Wheat Row

Wheat Row is a row of four Late Georgian style townhouses located at 1315, 1317, 1319, and 1321 4th Street SW in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. Begun in 1794 and completed in 1795, the structures are some of the oldest residential homes in the District of Columbia. They served several uses in the early and mid 20th century, but were integrated into the Harbour Square cooperative in 1963. Wheat Row was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 23, 1973.

The Residence Act of 1790, which established the site for the capital of the United States, provided for the appointment of three commissioners by the President (and without the need for Senate confirmation) to govern the District of Columbia, survey its land, purchase property from private landowners, and construct federal buildings. James Greenleaf was a land speculator who arrived in the city on September 17, 1793. On either September 23, 1793, or December 24, 1793, Greenleaf purchased from the D.C. commissioners the land on which Wheat Row would be built. By the start of 1794, Greenleaf owned half the federal government's salable land in the District of Columbia.

Greenleaf began construction on the four townhouses which became Wheat Row in 1794. The builder was James Clark. Sources differ on the architect. Historian Bob Arnebeck argues it was Clark, but most sources attribute Wheat Row to the important local architect William Lovering.

Wheat Row was the first example in the District of Columbia of the terraced house (also known as the row house or townhouse). According to the National Capital Planning Commission, they are probably the first houses built after the District of Columbia was chosen as the seat of the federal government. The Thomas Law House and Duncanson-Cranch House, both nearby, were erected at about the same time by Greenleaf and his partners.

Wheat Row was not initially a successful development. The townhouses were considered small by the standards of the day, of an out-of-date architectural style, poorly constructed, and built with inferior materials. Greenleaf refused to pay for them, and Clark suffered a mental breakdown as a result of the business setbacks caused by Greenleaf's actions. Wheat Row remained incomplete at the end of 1794, and was not finished until the following year.

The earliest occupant of Wheat Row was William Prentiss, a surveyor who helped lay out housing plats in the District of Columbia in the 1790s. He married Marie Josephine Wilhelmina Matilda Greenleaf, daughter of James Greenleaf, and they took up residence on Wheat Row in 1796.

The Wheat Row name is derived from that of John Wheat, a prominent local designer of gardens and a messenger employed by the United States Congress. According to the earliest extant records, Wheat owned 1315 4th Street as early as 1819. 1317 4th Street was owned by Robert P. Washington, and 1319 4th Street by Richmond Johnson. 1321 4th Street was jointly owned by Thomas L. Washington and Philip Stuart. Stuart bought out Washington's interest by 1824, and purchased a share of 1319 4th Street from Johnson. By the time Wheat died in 1844, he had purchased 1319 and 1321 4th Street from Johnson and Stuart. He left all three row houses to his wife, Mary. Members of the Wheat family continued to own these houses until at least 1868.

The four row houses of Wheat Row were used for residences until 1939. John Neligh, the director of industrial crafts at Barney Neighborhood House, owned 1315 4th Street. Barney Neighborhood House served as a home for poor women and worked to improve cultural awareness among the working class. Established in 1904, Barney Neighborhood House occupied the Duncanson-Cranch House. When Neligh died in 1939, he left his home to the Barney Neighborhood House, which renovated it and used it as a neighborhood art gallery known as Rhoads House. That same year, 1317 4th Street was purchased by the National Craft Training Center, a newly established organization which taught handicrafts to poor and working-class girls. By May 22, 1941, 1315 4th Street housed the Rhoads Service Men's Club, a service organization which provided free and reduced-cost entertainment to members of the United States military. In late 1941, Mary Adams purchased 1319 4th Street, renovated it, and donated it to the Barney Neighborhood House in memory of her mother. The organization used it as a day care facility, serving 30 children (double the capacity available in its old location). By 1950, Barney Neighborhood House had come into possession of 1317 4th Street.