Owens, Isaac, House
a.k.a. Gannt-Williams House;Walker,John,House
2806 N St., NW., Washington, DCThe Joint Committee on Landmarks has designated the John Walker House a Category II Landmark of importance which contributes significantly to the visual beauty of the District of Columbia. The house has long been known as the Gannt-Williams House and its date of construction is thought to be circa 1805, but research in the Georgetown deed and assessment records shows that the house was not built until 1816-1817 when it was the property of Isaac Owens. The house represents a typical Federal style townhouse found in Georgetown in the early nineteenth century. It retains the scale, proportion, and simplicity of its nineteenth-century facade as do other houses on this 2800 block of N Street. In the twentieth century, the Walker house has been the home of Washington newspaper columnist Drew Pearson and John Walker, former director of the National Gallery of Art.
The land upon which the house is built was subdivided by Thomas Beall and sold to John M. Gannt in 1804 and to Elisha Williams in 1809. Deed and assessment records, however, indicate that there were no major improvements on the property, the eastern half of lot 159, until after it was purchased by Isaac Owens in 1816. The Georgetown Assessment Books contain a July 9, 1817, citation under Owens' name of a two-story brick house, valued at $4,000. The inclusion in the 1818-1819 Assessment Book under Owens' name of la two-story brick house, valued at $5,500 on lot 159, confirms that the 1817 citation is for the present Walker House.
The heirs of Isaac Owens sold the house to William S. Nichols in 1835, and in 1856 a commission merchant, John W. Lumsden, purchased the house at public auction after Nichols defaulted on his debts. The Lumsden family lived in the house through the 1870s and in 1887 they sold it to Sallie C. Jones, a widow. Mrs. Jones occupied the house for about a decade and after she sold it in 1903 it was used as a rental property. The decline in Georgetown's social status is evidenced by the occupation of the house from 1914 to 1922 by Isaac Davis, a day laborer. Still, if the occupation of a house by its owner instead of a renter can be used as a measure of its status, the Walker House has had a more stable existence than its neighbor, the John Haw House, which seems to have been rented out from about 1840 to 1921.
In 1921 the Walker House was purchased by Katherine B. Cunningham and building permits indicate that she spent more than $2,000 in that year installing new bathrooms, enclosing the second-floor verandah, rebuilding the rear verandah, and doing other work. As is the case with the adjoining Haw JHouse, the 1920s initiated a period of major investments in the property which has continued to the present.
From 1926 to 1928 the house was owned by Washington newspaper columnist Drew Pearson but he only lived there in 1927. Since 1940 it has been the home of John Walker, director of the National Gallery of Art from 1956 to 1969.
Local significance of the building:
The land upon which the house is built was subdivided by Thomas Beall and sold to John M. Gannt in 1804 and to Elisha Williams in 1809. Deed and assessment records, however, indicate that there were no major improvements on the property, the eastern half of lot 159, until after it was purchased by Isaac Owens in 1816. The Georgetown Assessment Books contain a July 9, 1817, citation under Owens' name of a two-story brick house, valued at $4,000. The inclusion in the 1818-1819 Assessment Book under Owens' name of la two-story brick house, valued at $5,500 on lot 159, confirms that the 1817 citation is for the present Walker House.
The heirs of Isaac Owens sold the house to William S. Nichols in 1835, and in 1856 a commission merchant, John W. Lumsden, purchased the house at public auction after Nichols defaulted on his debts. The Lumsden family lived in the house through the 1870s and in 1887 they sold it to Sallie C. Jones, a widow. Mrs. Jones occupied the house for about a decade and after she sold it in 1903 it was used as a rental property. The decline in Georgetown's social status is evidenced by the occupation of the house from 1914 to 1922 by Isaac Davis, a day laborer. Still, if the occupation of a house by its owner instead of a renter can be used as a measure of its status, the Walker House has had a more stable existence than its neighbor, the John Haw House, which seems to have been rented out from about 1840 to 1921.
In 1921 the Walker House was purchased by Katherine B. Cunningham and building permits indicate that she spent more than $2,000 in that year installing new bathrooms, enclosing the second-floor verandah, rebuilding the rear verandah, and doing other work. As is the case with the adjoining Haw JHouse, the 1920s initiated a period of major investments in the property which has continued to the present.
From 1926 to 1928 the house was owned by Washington newspaper columnist Drew Pearson but he only lived there in 1927. Since 1940 it has been the home of John Walker, director of the National Gallery of Art from 1956 to 1969.
Architecture
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
About National Register Listings
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.
The District was the site of one of the first major race riots in U.S. history: The Washington, D.C. race riot of 1919 was sparked by tensions between white and black residents and lasted for several days. It resulted in 15 deaths and over 100 injuries.