When was alexandria virginia founded

Two years later he was chosen as a burgess for Fairfax County. At meetings in Alexandria, Washington helped mobilize the county in its first organized resistance to British policies. On July 18, , the influential Fairfax Resolves asserting American rights and grievances were approved by a meeting of the County Committee chaired by Washington at the courthouse in Alexandria. After Washington rode off to war, Alexandria remained relatively untouched by the Revolutionary War.

News of British ships in the Potomac caused a panic among the citizens, but Alexandria was never bombarded by warships nor occupied by British armies. In the years following the Revolution, Alexandria entered an era of significant prosperity. The town frequently provided lodging and entertainment for many of the first generation of visitors and residents of Washington, D. George Washington was a stockholder and depositor.

That same year an apothecary shop opened up down the street, where Washington purchased medicine and picked up his mail. Gadsby's Tavern Museum is open to the public; the building also houses a restaurant. To spare the town, a ransom of tobacco, flour, cotton and sugar is paid.

Lafayette was invited by President James Monroe to be "The Nation's Guest," attending parades, ceremonies and receptions in every state. Lafayette souvenirs marked the occasion. Asaph Street.

The next day Alexandria was occupied by Federal troops. Union Street destroyed by fire. Waterfront Activities. Alexandria's Architectural Wonders. Date Ideas. Family Fun. Pet Friendly. Exploring the Region.

Tall Ship Providence. Only in ALX. Great Walks in Alexandria. Old Town Restaurants. Learn more about Alexandria's First People. Much of present-day Alexandria was included in a 6,acre land grant from Sir William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia, which was awarded to Robert Howson, an English ship captain, on October 21, This land overlapped a acre patent that had previously been issued to Dame Margaret Brent in Less than a month later, Howson sold the land to John Alexander for 6, pounds of tobacco.

During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, plantations were established along both sides of the Potomac River and settlement began to spread further into northern Virginia. When Fredericksburg was founded in , it was the northernmost town in Virginia but was still located in the tidewater, where tobacco production was profitable.

By , Hugh West had established a tobacco warehouse on high bluffs overlooking a small but deep bay, at what is today the foot of Oronoco Street in Alexandria. Philip and John Alexander farmed much of the surrounding land and Hugh West oversaw the warehouse along with a ferry and tavern.

When Fairfax County was established in , many of the county's residents already lived several miles inland, away from the river and from commercial ties to the outside world. Many of them found that grains like wheat and corn could be raised more profitably than tobacco in this upland area, but they desperately needed a trading place where they could gather their crops for export and could buy manufactured merchandise from abroad.

To facilitate shipping, Scottish and English merchants who owned real estate at Cameron, a small hamlet four miles west of the Potomac, petitioned the Virginia General Assembly in the fall of to establish a town at West's Hunting Creek Warehouse. In the spring of , this site was selected and the new town was named Alexandria in honor of the early owner of much of the land, Scotsman John Alexander. John West, Fairfax County surveyor, laid-out 60 acres by tradition, assisted by year-old George Washington , and lots were auctioned off in July Learn more about early Alexandria.

Alexandria thrived for the next few decades. During the mids, the town was a staging area for British troops involved in the French and Indian War. English General Braddock made his headquarters in Alexandria and occupied the Carlyle House while planning his campaign against the French in In , another land sale was held greatly increasing the size of the community.