The Fifth Baptist Church, the plaintiff in the court below, is a religious corporation, created under the general incorporation act of congress in force in the District of Columbia. It owns a building in the city of Washington, situated on D street, between Four-and-a-half and Sixth streets, which was erected and has been used by it as a church for many years. The defendant in the court below, the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Company, is a corporation created under the laws of Maryland, and is authorized by act of congress to lay its track within the limits of the city, and construct other works necessary and expedient to the proper completion and maintenance of its road.
The plaintiff alleges that the defendant, in 1874, erected an enginehouse and machine-shop on a parcel of land immediately adjoining its church edifice, and has since used them in such a way as to disturb, on Sundays and other days, the congregation assembled in the church, to interfere with religious exercises therein, break up its Sunday-schools, and destroy the value of the building as a place of public worship. It therefore brought the present suit in the supreme court of the district for the damages it had sustained. The defendant pleaded the general issue.
On the trial, evidence was given to show—
That the Fifth Baptist Church has owned and used the premises described as a place of worship since 1857; that the present church building was begun in 1867, and since 1868 or 1869 has been continuously occupied by the church as its house of worship; that in 1872 the defendant erected upon a parcel of ground immediately adjoining the premises on the west, and from April, 1874, till the commencement of this suit, maintained an engine-house and machine-shop, where a large number of locomotives and steam-engines were housed and their fires made, and to and from which the engines were propelled, and in which they were coaled, watered, repaired, and otherwise used; that when the ground was first broken for the erection of these works the plaintiff advised the company that if put there they would prove to be a nuisance and ruinous to the plaintiff's interests, and protested against their erection; that the company, however, paid no heed to this protest, but proceeded to erect the works upon the building line of its own premises within five and a half feet of the church edifice, and constructed upon the enginehouse 16 smoke-stacks, lower in height than the windows of the main room of the church; that the nearest of the smoke-stacks was less than 60 feet from the windows, and the others were in a semi-circular curve. at gradually increasing distances; that during this period-from April, 1874, to commencement of the present suit-the plaintiff was accustomed to have on every Sabbath day Sunday-school exercises in the morning, preaching in the forenoon, and preaching in the evening; and that religious services were also held in it on Wednesday evening of every week, and on the first Tuesday and Friday evenings of every month, and at intervals protracted religious meetings were held in it every night in the week except Saturday night; that during this period these services were habitually interrupted and disturbed by the hammering noises made in the workshops of the company, the rumbling of its engines passing in and out of them, and the blowing off of steam; that these noises were at times so great as to prevent members of the congregation sitting in parts of the church furthest from the shops from hearing what was said; that the act of blowing off steam occupied from five to fifteen minutes, and frequently compelled the pastor of the church to suspend his remarks; that this was of habitual occurrence, during the day and at night, and on Sundays as well as other days; and that in the summer-time, when the windows of the church were opened for air, smoke, cinders, and dust were blown from the smoke-stacks through the windows of the church, settling upon the pews and furniture, and soiling the clothes of the occupants, accompanied by an offensive odor, which greatly annoyed the congregation.