I was going through my archive of messages and found this one which
may be of interest to other. I found the section about annexation
interesting. It does not talk about the retroceded territory that DC
mad in the 1940s but its good anyway.
A question I thought about, the territory that was retroceded back in
the 1940, was that a consiquence of building the Reagan/National
Airport?
-Andrew
------------------------------
On Sat, 21 Jun 1997 18:50:09 -0400,
rnewman@... (Ron Newman)
wrote:
>Pardon me if this question has been discussed before or if I'm
>in the wrong newsgroup, but I'm hoping that a local history buff
>can help me.
>
>Until 1846, the District of Columbia included 30.75 square miles
>on the Virginia side of the Potomac (source: Information Please
>Almanac, 1994 edition, p 814).
>
>My questions:
>
> - Before this was returned to Virginia, was the District a
> perfect square?
>
> - Did the District include all land that is now Arlington County?
>
> - Did the District include all or part of what is now
> the city of Alexandria, Virginia?
>
> - Did what is now the boundary between Alexandria and Arlington
> County change in any way in 1846?
>
> - Did the District ever include more than one municipality?
>
> - Was the city of Washington always coterminous with the District?
>
> - Was Georgetown ever a separate city within the District?
>
>If you know the answers to these questions, or can refer me to
>a relevant book, periodical, or Internet resource, I'd greatly
>appreciate it. Thanks.
Ron,
In 1789, the Virginia General Assembly voted to cede a portion of its
territory up to ten square miles for the Federal District, the
District of Columbia. President Washington directed a survey be made
and it began at Jones' Point, at the mouth of Great Hunting Creek.
This survey (1791) included the Town of Alexandria and the area that
would eventually become Arlington County (approximately 34 square
miles). It was officially ceded by Virginia to form part of D.C. in
1801. The Acts (28 February 1801 and 3 March 1801) by which Congress
took jurisdiction directed that this area be called the county of
Alexandria. It was retroceded to Virginia in 1846. In March 1847, it
was organized as the County of Alexandria.
Alexandria was, at the time, a town and became a city in 1852.
Initially chartered in 1748, the Town of Alexandria consisted of 60
acres. Alexandria was enlarged in 1762 and 1796, with minor changes
from 1852 through 1871.
In 1870, as a result of the new Virginia Constitution, Alexandria
County and Alexandria City were independent of each other.
In 1910, Alexandria attempted to annex portions of both Fairfax and
Alexandria Counties. This went to court and the court ruled in favor
of the counties. An appeal by Alexandria resulted in the Supreme
Court overturning the ruling and annexing the area effective 1 April
1915. Although Alexandria got all the territory it has sought from
Fairfax County, it only got some of what it had sought from Alexandria
County.
In 1920, by an Act of the General Assembly, Alexandria County became
Arlington County.
Alexandria was not done and sought to annex more of Arlington in 1927.
Once again, this went to court and was heard in May 1928 and a ruling
was issued in favor of Alexandria. This last portion was transferred
to Alexandria effective 31 December 1929. This moved the boundaries
for Alexandria north to Four Mile Run.
Arlington, naturally, was outraged. As a result, in 1930, the Virginia
General Assembly passed legislation which forbid the annexation of any
land from a County smaller than 30 square miles. In addition, that was
the year the Country Manager Act was passed, which also protected
Arlington from any further annexation unless the entire County were
taken over and then only after a referendum.
A good source for the above information is "Arlington County Virginia:
A History" by C.B. Rose, Jr. (1976, Port City Press, Inc., Baltimore,
MD).
I've strayed somewhat from your questions, so getting back to them,
before Virginia's portion was receded, the District of Columbia was a
perfect square. It did include all land which is now Arlington County
and what is Alexandria, Virginia. For the boundary changes, see above.
Later,
Jim
jdsingleton@...