Washington DC
Deanwood

Deanwood, which lies east of the Anacostia River along the District’s border with Prince George’s County, started out in the 1700s as a farm. It stayed that way until after the Civil War, when the family that owned the property decided to subdivide the land and build houses to take advantage of a new railroad line. But they had trouble selling lots until a Black minister named Rev. John H. W. Burley saw the area’s potential and bought an entire subdivision. Other Black residents followed, and by the 1920s, Deanwood was a thriving neighborhood with six churches and was the home of the National Training School for Women and Girls, which taught everything from dressmaking to power machine operation to Black women from across the world. It also attracted scores of Black entrepreneurs who opened shops and sold goods door-to-door as well. Today, the neighborhood’s assortment of modestly-sized two-story wood frame homes and tree-lined streets give it a small-town ambiance.