DC turned back most of what is on the west side of the Potomac to VA
because little had been developed there, and Congress, in a shortage
of funds time frame, decided there was no reason to have more land as
the seat of the federal government than it really needed.

Re: Arlington vis-a-vis Alexandria - Alexandria is not in Arlington
county; they border one another. The postal address for Aleandria
extends beyond it's corporate city limits, especially in the area
south, outside of the beltway.

To Kevin: D. C. does exist as a formal entity. Congress made it so
as the exercizer of U.S. sovereignty. It is a corporation named "The
District of Columbia". The city of Washington doesn't exist anymore
as a corporate entity - only as a postal address. There is no such
thing as the mayor of Washington D.C., it's the "Mayor of the District
of Columbia". The former incorporated city of Georgetown plus the
incorporated City of Washington and the unincorporated county areas in
the NW and NE were all merged into the incorporated City of Washington
D.C. Congress later removed the incorporation from the City of
Washington in favor of the D. C. corporation.

If you need the years during which each event occurred, I can look
them up for you.

Regards,

Len Nadybal
Office of the CFO of the District of Columbia (not of Washington)