Randle Cliff Community

Col. Randle, a widower, was president of the United Securities Co., here, made his home at Glendale, Md. and also maintained a residence at Randle Highlands, a community which he developed.

At the age of 14, after a grammar school education at Artesia, Miss., Col. Randle entered Shortridge Academy at Media, Pa., later attending the Hollowell Grammar School at Philadelphia, where he was awarded a prize scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania. He was a great-grandson of Col. John Randle, an officer in the Revolutionary War, and a descendent of Earl Randle of Chester, one of the first of the Anglo-Norman lords appointed to the Parliament of King John after the signing of the Magna Charta. Col. Arthur E. Randle received his commission, when he was appointed to the staff of Gov. Longino, of Mississippi in 1902.

Shortly before coming to Washington, Col. Randle was associated with his brother, Dr. William Henry Randle, of Philadelphia, who was commissioned by President Hayes in 1876 to stamp out the yellow fever plague in the South, and the two brothers spent several years in successful devotion to this task.

Col. Randle was the man responsible for the work of reclaiming the Anacostia Flats, which had been a serious menace to health in the southeast secton of the District for many years. Later he developed Randle Highlands, Randle Cliff Beach, Congress Heights, Seabrook and Lincoln. He deeded many miles of land to the District for streets in his numerous developments.

During the World War, in 1918, Col. Randle offered the Government, without charge, the use of his properties for camp sites, and also returned to the Government the Liberty bonds he had bought. Acknowledging these patriotic offers. President Wilson wrote him, saying that although there was some doubt as to the ability of the Government to avail itself of the offer of property, "I will keep the offer in mind in case it should be necessary to avail ourselves of it, and in the meantime, thank you most warmly for making such a generous offer."

Col. Randle is also credited with having started, at a dinner in London in 1899, the movement to make Washington the most beautiful city in the world.

He retired from active business about a year ago. He was a member of the Washington Board of Trade, the Washington Chamber of Commerce, and the New York Chamber of Commerce.

"Within the past seven years it has been realized that Washington is the capital of a nation of 80,000,000 hustlers, with all the ideas and ambitions of the other nations."

With the foregoing as his opening sentence, Col. Arthur E. Randle, who is sojourning at Bedford Springs, Pa., yesterday addressed a meeting of commercial travelers, taking as his theme "Washington, the Beautiful and Cultured."

"Washington is leaping forward for first place among the capitals of the earth." Col. Randle continued. "It is not merely a place for Congress to meet, but a great national city. In a few years I expect to see the city cover every inch of the land between Pennsylvania avenue and Benning, along two miles of the highlands with commanding views of Washington as those to be had from Arlington and the Soldiers' Home. I intend to make of Randle Highlands what Brooklyn is to New York city.

Referring to general conditions, Col. Randle said, "a great tidal wave of prosperity is now arriving--1907 was a year of panic; 1908 was the presidential year, which is always a season of depression; 1909 marked the discussion of tariff legislation, which held trade in restraint. But now the coast is clear and within the next twelve months the high water mark of national prosperity will be reached from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Canada to Mexico. And as the nation grows in 1910, so will its capital.

"Washington is keeping pace with the country. When the nation has 100,000,000 population, Washington will be spread over the entire District of Columbia."

Col. Randle, accompanied by Mrs. Randle, drove in a carriage from Cumberland, Md., to Bedford Springs Monday night by moonlight, a distance of thirty miles, in five and a half hours.

Deeds transferring the title to the large building at the northeast corner of Pennsylvania avenue and 7th street were placed on record today. The new owner of the United States Realty Company, A.E. Randle, president, and the offices of that company are located in the building. The building itself is some five stories high with a main entrance from the broad plaza formed by the juncture of Pennsylvania avenue, C street and Louisiana avenue, and known as Market space. On each side of the entrance are towers which are carried above the roof of the main structure and provide two additional stories. The building is built of stone and brick and, occupying as it does a location at the intersection of important thoroughfares, it is one of the conspicuous business points of the city.

