Alexandria - History and Neighborhoods

Information gleamed from Alexandria Official Visitor’s Guide 2005:
Founded in 1749, Alexandria offers people a unique opportunity to experience a bustling historic seaport minutes from Washington, DC. Alexandria is a charming area that offers numerous historic sites, an abundance of chic boutiques, and national retail stores, fine art and antique galleries, eclectic restaurants, and brand-name hotels.

Alexandria is also the perfect gateway to all that Greater Washington has to offer. With five Metro stations, transportation couldn’t be any easier. In addition, the Alexandria waterfront offers seasonal river cruises to George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate as well as water taxi service to Georgetown’s Washington Harbour.

1669

Scotsman John Alexander purchases the land of present day Alexandria from
an English ship captain for “six thousand pounds of Tobacco and Cask.”

1743

George Washington moves into Mount Vernon, the estate of his half-brother Lawrence and his wife Ann Fairfax of Belvoir.

1749

Prominent landholders and businessmen, led by Scotsmen John Carlyle and William Ramsay, petition the Virginia General Assembly to establish a town called Alexandria, named in honor of John Alexander.

1752

Alexandria becomes a thriving port shipping tobacco, grain, wheat, and produce to England and the Caribbean. John Carlyle, a founding trustee and first overseer of Alexandria, builds a grand Georgian mansion, Carlyle House.

1753

George Washington drills his militia troops on Market Square.

1755

During the French and Indian War, General Edward Braddock and several thousand British soldiers camp in and around Alexandria. Five Colonial Royal Governors meet at John Carlyle’s house to discuss ways to fund the British military campaign. A tax on “all his Majesty’s domination in America” is recommended to the British Parliament and becomes the first Colonial tax. A succession of taxes follows, fanning the flame of Colonial resentment against England and arousing cries of “taxation without representation.”

1761

George Washington inherits the 2,000 acre Mount Vernon estate

1774

Upset over British taxation and the Boston Port Act, Alexandrians approve George Mason’s Fairfax Resolves calling for an end to trade with England.

1775

Tension in the Colonies reaches a boiling point, igniting a six-year war for independence from England.

1789

Following America’s success in the Revolutionary War, George Washington is inaugurated in New York as first President of the United States. Maryland and Virginia donate land for a new federal city, eventually to be named Washington, DC. Alexandria is included in the federal district, which in 1791 is marked by boundary stones.

1799

George Washington dies in Mount Vernon.

1801

Alexandria, included within the boundaries of the new District of Columbia in 1791, legally becomes part of the federal city.

1810

“Light Horse Harry” Lee. Revolutionary War hero and father of Robert E. Lee, settles his family in Alexandria.

1814

During the War of 1812, Alexandria surrenders to British naval forces and is occupied. To spare the town, Alexandria pays a ransom of tobacco, flour, cotton and sugar.

1824

The Marquis de Lafayette, French soldier and statesman, visits Alexandria on a two year tour of the United States.

1847

After receiving little financial aid and no voting rights, Alexandrians become disenchanted with being a part of the District of Columbia and vote to return to Virginia.

1858

The Mount Vernon Ladies Association, the first historic preservation organization in America, acquires the dilapidated Mount Vernon for $200,000.

1861

One day after Virginia votes to secede from the Union, Federal troops seize Alexandria due to its importance in the defense of Washington. Alexandria is occupied for four years, the longest occupation of any town during the Civil War.

1909

Orville Wright demonstrates flight for the federal government at Shuter’s Hill (a.k.a. George Washington Masonic National Memorial.)

1939

Angry over being denied access to the segregated Alexandria Library, black attorney Samuel Tucker leads five young African Americans in a “sit down” - two decades before the Civil Rights movement. The protest leads the City to open a library for African Americans, the Robert Robinson Library (now the Alexandria Black History Museum), in 1940.

1940

The Naval Torpedo Station, built in 1918, is re-activated on the eve of World War II. During the course of the war, nearly 6,000 workers keep the factory open around the clock. By war’s end, the factory newsletter The Torp, notes that Alexandria-made torpedoes have sunk or damaged more than 1,400 Axis ships.

1971

Alexandria combines three high schools into the racially integrated T.C. Williams High. That year, T.C. Williams’ football team - the Titans - wins the Varsity Football State Championship. Nearly 30 years later, the story inspires “Remember the Titans” starring Denzel Washington.

1974

The former Naval Torpedo Station, used for government storage after World War II, is converted into the Torpedo Factory Art Center. Now housing more than 80 artists’ studios, it is considered the country’s largest and most successful such center.

1999

Alexandria celebrates 250 years!

Please check out the web version (with cool pictures) of this History Timeline at: Visit Alexandria!

Neighborhoods of Alexandria

Alexandria is divided into four main areas: West End, Old Town, Eisenhower Valley, Del Ray and Arlandria. The most historic is Old Town, where Alexandria’s origins date back to a small trading post knowing as Hunting Creek, where British merchants and before them, Dogue and Algonquin Indians had bartered for centuries. When Hunting Creek formally became Alexandria, it was enlarged to encompass what is now called the Old & Historic District. The third oldest historic district in the United States, Old Town, as the district is popularly known, is made of more than 4,200 18th and 19th century buildings. From the Potomac River waterfront to the King Street Metro, restaurants, shops, and small businesses line King Street and the side streets radiating from it.

Del Ray and Arlandria are separated from each other with Mount Vernon Avenue. Del Ray was founded in 1894 as a “streetcar suburb” to Washington, DC and is a cozy neighborhood and national historic district - “where Main Street still exists.” The architecture of these buildings ranges from American four-square farmhouses, arts & crafts bungalows, Colonial and Tudor Revival houses, to simple brick cottages from the 1950’s. Del Ray bustles with young families renovating these homes and supporting the eclectic mix of shops and restaurants that are clustered around Mount Vernon Avenue. Del Ray is also an enclave for the arts, celebrated each year on the first Saturday in October with Art in the Avenue, a multicultural festival.

North of Del Ray along Mount Vernon Avenue is Arlandria, a small neighborhood nestled between Arlington and Alexandria. It is also known as Chirilagua, the El Salvadoran village that was home to many of its residents. Small shops and restaurants with an international clientele line the streets. The highlight of this community’s calendar is the Arlandria-Chirilagua Festival held every summer.

The Eisenhower Valley is home to the United States Patent & Trade Office, a complex of five buildings which accommodates more than 7,000 federal employees. An easy walk of just two blocks away is the Hoffman Town Center, where restaurants, an ice cream shop, and a 22-screen theatre reside. A short drive away is Cameron Run Regional Park, popular with families for its miniature golf, waterslide and wave pool.

Further west, of course, is West End, with easy access to Interstate-395. Only eight miles from downtown Washington, DC, this is the city’s largest and fastest-growing neighborhood, with more than half of the city’s population living there. During the Civil War, the Orange & Alexandria Railroad was built, making the West End strategically important to the Union’s defense. A series of fortifications were built, and today the best preserved of these is Fort Ward, a premiere historic attraction. There are diverse restaurants and several of hotels in the West End neighborhood, as well as Winkler Botanical Reserve and Landmark Mall.

Alexandria has been considered one of the best places to live and work, with Ladies Home Journal naming it the best city for women in 2001. So, even for its small size, Alexandria makes a big impact because of its exciting, energetic, diverse neighborhoods and communities.