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The Homestead: 1895

A long shot of yardwork figures in the last of eight plates of the Douglas property in Takoma Park, Maryland, circa 1895. 5x7 glass negative by Edward M. Douglas (1857-1936) and donated to Shorpy by his great-grandson. View full size.

A long shot of yardwork figures in the last of eight plates of the Douglas property in Takoma Park, Maryland, circa 1895. 5x7 glass negative by Edward M. Douglas (1857-1936) and donated to Shorpy by his great-grandson. View full size.

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Edward Douglas

My family members and I are very grateful and pleased to see these glass plates brought back to life on Shorpy. One minor correction is that Edward Douglas died in 1932. Going through our family archives reveals a really interesting fellow. He graduated from Columbia College (now University) in NYC in 1881, with a degree in civil engineering. In 1882 he gained a position with the U.S. Geological Survey, where he spent the years from 1883 to about 1904 as chief topographer mapping the states and territories of the Western US. He worked at USGS and later the War Dept, for 45 years. The photo below shows (click to enlarge) him and the family on the porch at TP around the time of the other photos. His interest in mapping and photography was life-long, and after his retirement from government service he worked at an early aerial photo-mapping company up until he had to quit for health reasons. No doubt Google Earth would amaze him.

Amazing

To say that Takoma Park has changed in the last 120 years is not strong enough. It has been transformed. Of course, I've only known the area for the past 60 years or so. Reminds me of the Cohan song about 45 minutes from Broadway.

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