What’s the oldest continuously named street in DC?

I recently embarked on a quest to figure out what was the oldest continuously named street in the District of Columbia. While I initially thought it was going to be a easy task, my initial inquiries came up inconclusive. But I’m tentatively ready to name the victor Water Street NW, a short street in Georgetown.

Georgetown existed before the District of Columbia. It was founded as a Maryland town in 1751, more than fifty years before the District was established. If any street name from Georgetown’s founding were still in use, it would clearly be the longest continuously used street name in DC.

Unfortunately, no street name from Georgetown’s founding is still in use today. Here’s the original plan of the town:

None of the original street names are still in use, with the one exception of Water Street. Originally, the street we now call Wisconsin Avenue was called Water Street south of the street we now call M Street. Nowadays, “Water Street” is the name we call K Street west of Wisconsin Avenue. But in 1751, this stretch was called “The Keys” and West Landing.

So it’s not quite right to say Water Street is the longest continuously named street in DC. At least not based on this information. All of the other “Old Georgetown” street names in use in 1751, like Bridge Street and High Street, stopped being used shortly after Washington City absorbed Georgetown in 1871.

Jump ahead from the town’s founding in 1751 to 1796, and more of the “Old Georgetown” street names have appeared, including Dunbarton Street, Prospect Street, and Water Street, which now includes what we today call “Water Street.” This is still before the creation of DC, and so they should still preexist any non-Georgetown street names.

All three of those street names continued after the 1871 merger. It’s probably safe to say one of those three names is the oldest continuously used street name in DC.

But the question is which of them, if any, is the oldest? We know that the name “Water Street” is the oldest, but was it used to refer to the actual waterfront street before it was called Prospect or Dunbarton?

In a way, we can already dismiss Dunbarton seeing as it has changed its spelling and suffix over the years, going from Dunbarton Street to Dumbarton Avenue, and back to Dumbarton Street. So it’s really between Prospect and Water.

But if we’re ready to dismiss Dumbarton Street because it once was called Dumbarton Avenue, then Water Street might be the winner after all. That’s because, like Dumbarton and Olive streets, Prospect Street was also briefly known as Prospect Avenue after the merger. It appears all the “Old Georgetown” street names that survived the merger were temporary referred to as avenues. Except for Water Street, which doesn’t appear to have been renamed.

So barring new information, I’m ready to tentatively give Water Street the title of longest-continuously named street in DC.

A version of this post appeared on the Georgetown Metropolitan.