the commissary general vacated decatur house in 1874, turning it over to edward beal who purchased it from the gadsby heirs. edward beal and his wife mary made extensive renovations to the decatur house during the first years of their ownership. but the only significant change made to slave quarters was in stall agency of a new slate roof over the original wood shingle roof, likely around 1875. the earliest known photograph of slave quarters is this 1885 image, in which the north elevation of the slave quarters is barely visible over here. but you get the sense of it, its size and shape. the african-american men pictured in the foreground could have been servants living in the slave quarters. i am going to continue to use that term to talk about the building, not only because it makes clear the original intent of its construction, but also because it was its vernacular name used for it across the 20th century. 1880 census listed three african-american servants, william hanson, john smith, and elizabeth abby living in the house of edward beal. by 1900, the population of servants living