Ashburton House – Washington, D. C.
Posted by: Groundspeak Charter Member BruceS
N 38° 54.025 W 077° 02.142
18S E 323470 N 4307695
Historic house which served as a diplomatic buildings is now known as the St. John's Church Parish House in Washington, D. C.
Waymark Code: WMNYAG
Location: District of Columbia, United States
Date Posted: 05/23/2015
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member iconions
Views: 8

Ashburton House, also known as St. John's Church Parish House or British Legation, is a house on Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C.. The house stands at 1525 H Street, N.W.

It was the site of 10 months of U.S.-British negotiations leading to the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842. This settled U.S.-Canada border disputes and ended the Aroostook War.

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1973.

Mathew St. Clair Clark, a House of Representatives clerk, began the original brick building in 1836. Shortly afterwards, it was sold to the British government. Lord Alexander Ashburton took up residence in the house in 1842, the same year he and Daniel Webster negotiated the Webster-Ashburton Treaty in its parlor. Ashburton was succeeded by novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton; both made changes to Clark's design. The house received its French Second Empire design in the 1870s. The architects for both the 1853 and c.1870 remodelings are unknown. In the early 1950s, the house became the parish house for nearby St. John's Church.

The house is in excellent condition and continues to serve as the parish house for St. John's Church.
Street address:
1525 H St., NW.
Washington, District of Columbia


County / Borough / Parish: District of Columbia

Year listed: 1973

Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event – Politics/Government

Periods of significance: 1825-1849

Historic function: Government

Current function: Religion

Privately owned?: yes

Primary Web Site: [Web Link]

Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]

Secondary Website 2: [Web Link]

Season start / Season finish: Not listed

Hours of operation: Not listed

National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.
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Searcher28 visited Ashburton House – Washington, D. C. 07/07/2018 Searcher28 visited it
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