Long before the White Man came, it was a place associated with power. Here tribal chiefs met in council close to the river inlet, at the base of the Hill.
It was in 1663 that a pioneer purchased a deed and survey for this land. He had a vision that this place would be the site of a great city to rival ancient Rome. So he named the land around the Hill, Rome, and the river inlet, he named The Tiber. Here he made his home.
Two hundred years later, the man’s vision was becoming reality, as a magnificent city grew from this modest strip of land. Rome itself was impressed, and especially the Vatican. The Pontificate himself sent a gift for the city: A block of marble from one of Rome’s holy temples, inscribed, “From Rome To America”. A simple inscription perhaps, but some saw an agenda in the words, and they smashed the marble block and threw the pieces in the river.
The monument for which the marble block was intended was the Washington Monument, and of course the land originally named Rome is Washington DC, the US capital.
And the name of the man who originally purchased this land? His name and the land Deed are clearly recorded and preserved: His name was Francis Pope.
https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/pope/3903/
Martin Harris