It is in addition one of the oldest sites of the kind, as it has been from its earliest years a center of much of the commercial life of the city. Prior to the purchase of this property by the United States Realty Company it was owned and occupied by the Central National Bank. The first floor on the level with the street, with its lofty ceiling and large openings and exposure on three sides, was admirably adapted as a banking office and was found to have the necessary facilities as well as being convenient of access during the years the bank was building up a successful business.

A year or so ago, when the bank was merged with the Bank of Washington, the building of the latter just across C street was occupied by the consolidated institutions. The offices on the first floor thus vacated were at once leased by the United States Realty Company, which was then greatly in need of better office facilities to accommodate its expanding business. The property was subsequently bought by the realty company, the upper stories being continued in use for general office purposes.

From this point of vantage in the city the realty company is able to receive its clients and friends who are interested in the opportunities which the company affords to those desiring homes. As is well known, this corporation has large holdings in the section through which Pennsylvania avenue extended passes. A recent purchase gives that company a frontage of about a mile on both sides of the avenue. From the elevated situation on the property on the hills which surround he city an extended view is afforded, and in addition to such a feature the residents enjoy the advantages which a height always has over a low-lying section of country.

If Congress Heights is not celebrating today it is because the folks over there don't know that this is the birthday of Col. Arthur Emmett Randle. In 1859 in the own of Artesia, Miss., the future exploiter of big additions and subdivisions first opened his eyes and took a look around. Since that time he has been a very active person. He absorbed all the education obtainable at his home and at Shorledge's Academy at Media, Pa., and finished up at the University of Pennsylvania. His ambition to be a great lawyer was put aside owing to ill health, and he chose a business career. In 1890 he bought the John Jay Knox Farm which was ??? and christened Congress Heights. In the face of discouraging opposition he built the Capital railway from

Congress Heights to the navy yard and operated it until i became a part of the system of he Washington Railway and Electric Company. From a farm Congress Heights has grown to a populous suburb under the guiding hand of Col. Randle. He and Mrs. Randle donated the ground and built the Episcopal Church, which is dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Randle's mother. For several years he has been engaged in the development of the property of the United States Realty Company, of which he is president.

Source (?)

Colonel Arthur E. Randle, founder of five important towns and communities in the District of Columbia and Maryland, is a native of Mississippi. He was born in Artesia, Mississippi, January 17, 1859, son of Henry Randle and Eliza C. (Lawrence) Randle. He was educated in the public schools of his home community until fourteen years old when he was sent to the Shortridge Academy at Media, Pennsylvania. He attended the Hollowell Grammar School at Philadelphia, and the University of Pennsylvania. He came to Washington in 1885 and has since made his home in the city or its immediate vicinity. He is a brother of the late Dr. William Henry Randle, of Philadelphia, who was appointed by President Hayes in 1878 to eliminate yellow fever in the South. His only sister was Mary F. Brothers, wife of the famous Southern surgeon.

Colonel Randle has given to the District of Columbia enough streets, free of cost, which if put in a straight line would extend from Washington to Baltimore. Washington has honored him by naming a town, a park, a street, a circle, and a school for him. His military title comes from his home State, Mississippi, he having been appointed colonel of cavalry on the staff of Governor Longino.

and Congress Heights, both in the District of Columbia; and Randle, Lincoln, and Randle Cliff Beach, in Maryland. In 1918, during the World War, he tendered to the government, free of cost, the use of his immense properties as a camp site. The colonel also returned to the government Liberty bonds, and at the same time presented to the churches in Congress Heights and Randle Highlands Liberty bonds. For these patriotic actions, President Wilson wrote Colonel Randle as follows:

The White House

Washington, 3 May 1918

My Dear Colonel Randle:

Your letter of yesterday, kindly transmitted to me by the Vice President certainly does you great honor and gives me, as it will give all who know it, great gratification.

I do not know that it will be possible for the Government to avail itself of your kind offer of the use of your landed property, but you may be sure that I will keep the offer in mind in case it should be necessary to avail ourselves of it, in the meantime thanking you most warmly for making such a generous tender.

