Empire of Mud - J.D. Dickey
You know where Dupont Circle is, but have you ever heard of Murder Bay or Hell’s Bottom? Could you find Swampoodle on a map? Do you know that when you’re in traffic on Constitution Avenue you’re driving over the Washington Canal, one of the biggest financial failures in our nation’s history? J.D. Dickey’s Empire of Mud tells the forgotten history of Washington City, a capital every state approved, but few bothered to help build or maintain. In its haphazard evolution, struggling equally against Mother Nature and an indifferent Congress, Washington City more resembled an East Coast frontier town than a national seat of power. Amidst the chaos a few citizens like street walker-turned-brothel-owner Mary Anne Hall and scheming, raconteur socialite Thomas Law managed to thrive. The situation was often grim but Washington City endured and like the country at-large its conflicts, contradictions and contributions still shape us today.