One of the last remaining private estate home and
gardens in Washington, DC., and known as "Evermay" since the 18th century, the estate stands
proudly on the heights of Georgetown, on what was originally part of the “
Rock of
Dumbarton” land tract. Evermay was the creation of Samuel Davidson, noted
18th century Maryland and Georgetown businessman and international maritime merchant,
as well as one of nineteen important proprietors of the new City of Washington.
Mr. Davidson owned more than 150 acres of land in the heart of the city —
land eventually occupied by the White House, Treasury, Old Executive Office Building
and Lafayette Park. When meeting with
George Washington in 1792 at Suter’s
Tavern to decide the location of the capital city, Davidson was one of Georgetown
leaders to realize the importance of the watershed and the port of Georgetown for
the future expansion and governance of the fledgling nation, but Davidson chose the Evermay location as the site of his own home.