Bussard-Newman House, Washington DC
Bussard was a trustee of the Georgetown Presbyterian Church. He was also active in civic affairs. In 1825 he was named to the committee applying to Congress for a charter to build a Poor House and later, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees for the Poor Farm which was located at the corner of what is now Calvert Street and Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., where the Guy mason home now stands. Bussard built the frame house on Fayette Street (now 35th Street) between 1805 and 1808. In 1805 he paid $100 for the north half of Lot 67, a price indicating there was not a structure on the land at that time. In 1808 Bussard bought the south half of Lot 67 for $300, a bargain since John French had paid $500 for the same piece of property in 1806. The tax assessment records for the year 1808 assess Daniel Bussard for Lot 67, valuing the property at $800 and listing it as "improved". In 1813 the tax records were more specific, giving Bussard's Lot 67 a value of $850 and listing "2 single story frames."
In 1828 the frame houses were sold by the Bussard family to Peter Hoover. Hoover was a butcher, who probably lived in one of the houses and used the other as his shop.
In lS40 the houses were sold at public auction by the Marshall of D.C., as Peter Hoover had gone into debt and, taken into custody, was removed to Baltimore. Andrew Hoover purchased the property for $1002 but sold it a few months later to William Noyes, who in turn sold it the next year to John Clements, a painter. In 1847, Clements sold the house on the north part of the lot (by then enlarged to two stories) and continued to occupy the house on the south part of the lot. After 1852, the house owned by Thomas A. Newman, a shoemaker, was used as a rental property for both residence and business establishments. George Battersby, a confectioner, rented the house and ran his confectionery there. When George died, his widow, Ann C. Battersby, continued the family business at this address. City directories list Ann at 38 Fayette Street through 1863. Again, in 1866, a confectioner, Mrs. Susanna Darnes, is listed at this location. Research has not revealed whether the house was rented and used for running a confectionery business during the remaining years of Newman ownership. Samuel Artz, a plumber who had a business at 3028 M Street and lived on N Street, bought the house in 1910 and rented it to Ernest A. Allen, who was living in the house two years prior to Artz's purchase. Allen operated the Aqueduct Photo Shop at 3507 M Street and later worked for the Washington Gas Company. After renting the little frame house for twelve years, Allen and his wife purchased it.
The house was enlarged with the addition of a second story by 1847 when a deed described lot 67 "...upon which stands a two story frame house...". The windows on the second floor are not exactly in line with those on the first floor, further indicating that the second floor was added. Subsequent alterations consisted of remodeling the east (rear) elevation, the addition of aluminum siding on north and south elevations, enclosing the first and second floor porches at the southeast corner of the house, the addition of an elaborate front door frame and a rear dormer in the mid-twentieth century. The interior has been extensively remodeled by successive tenants, including the addition of two second floor baths, two bedrooms and bath in the attic, and remodeling of the staircase. Central heating was installed in 1920.
Overall dimensions: Two-and-one-half stories with full basement, "approximately" 21 feet by 35 feet with a three-bay front.
