Existing comment:
The Village of Good Hope
The first major settlement in Far Southeast developed at Good Hope Hill sometime in the 1820s. The village grew around Good Hope Tavern, a small establishment at the ridge of steep hill, at the conjunction of Good Hope and Naylor Roads. Were it not for the buildings and trees obscuring the view, one could still enjoy a breathtaking vista of the city from that vantage point.
Because this arduous road was one of the well-traveled entryways into the city from southern Maryland, a tavern sprang up there. It was one of the first and longest-lasting businesses, offering sustenance to early travelers for over a century. Shortly thereafter, across the road from the tavern, came a blacksmith shop for repairing wagons, carriages, and carts, and a stable to care for injured horses and to secure fresh horses.
It is not known when the first tavern was built there. Maps show a tavern there as early as 1839, and early accounts indicate that it was already old by that date. The tavern, first known as Good Hope Tavern, also did business as Spaulding's Tavern, Smoot's Tavern, Jenkins' Tavern, Vermillion's Tavern, and also Duvall's Tavern. In the 1920s, in a nod to the advent of the automobile, a filling station was added alongside the tavern. By the 1930s, the tavern had disappeared entirely.
Other early landmarks were Tom Anderson's blacksmith shop and the Good Hope Post Office, established in 1847. Good Hope resident Judson Richardson was the community's first postmaster. He or his son served as postmaster until the post office was closed in 1886. |