|
|
| History
|
|
|
|
|
| Jones Point - Alexandria Virginia History |
| May 28,2008 |
 |
Email |
|
 |
Print |
|
 |
Share |
|
Del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Facebook
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Technorati
|
 |
Comments |
|
|
|
Jones Point Alexandria Virginia. Near End of South Royal Street. Southeast Corner of City (History)
One of the issues faced by the United States after the ratification of the Constitution was the selection of a capital. The Residence Act of July 15, 1790, authorized President Washington to locate the ten-mile-square capital on the Potomac River. Washington toured the area in October 1790. In January 1791, he appointed three commissioners, including Dr. David Stuart (1753-c1814) (Martha Washington’s daughter-in-law’s second husband), to oversee the creation of the new Federal District, directing them “to survey and limit a part of the territory of the ten square miles on both sides of the river Potomac so as to comprehend Georgetown in Maryland and to extend to the Eastern Branch.” He also suggested to Congress that the Residence Act be amended in order to “authorize the location of the residence at the lower end of the present site so as to comprehend ... the town of Alexandria in Virginia.” Congress approved the desired amendment without debate on March 5, 1791. Andrew Ellicott (1754-1820) was the principal surveyor and Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806), a free African American astronomer and mathematician, was his assistant. The southern boundary of the district was placed just four miles north of George Washington’s estate.
The laying of the cornerstone was a ceremonial affair. On Friday, April 15, 1791, Daniel Carroll and Dr. David Stuart, two of the first three Commissioners of the District of Columbia appointed by President George Washington, arrived in Alexandria at Wise’s Tavern, and the following toast was offered: “May the stone we are about to place in the ground remain an immovable monument of the wisdom and unanimity of North America.” Everybody then walked to Jones Point. Dr. Elisha Cullen Dick (1762-1825), the master of Masonic Lodge No. 22, and Dr. Stuart, assisted by the Masonic brothers, placed the stone in accordance with Ellicott’s directions based on Banneker’s calculations. Corn, wine, and oil were placed on the stone, and remarks were made by the Rev. Dr. James Muir (1756-1820) of Alexandria’s Old Presbyterian Meeting House. This cornerstone was replaced by one in 1794 which can be seen today in an alcove along the sea wall by the lighthouse. The lighthouse was active from 1836 to 1925 because of nearby sandbars.
The surveying team cut its way through forests for two years, producing a forty-foot-wide path through the trees that clearly showed the border and provided a path for wagons and other equipment. The team placed a marker every mile, and they turned ninety degrees every ten miles so that a square had been laid out when they finished. The first five mile-markers are in today’s Alexandria.
Alexandria legally became part of the District of Columbia on February 27, 1801. However, in 1846, the Federal Government retroceded to the State of Virginia the thirty-three square miles of land that Virginia had given. While part of the District of Columbia, Alexandria had received little financial aid and the citizens were not allowed to vote.
The history of this site goes back long before the creation of the District of Columbia. Because Great Hunting Creek (which was a navigable stream in George Washington’s time) joins the Potomac at Jones Point, it was a natural spot for Native Americans to camp. In 2001, archaeologists dug up what was then the earliest artifact found to that date in Alexandria, a projectile point with serrated edges indicating that humans were on this site as early as 6,900 B.C. They’ve also found spear points, knives, and fragments of stone bowls from 4,000 to 3,000 years ago, as well as pottery shards and projectile points from after 1,000 B.C. Artifacts found at Jones Point show that Native Americans were still visiting the site until just prior to Europeans settling in the area.
A plaque at Jones Point honors a woman, Margaret Brent, who was an early owner of the Alexandria town site. Margaret Brent became the first female barrister in America in 1640. As a major landowner, she demanded the right to vote in the Maryland assembly (probably making her the first suffragette in the colonies and perhaps the first feminist). However, she was unsuccessful. Margaret and her brother, Giles, then settled on the south side of the Potomac River near Aquia Creek, making them the northernmost white residents in Virginia at the time. In 1654, she received a grant of seven hundred acres around Great Hunting Creek, including the future site of Alexandria. She didn’t move to this area, but she probably had a tenant settle on her land to prove she owned it. In the mid 1600s in England, conflicting patents were issued by Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, and Charles II (often as a reward to whoever supported the issuer’s fight for control of England). The Alexandria site belonging to Mistress Brent was included in a six-thousand acre grant to Welsh sea captain Robert Howson in 1669. John Alexander, a Stafford county planter, bought out Howson the same year. A lawsuit followed, and Alexander’s heirs paid Brent’s estate 10,500 pounds of tobacco to get clear title to the land.
The site today is a public park.
(Adapted from Robert Madison’s Walking with Washington, available in Alexandria museum gift shops.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
-
Shopping GuideShopping Guide
-
|
Beauty(4) |
| tips, hair style, etc |
|
Dining(8) |
| Gourmet Foods, Restaurants |
|
|
|
|
 |
History Archives |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loading..
