An attempted murder kindled DC's first race riot in 1835 The
1830s are not a well-known period in Washington's history. Too
late for L'Enfant and too early for Lincoln, they are a mystery
to most residents. But hiding beneath the quiet surface were
rising racial tensions, as vividly described in Jefferson
Morley's new book, Snow-Storm in August. Morley brings the 1830s
to life with an account of dramatic events that would ultimately
contribute to the Civil War. The book's title derives from the
so-called "Snow Riot" of August 1835, when a mob of angry young
white laborers vandalized a restaurant at 6th Street and
Pennsylvania Avenue NW that was operated by Beverly Snow, a free
black. Compared to the large race riots of 1919 or 1968, the
mayhem and destruction in 1835 was almost negligible.
Nevertheless, it was a shocking event for many Washington
residents, and the underlying tensions were as strong as at any
time in the city's history. It all began when Arthur Bowen, a
slave belonging to Mrs. Anna Maria Thor