I will act upon your kindness and return the five $50 bonds to the Treasury.

May I not again express my very deep and sincere appreciation of your loyal attitude.

Cordially and sincerely yours,

Woodrow Wilson

Col. Arthur E. Randle,

Randle Highlands

Washington, D.C.

Colonel Randle gave further patriotic service during the World War by inaugurating and conducting at his own expense the only celebration held in American in observance of the capture of Jerusalem from the Turks. Renting the Belasco Theater in Washington on Christmas Day, 1917, he presided over a great mass meeting of believers in all religions in observance of the event. Included among the speakers, were the late Rt. Rev, Alfred Harding, Episcopal Bishop of Washington; Father Thomas of St. Patricks Cathoic Church, Rabbi Abram Simon of the Jewish Synagogue; Rev. James Shera Montgomery, of Calvary Baptitst Church; U.S. Senator James E. Watson and Gifford Pinchot, governor of Pennsylvania. On motion of Col. Randle a resolution was passed thanking General Allenby, commander of the British forces, for his great service to the Christian world. Letters to Colonel Randle were read from former President Roosevelt, President Wilson and Cardinal Gibbons. The cardinal, in his letter eulogized Col. Randle for his patriotic and generous action toward his fellow man and church. The letter follows:

Baltimore, Md., January 19, 1920

Colonel Arthur E. Randle,

Randle Highlands, D.C.

Dear Colonel Randle:

Well do I remember your visit to me and your invitation to join in the celebration on Christmas Day of the taking of Jerusalem by the Christians from the infidel Turk. Your origination and inauguration of this event and securing Belasco Theatre, at your own expense, for this celebration, is an act in your life that will send your name down to posterity with the honor and esteem of all Christian people. For six hundred years the

Christians had been struggling to recapture the Holy City. Your celebration of this event when the Christians at last retook the Holy Land and marched, with bowed heads and prayer to the Sepulchre of our Saviour, was nation-wide recognized as a stimulant to the Church of Jesus Christ. And in this connection, I heartily agree with Col. Roosevelt and President Wilson in their praise of your patriotism in offering your large holdings in Washington free to the Government during the continuance of the war. The impulse which prompted you to donate to our Government its bonds, which were accepted and cancelled, was a true sacrifice for our country.

Although your offer to organize and equip a company and go with it as a private, to assist in the taking of Jerusalem was not accepted because this country was not at war with Turkey, and in this our dear President acted as he believed best, still I regret that you and the patriotic men who were willing to follow you, were not with Gen. Allenby when he entered the Holy City. It would have been a proud inheritance to America had she been able to assist in retaking of the Holy City.

Such patriotic men as you are an honor to the Nation, and I pray and ask the prayers of the Church, that your life may be spared for many years, and at last, in the Great Beyond, that you may enter among the Blessed for the good deeds you have done here on earth.

Sincerely yours,

James Cardinal Gibbons

Another letter that is a treasured possession of the Randle family is an autograph letter by General Allenby to U.S. Randle, fifteen-year-old son of Col. Randle, who followed General Allenby's campaign in Palestine and wrote a history of it. In the letter, General Allenby describes his capture of Jerusalem. It follows:

High Commissioner For Egypt

The Residency, Cairo

7th March 1924

Dear Sir:

I have received your letter of 11th February 1924, and learn with interest that you are writing a history of the campaign in Palestine, 1917. I wish your history all success, but I regret that I have not had time to write a descriptive letter at length. After a long preparation during the season of 1917. Beer Sheba was attacked and taken on the 31st of October; and Gaza fell a few days later. Thus the Turks lost the two strong places on their left (Beer Sheba) and their right (Gaza), and had to fall back. We pursued, through the plain of Philistia (or Canaan); occupied Jafa and Ludd; and drove them up the Judean Mountains, on to Jerusalem. On the 9th of December, the Turks left Jerusalem, retreated north, and Jerusalem surrendered. We entered the city on the 11th. During the campaign we fought in sandy plains, in marshes and in mud, and over rocky hills; enduring heat and draughts, cold and wet. Besides cavalry, artillery and infantry we used camel corps, riflemen riding camels, and airplanes.

