Woodland

Tucked away in a grove of trees in southeast Anacostia, the neighborhood of Woodland might not look like much on the surface. But a neighborhood is so much more than a collection of buildings—it’s a community of people, and you don’t have to look very hard to find one of those in Woodland. “Everybody knows each other here,” says Woodland resident Rev. Gary Hill, who is also the founder of the Exodus Treatment Center, which provides a great deal of aid to Woodland residents through programs such as afterschool homework hours and summer camps for neighborhood youths. “Woodland has several strong churches that have been rooted in this community for many years,” says Hill, whose organization frequently partners with the nearby Emmanuel Baptist Church.

The tree-shrouded neighborhood is a small quadrant of homes and old church steeples built around a core of public multi-family housing. The outlaying streets of Woodland hold a collection of small four squares, row houses and Craftsmen, most with rear or driveway parking and a small yard for some azalea bushes and cutesy lawn decorations. Not much goes up for sale though; most Woodland homeowners hold onto their properties for a long time. Of the homes that do go on the market, they usually do so for a price range of around $300,000 to $450,000, rarely going above. But the area’s housing supply is undergoing changes with the rising of modern apartment complexes and town homes, such as Ainger Place Apartments that opened in February of 2020.

Students in Woodland typically attend Moten Elementary, which earns a C-minus rating from Niche and whose arts and culture programs are partly funded by the Kennedy Center. Once they leave elementary school, Woodland students move on to Kramer Middle School (C-minus on Niche) and Anacostia High, which earns a C-minus from Niche and is a member of Project Lead the Way, a national STEM-based curriculum program. Some alternative options are available right in the neighborhood too. One such is the Rocketship Rise Academy, a public charter school that earns a score of B on Niche for its teaching staff.

Though Woodland lacks retail and grocery amenities within, residents do not have to travel far to reach them. “It’s good to know you have shopping and other amenities in close proximity,” says Hill. “You have access to various schools that are close by, a post office and you have extremely reliable bus routes running along Alabama Avenue and the streets in Woodland.” A quick ride on one of these buses can save Woodland residents from what would otherwise be a somewhat long walk to the Safeway or Lidl grocery stores on Alabama Avenue. But you should never go to the grocery store hungry. Fortunately, several restaurants are right next door from the grocery store, such as Roaming Rooster’s fried chicken, or a quick snack from Starbucks. And residents can even take a bus to the nearby Anacostia Metro station if they wish to head into the city for a night out.

But residents also do not have to travel far to find ways to spend a day. The neighborhood itself consists of a strong community working hard to overcome its challenges while also making a day of it in the process. On major holidays, such as Christmas and Halloween, residents flock to the parking lots of churches in Woodland for community events such as “Trunk-or-Treat" and food distribution lines. “Everyone comes together to help make Christmas merry,” says Hill. Just down the road from Woodland, the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum also attracts crowds of those seeking to expand their knowledge of D.C. history and culture. Once you get there, you’ll notice that parking is free before you head inside to join one of the museum’s many programs, from community gardening to their weekly “Coffee and Collections” mixer.

Fort Stanton Park grazes Woodland to the northwest and offers a ton of outdoor recreation activities for people of all ages. Bikers and hikers can come here to find the trailhead for the Fort Circle Hiker-Biker trail -- a 7-mile paved nature trail that runs north to Fort Mahan. The park is also home to a recreation center, some of the amenities for which include a public pool, computer lab and indoor gym, as well as many public programs such as kayaking expeditions on the Anacostia River. The Center offers reduced rate options for those who need it.

Written By

Tom Jakob

Photography Contributed By

Naleli Murry

Video By

Edward Pokoj