View of front of Holt House. Photo by M. Erixon-Stanford
Holt House

Holt House and Surrounding Properties:

A Documented History

Research, Reports, Maps, Photographs, and Illustrations

Research and Reports

This site provides: The contents of a database citing documents relating to the entire parcel of land between Rock Creek and the present Adams Mill Road purchase by the Commission for a National Zoological Park in 1889 in three lots. Note that these are lengthy files and may take a few minutes to load, depending upon the speed of the modem. Readers are reminded that they may wish to use a search function provided by their browser.

Additional reports have been written on the history of the site. They include:

  • Land Transfer Deeds for Holt House Property, Columbia Mills, and Union Benevolent Association Cemetery: a quick chronological reference of the land transfer deeds for Holt House Property.
  • Investigations: Holt House, Columbia Mills and the Cemeteries: a summary report of the properties prepared by staff members of the Smithsonian's Office of Architectural History and Historic Preservation.
  • A Brief History of Holt House and Adjoining Land: a historical narrative of the site prepared by National Zoological Park staff.
  • History of the Columbia Mills : a paper prepared by staff and students at the Smithsonian's Office of Architectural History and Historic Preservation on the history of the Columbia Mills.
  • Holt House: Structural alterations: a paper prepared by staff and students at the Smithsonian's Office of Architectural History and Historic Preservation.

    Maps, Photographs and Illustrations

    Color illustration of the Zoo grounds in March of 1958 Map of the National Zoological Park, March 1958. It was prepared by Air Survey Corporation, Arlington, VA. Highlighted at the bottom of the map are the Holt House and former Union Benevolent Association Cemetery. This is a large, full screen map (181 Kb) and may take a few minutes to appear on your screen, depending upon your modem speed.
    Color illustration of the Zoo grounds between 1889 and 1897. This map is a composite from several maps dated 1889 and 1897. The Zoo buildings in dashes are modern, dating from the 1970s and 1980s. Highlighted are Adams Mill, Holt House, the Union Benevolent Association Cemetery (known by several names, including the Young Men's Baptist Cemetery) which is the Walter Pierce Park today. This is a large, full screen map (148 Kb) and may take a few minutes to appear on your screen, depending upon your modem speed.
    Historic Photos of the Holt House Property. This collection of historic photos is from the Smithsonian Institution Archives. Many of these photographs have not previously been widely published.
    Now and Then: A comparison of several current and historic photos taken from approximately the same angles.
    Interior photos of the Holt House Cellar

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