The transport included automobiles, horses, camels, and donkeys. Of camels, we used 30,000 or 40,000; of donkeys, we used 2,000 or 3,000 in the mountains, where paths were steep and narrow. I thank you for the enclosures sent in your letter; and I send, herewith, my photograph as requested.

Yours faithfully,

Allenby, F.M.

U.S. Randle, Esq.

Care Arthur E. Randle,

Randle Highlands,

Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

Colonel Randle is a widower, and U.S. Randle is an only child. He maintains his residence at Randle Highlands and devotes all of his time to managing his own estate. He is a member of the New York Chamber of Commerce, the Washington Board of Trade, and the Washington Chamber of Commerce.

High recognition is given to Colonel Randle as a public benefactor in working for the reclamation of Anacostia Flats. This is given high testimony to in the following letter written by U.S. Senator Galliger to the secretary of the citizens Association of Randle Highlands:

United States Senate

Conference of the Minority

Washington, D.C.

May 18, 1917

John John, Esq.,

Secretary of the Citizens Association of Randle Highlands

My Dear Sir:

If time permitted I would accept your invitation to address you on the subject of the reclamation of Anacostia Flats.

To this work I have given much labor and thought; the many years that I was chairman of the district committee put me in contact with this great undertaking. The Anacostia Flats were a national disgrace; the

sewerage of the city emptied into it, and its waters were covered with a green scum that caused it to be a breeding place for disease which impaired the health of residents of the District. There are mounds throughout the country under which rest victims of the Anacostia Flats. Many men in public life, and their families have had their health impaired by the malarial influences of this disgrace, which had its fatal end long after they had left Washington. The government made Manila and the Canal Zone sanitary, while right in our midst the Anacostia Flats remained a menace to public health.

A public spirited citizen of your town (Arthur E. Randle) organized a company to bring influences to bear to reclaim the Flats. This was an ingenious and successful plan, which acted as a fulcrum to lift up and raise these low lands from a death producing plot to high ground, that will in later years add to the beauty of our Capital. Interesting citizens throughout the various States in property in your section was a wise act, as citizens in the District of Columbia have no representation in Congress, but citizens outside the District have. Under their influence work soon began, and the Flats today are practically reclaimed, from the mouth of the Anacostia River up to and beyond Randle Highlands, and the balance of the work is being vigorously pushed and in a few years will be completed. This was brought about by the assistance of constituents of representatives throughout the country, as they had a direct and personal interest.

While chairman of the District of Columbia Committee I labored earnestly to assist in bringing about the great undertaking, and in thisconnection I wish to State that the founder of your town and Congress Heights rendered Congress invaluable services; his many years of faithful labor on this work has not been known, but the time will come when Arthur E. Randle has passed away, his name will be classed with that of Alexander R. Sheppard, as a public benefactor.

Yours sincerely,

J.H. Gallinger,

U.S. Senator

Arthur Emmett Randle comes from old revolutionary stock, which, in a measure, may account for the will and energy which infuses all the enterprises in which he becomes interested. Success of an unbounded degree has ever attended his efforts and none more notable than the founding and building up of that beautiful and model surburban town known as Congress Heights, which when purchased by Mr. Randle was a farm.

Mr. Randle is a son of Henry and Eliza C. Lawrence Randle, and was born in Artesia, Mississippi, on January 17, 1859. His maternal grandparents, Rev. Nathaniel Lawrence, an Episcopal clergyman, and Mary A. Rump Shuler, were residents of South Carolina. His father's parents were Wiatt Randle of Virginia and Sarah Tomplinson of North Carolina. A great-grandfather, Colonel William Randle, served with distinction and honor during the revolutionary war. Educated at public and private schools at Artesia. Mr. Arthur E. Randle later attended Shortledge's Academy at Media, Pennsylvania, and finished his education at the University of Pennsylvania. After leaving college, Mr. Randle, instead of following his ambition to be a lawyer, owing to his ill health at that time, took up in its place a business career, the crowning achievement of which will always stand as a monument to his memory as a man of resourceful energy -- the building up of that beautiful section of the District of Columbia known as Congress Heights.

