The Anacostia Story: 1608-1930

The story of Washington, DC is most often told as the story of a federal city and the elected officials who have called it home. This exhibition presents an expansive history of Anacostia, an area in southeast Washington, DC bordered by the Anacostia River, from the period prior to 1608 through 1930. For 3,000 years before Europeans arrived, Nacotchtank villagers—the original Anacostians—lived peacefully on the east bank of the river. Since 1608, the community has evolved through many stages—from a rural setting, to a village and hamlet, to a small-town suburban area, and to an urban milieu. Residents of Anacostia have always nurtured a strong sense of history and community. This exhibition demonstrates the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum’s concern in maintaining the vigor of the Anacostia community and in preserving its historic integrity.