New Troy

Many of the histories and guides to Capitol Hill say that it is built upon land once known as "Jenkins Hill". L'Enfant certainly described it as such - and many followed him. However the stories of the site of the Capitol being where Thomas Jenkins pastured his animals are.sadly, pure myth. I will give more of the real story in a forthcoming post.

The land on which the Capitol stands was in fact owned by Daniel Carroll of Duddington (who was a relative of Commissioner Daniel Carroll of Rock Creek). The land was marked on maps as "New Troy". Many local places were given Roman and Greek names. The small stream which ran at the base of the hill - and into what is now the Mall - had the grand title of the Tiber.

Another myth concerns the founding of London in the UK. Geoffrey of Monmouth claims that London was founded when Brutus (A Trojan - who Geoffrey credits as being the ancestor of the English Kings) fled from Troy in about 1070 BC to the British Isles. He was the founder of the settlement which later become London - he called it "New Troy". The BBC tell the story here.