What the record shows
The federal survey describes the site: Brinetown was located in Georgetown near 35th and Reservoir Road, NW.
After Western High School (now the Duke Ellington School of the Arts) was built in 1891 as a school for the white community, a nearby parcel of land was purchased to build homes for the families of those who attended the school. The land was located in a black section of Georgetown called Brinetown.
Brinetownappears in the U.S. Geological Survey's place-name archive as a historical populated place — a settlement that once carried a name and no longer does. Our editors are verifying its full story against census records, newspaper archives, and county histories; this record will grow as sources are confirmed.
Before you visit
Unverified sites may sit on private land, and coordinates from historical records can be imprecise. Verify land status and access before traveling. Take photographs, leave nails — removing artifacts from federal land is a crime.
See it in context on the national atlas map.
From the field
The most valuable part of this record is the part only visitors can write.
Stamp your passport
Check in at Brinetown — GPS-verified visits earn an inked stamp.
File a field report
Road conditions, what's still standing, what's gone — your report joins the record.
Add photographs
Credited, dated, and preserved as part of Brinetown's permanent record.
No field reports yet — sign in to file the first.