Apparently they had plenty of newspapers. In 1789 The Times and Potowmack Packet; in 1790 The Weekly Ledger (an appropriate name for this town of counting houses); in 1796 The Sentinel of Liberty, a more high-flown name; in 1801, The Museum, and a great many more as time went on.
The first bank was the old Bank of Columbia, organized in 1793. Then, there was the Union Bank. I have seen a great many of its checks, smaller than the ones of today and very simply printed.
Business notes in those days were written on any scrap of paper, apparently. Many that I have seen had torn edges, but always the writing was regular and even, if sometimes hard to read. Very often it looked like copperplate engraving. The English pound was used as late as 1796.
Plenty of schools there seem to have been. One famous man (he was William Wirt, the author of The British Spy and Attorney-General of the United States for twelve years under James Monroe and John Quincy Adams) was sent to George Town for his early training, and has written thus: "In 1779 I was sent to George Town, eight miles from Bladensburg to school, a classical academy kept by Mr. Rogers. I was placed at boarding with the family of Mr. Schoofield, a member of the Society of Friends.... I passed one winter in George Town and remember seeing a long line of wagons cross the river on the ice, attached to troops going South."
Thomas Kirk, an Irish gentleman, kept a school first on Washington (30th) Street, later at High (Wisconsin Avenue) and Cherry Streets. Reverend Addison Belt, of Princeton, had a school on Gay (N) Street, between Congress (31st) and Washington (30th) Streets. Christian Hines says: "In 1798 I went to school to a man named Richmond who kept school in a small brick house attached to the house of Reverend David Wiley, graduate of Nassau Hall, who had come in 1802 from Northumberland on the Susquehanna. He was a better mathematical than classical teacher. He was mayor, librarian, merchant, teacher, preacher and keeper of the post office at the same time."
Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Wiley advertised their "Boarding School for Young Ladies at George Town in the Vicinity of Washington." In the same year E. Phillips had "A School for Young Ladies on the north side of Bridge Street, nearly opposite the Printing Office." There were several teachers of French who advertised in the paper; Monsieur A. L. Jancerez, Monsieur Caille, "a French gentleman wishes to teach drawing, etc." To supply all these schools was "John March, Stationer and Bookseller, next door to Mr. Semmes's Tavern."
And you see they could buy pretty baubles and delectable foods, for Dinsmore and Francis advertise their "New Grocery, Wine and Liquor Store, nearly opposite Burnet and Rigden's, Watchmakers and Jewelers." Another well-known merchant said his new line of spring clothing had just arrived. And John Dabney "had received and had for sale at his cabinet and chair factory a large quantity of Windsor chairs." West along Bridge Street, before 1790, William Eaton had "mahogany ware, chairs and tables, beds, etc., finished and unfinished." Another cabinet-maker was Mr. Schultz. James Welsh, cabinet-maker from London, opened a shop in 1790 and advertised for an apprentice. And there was a well-known silversmith, for S. Kirk and Sons, of Baltimore, have identified a tea service as having been made by Charles C. Burnett, who worked as early as 1793. Another silversmith who had a shop on Bridge (M) Street in 1833 was R. H. L. Villard.
Glass Store. The subscribers have opened and have for sale at their house next door to Captain Richard Johns a complete assortment of Window and Hollow Glass Ware, manufactured in this State and equal in quality and cheaper than that imported from Europe.
Charles Frierer and Co., 1790
Thomas Beatty and Company called their store "The Sign of the Golden Fan."