Journey back to a time long before Washington D.C. existed as we know it today. We are now standing at Soapstone Valley. This valley whispers tales of ancient people and geological wonders.
Soapstone Valley is an arm of Rock Creek Park in the District of Columbia. It connects Connecticut Avenue with Broad Branch Road near Beach Drive. This picturesque ravine has tall trees and small rocky cascades. The creek flows downstream toward Broad Branch.
Around 13000 years ago the first inhabitants of the Washington DC area arrived. Archaeologists found that these ancient people built villages along the Potomac River. Around 2000 BC indigenous peoples began quarrying stone in Rock Creek. They lived in nearby camps.
The stone they sought was soapstone also called steatite. They formed it into cooking vessels pipes and ornaments. They did not use it for weapons. One such site was near what we presently call the Soapstone Valley.
Louis A. Kengla investigated archaeological sites in 1883. He drew a map that included a soapstone quarry on his father’s property. It was on Loughboro Road near Tennallytown. He marked another quarry in a spot he called Rose Hill.
The Rose Hill steatite quarry was being obliterated by the construction of Connecticut Avenue. This now-vanished site was located at the western end of the present Soapstone Valley Park.
Dr. Elmer R. Reynolds stumbled upon a curiously shaped moss covered stone in 1874. Upon examination it proved to be a fragment of a soapstone mortar. He found a hill nearby that was totally composed of soapstone. There were hundreds of broken pieces that appeared to be the work of ancient people.
Reynolds contacted Professor Spencer Baird assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Reynolds helped excavate the indigenous remnants in the valley. They found vessels hammer-stones picks and spades. The excavations revealed valuable fragments. Mr. Cushing selected and removed more than two tons of implements from the quarry.
William Henry Holmes also investigated Rock Creek Valley quartzite and steatite quarries. In 1890 he wrote that the Rose Hill Quarry was situated on Connecticut Avenue. It was four miles from the Executive Mansion and three-fourths of a mile east of Tennallytown.
Holmes studied the many soapstone pieces found at this site. He concluded that this collection of steatite utensils had been created by the aborigines. Holmes concluded that Soapstone Valley was not used as a settlement. The remoteness of the site made it improbable that the locality was used for dwelling. It was only used for quarrying the potstone and roughing out the vessels.
Soapstone is a metamorphic rock formed primarily from the mineral talc. Talc is soft and greasy to the feel. It has weak molecular bonds between sheets of the mineral. Other minerals mixed in with the talc make soapstone hard enough to carve.
As you explore Soapstone Valley today imagine the ancient people. They quarried soapstone here thousands of years ago. Soapstone Valley stands as a testament to the enduring connection between people and the land. Take a moment to appreciate the rich history beneath your feet.