Brightwood in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Build It And They Will Come
Battleground to Community
—Brightwood Heritage Trail —
In 1818 the Private Rockville and Washington Turnpike Co. began building a road to link Washington City to Rockville, Maryland. This road helped create a village. A toll gate on what today is Georgia Avenue between Quackenbos and Rittenhouse streets encouraged travelers to pause here. Lewis Burnett built a roadhouse, or restaurant, just across Missouri Avenue to your left. By the early 1860s the roadhouse became Moreland Tavern, offering sleeping accommodations. During the Civil War, the tavern housed the officers who would lead the defense of nearby Fort Stevens during the Confederate attack.
The tavern made way for the wood frame home of Stansbury Masonic Lodge No. 24. The hall, in addition to meeting and secret ceremonial spaces, included the income producing Brightwood Hotel. The Freemasons are an ancient fraternal organization with roots in the building trades. Members continue to do good works and create fellowship. Washington’s Freemasons served in all professions, from bricklayer to president.
In 1919 Stansbury Lodge member Frank Russell White designed a grand new limestone temple. Its main meeting room could hold 200 and had a mezzanine and balcony with a pipe organ. The first floor initially housed a post office, then a Sanitary (later Safeway) Grocery and eventually a Pontiac car dealership.
[ Reverse Marker : ]
Follow the 18 signs of Battleground to Community: Brightwood Heritage Trail to discover the personalities and forces that created this remarkable community.
Battleground to Community: Brightwood Heritage Trail, a free booklet capturing the trail’s highlights, is available in both English and Spanish language editions at local businesses along the way. To learn about other DC neighborhoods, please visit www.CulturalTourismDC.org.
Erected by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 5.)
Location. 38° 57.685′ N, 77° 1.692′ W. Marker is in Brightwood, District of Columbia, in Washington. Marker is at the intersection of Missouri Ave. NW and Georgia Ave. NW, on the right when traveling west on Missouri Ave. NW. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Washington DC 20011, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Crossroads Create Community (within shouting distance of this marker); A Streetcar Named Brightwood (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Hold the Mayo! (about 500 feet away); The Rock on Brightwood Avenue (approx. 0.2 miles away); “Get Down You Fool” Aunt Betty's Story (approx. 0.2 miles away); Fort Stevens (approx. 0.2 miles away); School Days (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Brightwood.
More about this marker. A picture of Elizabeth Proctor Thomas appears at the upper right of the marker. Several photographs include “Children of Aqudath Achiam dramatize Chanukah on the Stanbury Masonic Temple stage in 1952.”; and an interior look of the temple with the caption “Masonic ceremonial rooms were found upstairs.”
A photograph of the Stansbury Masonic Temple appears at the top of the back of the marker. It has a caption of “The Stansbury Masonic Temple housed a post office when it first opened in 1920.” The lower left of the marker features a map of the Brightwood Heritage Trail and indicates the location of the marker.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Follow the Brightwood Heritage Trail
Categories. • Fraternal or Sororal Organizations • Roads & Vehicles • War, US Civil •
Credits. This page was last revised on March 4, 2017. This page originally submitted on November 13, 2011, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 923 times since then and 30 times this year. Last updated on April 6, 2014, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 13, 2011, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey. 4. submitted on May 19, 2013, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 5. submitted on November 13, 2011, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. submitted on May 19, 2013, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.