What to do on a beautiful albeit it a tad chilly Sunday afternoon? Why not visit the Clara Barton Historic Site?

I've driven past here literally hundreds of times as I used to commute down the Clara Barton Parkway to MacArthur Boulevard to Massachusetts Avenue on my way to the Washington National Cathedral each morning. Every day I'd think to myself, "I really ought to stop in sometime." Each time, I'd file the thought away and keep driving.

This past weekend when my husband and I tried to figure out where to go and what to do today, I pooh-poohed yet another trip to the Mall. My dear husband then said "Let's go to Clara Barton. We've been meaning to do it forever."

Location

The Clara Barton Historic Site isn't found on the Mall with most of the big name Washington DC area attractions. You'll need to wander out a bit (a car is quite helpful) to Glen Echo Park in Maryland. To get there from the downtown area, my favorite route is to take Massachusetts Avenue to the Northwest until it dead ends at Goldsboro Road. Take a left at the traffic light and then a right when you get to MacArthur Boulevard. It's a rather odd circular intersection and you literally can't miss it. You'll pass over a one lane bridge and you'll want to keep an eye out for Glen Echo Park on your left. The Clara Barton Historic Site is at the end of the driveway. There's also easy access from the Clara Barton Parkway.

History of the Site

You may be wondering why the Clara Barton Historic Site is way out in Maryland instead of closer downtown. In the late 1890s, the Baltzey brothers were building a new housing development in Glen Echo. They wanted to have a well-known person living in their community in order to entice other people to buy houses and live there too. After all, by buying in Glen Echo, you'd get to live near Clara Barton!

In exchange for Clara Barton's agreement to live in Glen Echo, the brothers agreed to give her the land and the labor to build her house. She jumped at the chance and built a residence that resembles a warehouse more than a house. It's modeled after a warehouse from the Johnstown Flood in 1889 that was used by the Red Cross.

After Clara Barton's death, the house went through five different sets of private owners before its purchase by the Friends of Clara Barton. This group donated the house to the National Park Service in the 1970s.

Today, you can tour the house on a limited schedule. Tours are offered on the hour by National Park Service rangers. This isn't a particularly crowded National Park Service site. The ranger who conducted our tour talked about days when there were only two guests and how the past year with the sniper shooting, the Orange alerts because of the war in Iraq and the weather have all contributed to extremely low attendance. The best days to visit if you don't want to contend with school groups are Mondays and Fridays.

What You'll See

The house sits atop a hill and you'll see it as you pull into the free parking lot. If you continue through the parking lot, you'll be close to the excitement at Glen Echo Park which is also administered by the National Park Service.

Walk up the hill and you'll arrive at a comfortable front porch with bench seating out front. You'll have to wait until the hour for admission to the house.

Our tour guide came outside a couple of minutes after 1 pm. Two people exited and we were the only people on our tour.

On the first floor of the house (which is handicapped accessible), we were immediately welcomed into the house and asked to look down the long and wide hallway. The building looked more like a hospital or a warehouse than a house.

We started in a small room off to the right where the ranger told us all about Clara Barton and her work with the Johnstown Flood of 1889 and the Galveston hurricane of 1900. We were shown a photograph of the warehouse upon which Clara Barton's house was modeled. We learned the following facts:

* Clara Barton did not found the International Red Cross. She founded the American Red Cross.

* Before Clara Barton became involved with the Red Cross, the organization assisted with wartime need only. Miss Barton began the tradition of having the Red Cross provide emergency aid for natural disasters.

From the exhibit room, we walked down the hallway where the ingenious method of closeting supplies was shown to us. The long hallways were actually closets. Miss Barton liked to warehouse as many supplies as possible in her Glen Echo home. While those supplies wouldn't be enough to meet the complete needs in a disaster, having some supplies ready to go was important. Each wall had secret closets built into it which were hidden behind wooden paneling. The hinges were hidden by flags from foreign countries that were members of the Red Cross. We learned the following facts:

* Keeping supplies in your house attracts mice.

* Usually people keep cats to catch mice.

* Clara Barton had many cats but they were pet cats who liked to tease and torment the mice instead of killing them.

* There is a record that Clara Barton once ordered a dozen mousetraps since her cats were not killing the mice.

At the end of the hall is the office area. While most of the furnishings are reproductions, the dishes and paintings were actual belongings of Clara Barton. Most of them were gifts. There is a painting of one of her pet cats on the wall. Interesting facts we learned were:

* There was much confusion during Clara Barton's tenure with the Red Cross concerning finances. Clara Barton considered herself to be the American Red Cross and donations were made to her personally, not to the organization.

* Most of the furnishings and personal effects in the house were gifts to Clara Barton and/or the American Red Cross.

* Many of the Red Cross staff lived in the house with Clara Barton. They did not get paid but were provided with free room and board in exchange for their services.

At the end of the hall closest to the front door, we saw the parlor. The nicest belongings in the house (such as a piano) were kept here and these rooms were plastered. Interesting facts we learned:

* By keeping the parlor up front, the mess of the office would be removed from the public. Files and information could be brought to the front instead of showing visitors to the back.

* These were the only rooms in the house to receive plastering. Plaster was very expensive. The rest of the ceilings in the house were covered with muslin (bandage material) and simply nailed to the beams.

* You ought to take a close look at the paneling because none of it matches throughout the house. Clara Barton bought whatever was on sale at the lumberyard and made do. In particular, there is a window at the landing of the staircase to the second floor that appears completely out of place from the exterior of the building. There used to be a stained glass window there which was broken in the 1920's. Clara Barton got a really good buy on it which is why the window frame was expanded to accommodate it.

The second floor consists of many bedrooms. The middle of the floor is open to the first and third floors. Clara Barton's bedroom was at the rear of the second floor. There is nothing ostentatious about these bedrooms. They are quite functional. Interesting facts we learned:

* Clara Barton founded one of the first free public schools in the state of New Jersey. It was in Bordentown which is very close to the turnpike rest area which bears her name.

* There are many carpets throughout the house and they are reproductions. Clara Barton received many carpets as gifts.

The third floor has more bedrooms and storage space. The ceilings in the staircases are quite low so even short people must watch their heads! Interesting facts we learned:

* Clara Barton died of double pneumonia at age 90.

* Clara Barton's favorite color was green.

Our tour ended by going back to the ground floor to visit a small gift shop. Most of the books and other items can be found elsewhere. In particular, I recommend David McCullough's book "The Johnstown Flood". There is one biography of Clara Barton available here as well as the National Park Service guide to the Clara Barton Historic Site. If your interest is postcards, there is one of the Red Cross family tree and another of the Glen Echo carousel animals.

I felt somewhat obligated to buy something since the ranger was standing right over me recommending books. I answered honestly that I'd read just about everything and she countered that with "I bet you haven't read the National Park Service Guide to the house." She was right. I bought it. Later that afternoon, I discovered that the county library had a copy in stock so I spent $7.50 I didn't really have to on the book. Still, the money goes to the National Park Service and they can use everything they get these days.

Recommended: Yes

Best time to go: Anytime
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview