Where You Might Find Great Info About Your Georgetown House’s History

A lot of Georgetowners want to learn more about the history of their homes. Assuming the house is actually old, there are several places you can look to find that history. Many know that the Peabody Room at the library maintains a separate file on each house in the neighborhood. Some also know that with a library card, you can access the digital archives of the Post and the defunct Evening Star to see if your address has popped up on their pages. But another source many likely overlook may be staring them in the face every time they come home. And that source is the conservation easement that is literally applied to the front of a great number of homes in Georgetown.

Two organizations maintain most if not all the conservation easements in Georgetown: the L’Enfant Trust and the Foundation for the Preservation of Historic Georgetown. The orgs acquire the easements over the homes by way of a donation from the owners at some point. (Beyond a general sense of philanthropy, the donors get a nice tax write-off for the donation). Once the easement has been granted, approval is now required from the organization in perpetuity in order for the homeowner to make certain changes to the exterior of the house. This is, of course, on top of the normal approvals the homeowners would need to seek from the Old Georgetown Board.

You can tell if you have an easement from the badges that affixed to the front of your house, like the one above. (It’s certainly possible that an easement exists without the presence of the badge. You would probably have learned of its existence when you bought your house.)

So besides just preserving history, how can this help you research your house? Because when the easement is granted, the orgs may have performed their own historical research on your house. And you can reach out to the org and ask for a copy. I did just that and received some fascinating info.

First of all, I received a photo of my block from the time the easement was granted: 1983.

Obviously this is not that old a photo, but it’s great to see it nonetheless.

But more substantive was the architect’s report:

Sadly there were no “Washington Slept Here” moments in my house’s past, but it’s still illuminating to see its whole history (including owners and renters) up to the mid-1980s.

So if you have an easement, it’s worth reaching out to the org to see if they have similar records on your own house!