To support the company's push for a town on the river, Lawrence's younger brother George Washington, an aspiring surveyor, made a sketch of the shoreline touting the advantages of the tobacco warehouse site. The petition was introduced by Lawrence Washington (1718–1752), the representative for Fairfax County and, more importantly, the son-in-law of William Fairfax and a founding member of the Ohio Company. At the opening of Virginia's 1748–49 legislative session, there was a petition submitted in the House of Burgesses on November 1, 1748, that the "inhabitants of Fairfax (Co.) praying that a town may be established at Hunting Creek Warehouse on Potowmack River," as Hugh West was the owner of the warehouse. His estate, which consisted of 500 acres (2.0 km 2), was bounded by Hunting Creek, Hooff's Run, the Potomac River, and approximately the line which would become Cameron Street. Īround 1746, Captain Philip Alexander II (1704–1753) moved to what is south of present Duke Street in Alexandria. Many local tobacco planters, however, wanted a new town further up Hunting Creek, away from nonproductive fields along the river. The best location was Hunting Creek tobacco warehouse, since the deep water could easily accommodate sailing ships. They intended to conduct trade into the interior of America, and they required a trading center near the head of navigation on the Potomac. However, the ground proved to be unsuitable, and the warehouse was built half a mile up-river, where the water was deep near the shore.įollowing the 1745 settlement of the Virginia's 10-year dispute with Lord Fairfax over the western boundary of the Northern Neck Proprietary, when the Privy Council in London found in favor of Lord Fairfax's expanded claim, some of the Fairfax County gentry formed the Ohio Company of Virginia. One of the sites designated for a warehouse on the upper Potomac River was at the mouth of Hunting Creek. : 5 Virginia's comprehensive Tobacco Inspection Law of 1730 mandated that all tobacco grown in the colony must be brought to locally designated public warehouses for inspection before sale. : 5 That tract would later become the City of Alexandria. On October 21, 1669, a patent granted 6,000 acres (24 km 2) to Robert Howsing for transporting 120 people to the Colony of Virginia. City boundaries roughly correspond with Old Town. Map includes the names of property owners at that time. Map of Alexandria County (1878), including what is now Arlington County and the City of Alexandria. Additionally, neighboring Arlington County was formerly named "Alexandria County" before it was renamed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1920 to reduce confusion with the city. The city is therefore sometimes referred to as the "City of Alexandria" to avoid confusion (see the "Neighborhoods" paragraph below). However, this area is under the jurisdiction of Fairfax County's government and separate from the independent city. It is the 7th largest and highest-income independent city in Virginia.Ī large portion of adjacent Fairfax County, mostly south but also west of the city, has Alexandria mailing addresses. Like Old Town, many Alexandria neighborhoods are compact and walkable. With its concentration of boutiques, restaurants, antique shops and theaters, it is a major draw for all who live in Alexandria as well for visitors.
The historic center of Alexandria is known as Old Town. In 2005, the United States Patent and Trademark Office moved to Alexandria, and in 2017, so did the headquarters of the National Science Foundation. Another is the Institute for Defense Analyses.
One of Alexandria's largest employers is the U.S. military, or for one of the many private companies which contract to provide services to the federal government. It is largely populated by professionals working in the federal civil service, in the U.S. Like the rest of Northern Virginia, as well as Central Maryland, modern Alexandria has been influenced by its proximity to the U.S. The city's estimated population has grown by 1% annually since 2010 on average. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of downtown Washington, D.C.
Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States.