Letter describing the "Snow Riot," a racist attack by young white men on the Black community of Washington, D.C.

Access and use

Location of collection:
George Mason University
2400 Fenwick Library
Special Collections Research Center
Fenwick Library MS2FL
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Mieko Palazzo
Phone: (703) 993-2220
Fax: (703) 993-2669
Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

Public Domain. There are no known descriptions.

Preferred citation:

Letter describing the "Snow Riot," a racist attack by young white men on the Black community of Washington, D.C. , C0291, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Summary

Extent:
0.1 Linear Feet 1 letter
Creator:
George Mason University. Libraries
Abstract:
Letter describing the 1835 "Snow Riot", a racist attack on the Black community of Washington, D.C. in which young white men terrorized and destroyed property belonging to Beverly Snow and other Black people in the city.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Letter describing the "Snow Riot," a racist attack by young white men on the Black community of Washington, D.C. , C0291, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

Letter, probably from Mary Elizabeth Fendall (according to dealer information accompanying the letter), to a woman named Else. The letter describes the 1835 "Snow Riot", a racist attack on the Black community of Washington, D.C. in which young white men terrorized and destroyed property belonging to Beverly Snow and other Black people in the city.

A transcription of this collection is available upon request.

Biographical / historical:

The "Snow Riot" of August 1835 was a racist attack by young white men who terrorized Black Washingtonians. They were reacting to the story that a young enslaved man named Arthur Bowen carried an axe into his enslaver's bedroom. The white men - many of whom were Irish laborers - formed a mob, attempted to lynch Bowen, and attacked Black businesses and institutions, including a restaurant owned by Beverly Snow named the Epicurean Eating House.

Acquisition information:
Purchased by Special Collections Research Center from Howard S. Mott, Inc. Rare Books, 2005.
Processing information:

Processing completed by Elizabeth Beckman in June 2016. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in June 2016. Finding Aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in January 2019 and November 2022.

Arrangement:

This is a single item collection.

Physical location:
R 53, C 4, S 2
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Hate crimes
Names:
Fendall, Mary Elizabeth