B F Saul Company Careers in Washington, DC

In 1892, Washington, D.C. was a small Southern community of less than 30,000 people. Although it played host to the Federal government, Congress was in session only four or five months a year. When it adjourned, the city virtually shut down. On December 1, 1892, B. Francis Saul opened the doors of the Saul Company. He was 19 years old. His father, John Saul, who had died a few years earlier, was a native of County Cork, Ireland, a distinguished horticulturist. At the request of Andrew Jackson Downing, the renowned Capital landscape architect, John Saul had left Ireland for Washington in May of 1851 to take over the planning and development of the Mall and other public areas in the emerging capital city. In 1854, John Saul became the first Chairman of Washington’s Parks commission, the forerunner of the Park and Planning Commission for the city.