Alexandria, D.C.

Alexandria was established by Virginia's colonial assembly in 1749, more than four decades before the U.S. Congress authorized creation of a national capital on the banks of the Potomac River. After President George Washington selected the final site for the Federal city, part of Alexandria was incorporated into the District of Columbia in 1801. To mark the new capital's boundaries, large stones were set in a ten-mile square at one-mile intervals by Andrew Ellicott, assisted by men such as African American astronomer Benjamin Banneker. Alexandrians at first welcomed inclusion in Washington, D.C., but soon became disillusioned because the 1791 act creating the District barred construction of Federal buildings south of the Potomac River, and the 1801 District Act disenfranchised the local populace, who could neither vote in presidential elections nor have representation in Congress. Discussions of possibly outlawing slavery in the District also strengthened the drive to return Alexandria, a major slave trading center, to Virginia. In July 1846, the U.S. Congress voted to permit retrocession upon referendum, and after approval the land was formally accepted back by the Commonwealth of Virginia a year later. The first and southernmost boundary stone was set at Alexandria's Jones Point, and four more stones still exist within the city.

Alexandria, Virginia · United States