Skip to main content
RETURN TO Return to WETA website Donate
Boundary Stones logo

Main navigation

  • Washington, D.C.
  • Maryland
  • Virginia
  • Video
  • About

1940s

DC
What Was It Like to Ration in DC during World War II?

What Was It Like to Ration in DC during World War II?

07/08/2022 in DC by Meaghan Kacmarcik

What was it like to feed a family in Washington, D.C. during the days of World War II rationing? Put yourself in the shoes of a 30-year-old mother of two and find out.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
DC’s Most Underrated History Philanthropist

DC’s Most Underrated History Philanthropist

06/23/2022 in DC by Meaghan Kacmarcik

In a city full of millions of people and a myriad of activities to take part in, a twenty-five-year-old Albert Small roamed the concrete jungle that was New York City in 1949. He was a bit bored without his beloved girlfriend, Shirley, by his side. Forced to occupy his time while Shirley worked her Saturday retail job to pay for school. Albert was left to his own devices. He was more used to the slower pace of his home in Washington, DC. The hustle and bustle of the people, noise, and sights of one of the world’s largest metropolises overwhelmed him at points. On this particular Saturday, Albert ducked into an antique bookstore as a means to escape the sensory overload that is the Big Apple. What he found changed his life. 

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

Maryland
La Dame qui Boite  (The Limping Woman)

La Dame qui Boite (The Limping Woman)

06/14/2022 in Maryland by Meaghan Kacmarcik

Trekking through the thick winter snow of the Pyrenees mountain range, Virginia Hall struggled with each passing step. After thirteen months in war-torn France with insufficient access to food, heating, and clothes, the once striking thirty-six-year-old lost the glow of youth. Hardened by the death, loss, and destruction, she witnessed at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators, she was determined to complete the arduous journey through the mountain range that separated occupied France from neutral Spain.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
Secrets in the Forest: A Virginia Summer Camp Becomes a Playground for Spies

Secrets in the Forest: A Virginia Summer Camp Becomes a Playground for Spies

10/04/2021 in DC by Dominique Mickiewicz

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to begin your training as a World War II spy in the forests of Prince William County, Virginia.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
Savior or Slumlord?

Savior or Slumlord?

09/22/2021 in DC by Ben Miller

In 1933, eleven words made Minnie Keyes a wealthy woman. They were scrawled on a blank telegram slip, tied to a pencil with an elastic band, and stuffed under a mattress. “Minnie Keyes: You have been good to me. All is yours.” These sentences were the final will and testament of Leonard A. Hamilton, who had lived as a boarder at Keyes’ home for 30 years. Once a court accepted the scrap as legitimate, Keyes inherited Hamilton’s $100,000 estate, about $2.1 million in today’s money. Most of its value lay in real estate: dozens of homes scattered across Washington. The properties Minnie Keyes came to own, however, were not the city’s best. And what should happen to them became the source of great debate.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
The Battle for Bryant Street: How A Black D.C. Family Helped Overturn Racial Covenants Nationwide

The Battle for Bryant Street: How A Black D.C. Family Helped Overturn Racial Covenants Nationwide

08/24/2021 in DC by Ben Miller

Racial covenants made much of Bloomingdale off-limits to Black buyers. A welder, a polyglot immigrant, and a Civil Rights icon rallied to change that.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
Death Over the Potomac: A Mid-Air Plane Crash Leaves D.C. Looking for Answers

Death Over the Potomac: A Mid-Air Plane Crash Leaves D.C. Looking for Answers

08/17/2021 in DC by Ben Miller

In 1949, a shocking mid-air crash near National Airport killed more people than any previous air disaster in U.S. history. It did not take long for investigators to place the blame on one unlucky pilot. But was Capt. Erick Rios Bridoux really at fault?

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
The American Hitler Comes to Washington

The American Hitler Comes to Washington

05/19/2021 in DC by William Choi

In 1933, William Dudley Pelley founded the Silver Legion, an American-made fascist organization to match the movements seizing power in Europe. Seven years later, the new House Un-American Activities Committee called him to Washington to explain his actions.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
Local Activists, Backed by District's Black Churches, Led the Fight for DC School Desegregation

Local Activists, Backed by District's Black Churches, Led the Fight for DC School Desegregation

02/12/2021 in DC by Michael Kohler

The history of school desegregation in the District is rooted in civil disobedience. The story is one of a grassroots organization of parents that challenged the institution of legalized segregation to guarantee better schools for their children. Throughout the seven-year struggle, the activists were supported by the District's Black churches, and their mission was grounded in the principles of faith and social justice.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
Razing the Mother Church: The Sale and Destruction of Saint Augustine Catholic Church

Razing the Mother Church: The Sale and Destruction of Saint Augustine Catholic Church

02/11/2021 in DC by William Choi

For seventy years, St. Augustine Catholic Church, at 15th and L St., NW, was the place where Washington's Black Catholics were baptized, married, and laid to rest. Known as "The Mother Church" of Black Catholics, the property was sold to The Washington Post in 1946. The transaction caught many parishioners by surprise and caused a rift with the white leadership of the Archdiocese.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

Pagination

  • Current page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Next page ››
  • Last page »
Surprise Me!

Not sure where to start reading? Let us pick a story for you!

Categories

  • DC (561)
  • Maryland (105)
  • Virginia (146)

Latest Posts

How Ethel Barrymore Helped Bring Theater to Olney, Maryland

01/27/2023

How Ethel Barrymore Helped Bring Theater to Olney, Maryland

Metro Mythbusting: Georgetown's Nonexistent Metro Stop

01/20/2023

Metro Mythbusting: Georgetown's Nonexistent Metro Stop

Hulks like Huge Flower Pots: The Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay

12/16/2022

Hulks like Huge Flower Pots: The Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay

Most Popular

How Ethel Barrymore Helped Bring Theater to Olney, Maryland

01/27/2023

How Ethel Barrymore Helped Bring Theater to Olney, Maryland

The Less-Known Unknown

11/13/2012

The Less-Known Unknown

D.C.'s Own "Brown vs Board"

12/13/2012

D.C.'s Own "Brown vs Board"

Tags

1860s1870s1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990sAlexandriaArlingtonBlack HistoryBygone DCCivil WarGeorgetownMusic HistorySports HistoryWhite HouseWomen's HistoryWorld War IWorld War II
More
Historical D.C. Metro Map
Tweets by BoundaryStones
WETA

Footer menu

  • Support WETA
  • About WETA
  • Press Room
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • RSS
  • Accessibility

Contact Us

  • 3939 Campbell Avenue
    Arlington, VA 22206 | Map
  • 703-998-2600
  • boundarystones@weta.org

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

About Boundary Stones

Boundary Stones explores local history in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. This project is a service of WETA and is supported by contributions from readers like you.

DONATE

Copyright © 2023 WETA. All Rights Reserved.

Bottom Footer

  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Guidelines