 by the U.S. Government.
Although there have
been attempts to prove that the Old Stone House was either George Washington's
Engineering Headquarters and/or Suters Tavern, neither theory has been substantiated.
The house is a good
surviving example of pre-Revolutionary American vernacular architecture.
The Old Stone House, administered
by the National Park Service and located at 3051 M St., NW, is open Wednesday
through Sunday, 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm. It is closed New Years Day, Independence
Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Metro stop: Foggy Bottom
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