Emma V. Brown House, 3044 P Street, NW

 

Brown was educated by Myrtilla Miner at the Normal School for Colored Girls.  When Congress authorized African-American public schools in 1862, Brown was already teaching private students in her home.  In 1864, she taught classes at Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill (now known as Ebenezer United Methodist Church), the first publicly funded school for African American students in D.C.  She later became Principal of John F. Cook School and the Sumner School, until her retirement in 1875.  Brown was a poet and a native Washingtonian.  Her house is marked with an historic plaque.