The Washington Post, March 17, 1900, in commenting on the wonderful growth of Congress Heights said: "The growth of Washington can be seen in every direction. The northwest has mighty forces at work for that section, but Mr. Randle has been alone in building up Congress Heights. In 1890 when he bought John Jay Knox's farm, which he sub-divided and named Congress Heights, that section of the District was the most neglected around Washington, but by energy and unrelenting work he has placed it ahead of any other suburb of Washington. He built the Capital Railway during the panic, when its rival, the Anacostia road, had him engaged in a struggle, either in Congress over its charter rights, or before the Commissioners, with every conceivable obstruction, or in the courts with injunctions. For eighteen months the struggle continued, but Mr. Randle finally won, and when the great railroad consolidation took place in Washington, Mr. Randle sold his road for a large sum, with a guarantee of first-class service to his town, Congress Heights, over the great system of street railroads, so Congress Heights can now be reached over a $20,000,000 system of railways for one fare. In addition to this he secured an appropriation from Congress for a $21,000 school building, which is located in the center of his town, and is now occupied by five teachers and 250 scholars. He has the streets lighted, post office established, churches built, police protection, and a number of other improvements, which assures a great future for Congress Heights. He has fulfilled every promise made to Congress, the Commissioners, and the citizens."

Mr. Randle's latest enterprise is the development of East Washington Heights. This section of the country today is a wilderness -- not a house is on Pennsylvania avenue east of Minnesota avenue and it has no street railway facilities. Mr. Randle has acquired the controlling interest in the charter of East Washington Heights Traction Company and has been elected president of the same. Since acquiring control of the charter, Mr. Randle has secured from Congress the right to build an electric railroad across the Pennsylvania avenue bridge, which right the original incorporators of the company failed to obtain, and the charter was on the eve of being forfeited when Mr. Randle purchased the same. He has also bought large tracts of land along

Pennsylvania avenue, which this road, when built, will develop. Mr. Randle donated the ground, and his wife, who was the daughter of the late Dr. Samuel H. Shannon, built the Episcopal Church at Congress Heights, dedicated to the memory of her mother, Esther Shannon, who was from Schuylkill country, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Randle's father was a cotton planter, and had a family of nine children. All except Mary Fredonia, John Shuler, Charles Clement and William Henry Randle died in infancy. The first named married Dr. O.C. Brothers, a retired physician in Mississippi. They had two children, O.C. Brothers, Jr., and Mary Lula Brothers, the latter marrying Thomas C. Kimbrough, an attorney. John Shuler Randle and Charles Clement Randle died when about thirty years old, neither of them being married. William Henry Randle is a physician in Philadelphia, and inter-married with Mellie Lippincott Harmer, daughter of the late A.C. Harmer, who at the time of his death was the Father of the House of Representatives, having been in Congress for about thirty years. Dr. Randle has only one child, Elizabeth Harmer Randle. Mr. and Mrs. A.E. Randle have no children.

Mr. Randle is a Democrat and still retains his citizenship in Mississippi, where he has been repeatedly urged to run for Congress. Governor Longino of Mississippi has recently appointed him on his staff as colonel of cavalry. He is a member of the New York Chamber of Commerce and the Washington Board of Trade.

Randle, Harriet d. 27 Oct 1922 R80/163-N

Funeral services will be held tomorrow for Mrs. Harriet Shannon Randle, wife of Col. Arthur E. Randle, who died Friday night at the home in Randle Highlands. At the request of Mrs. Randle the funeral will be private and only the Episcopal service will be read.

Mrs. Randle was the daughter of Dr. Samuel H. Shannon, of Schuylkill county, Pa. She was born at Schuylkill Haven. She was the founder of the Esther Memorial Episcopal Church of Congress Heights, which was built in memory of Mrs. Randle's mother.

Besides her husband, Mrs. Randle is survived by a sister, Mrs. E.S. Bryant.