Butts started developing land around Fort Reno, part of the necklace of fortifications that ringed Washington during the Civil War. “The interesting thing about this neighborhood was that it was integrated,” said Alcione Amos, curator of the Anacostia Community Museum. A variety of old bottles were discovered at the Shotgun House, a testament to the District’s brewing history. How else to explain the 15 intact beer bottles — and fragments of many others — found when archaeologists started scraping away the earth around it last year? The D.C. history conference kicks off Thursday evening at the National Museum of American History with a free lecture from Marya Annette McQuirter titled “Washington, D.C. 1968: Activism, Art and Architecture.”To register for Friday and Saturday’s sessions — $30 ($35 at the door) — visit dchistory.org.

Source: Washington Post October 31, 2017 20:38 UTC