Anacostia was the first suburb of old Washington City, laid out by the Union Land Company in 1854. It was intended largely for workers at the Navy Yard across the 11th Street Bridge. Although begun as a whites-only segregated community, by 1878 Frederick Douglass had moved into the fine home built by John Van Hook, an original developer of the area. Cedar Hill remained the home of Frederick Douglass until his death in 1895.

The neighborhood is a remarkably intact example of a working class community of wooden Gothic cottages. The district includes about 550 buildings dating from ca. 1854-1930. Some of them are in poor repair. Along with Barry's Farm/Hilldale, which is adjacent, its churches, schools, and other neighborhood institutions are rich in African American history.

Most early houses are free-standing or semi-detached frame structures with front porches and Italianate detail. There are also brick row houses and two business streets with early-20th-century commercial buildings along with Douglass's home on the hill overlooking the neighborhood.

This District was placed on the DC Register in 1973 and on the National Register in 1978.