A new and comprehensive gazetteer of Virginia, and the District of Columbia, Part 64

Author: Martin, Joseph. ed. cn; Brockenbrough, William Henry
Publication date: 1835
Publisher: Charlottesville, J. Martin
Number of Pages: 1278

USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > A new and comprehensive gazetteer of Virginia, and the District of Columbia > Part 64
USA > Virginia > A new and comprehensive gazetteer of Virginia, and the District of Columbia > Part 64

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

HENRY NEAL,

CHRISTOPHER NEAL,' " Alexandria, Judge, $800 =

ALEXANDER MOORE,

The Circuit Court for the District is held at WASHINGTON, on the first. Monday in May and December, and at ALEXANDRIA on the second Mon- day in April and the first Monday in November. The District Court is held on the first Monday in June and November.

ALEXANDRIA.

ALEXANDRIA originally called Four members of the Council are an. BELHAVEN, a Post Town and Sea nually elected in each of the 4 wards Port, situated on the western bank of into which the City is divided, and the river Potomac, near the head of tide water, on the south corner of the District, 6 miles south of the City of Washington, and 180 ms. from the ocean. The meridian of Washing- ton passing through the Capitol, leaves the central part of Alexandria, near 3' to the E .- Lat. of Alexan- dria 1º 38' 48" N.

the Mayor is elected every year by: the Council. The political situation of Alexendria in common with the other portions of the District of Co- lumbia is singular. The President of the United States is the Governor, and Congress, the Legislature of the District, but the people have no voice nor are their sentiments officially This town lies principally in the District of Columbia, but a small part of it is in the state of Virginia. It was incorporated in 1779 by the state of Virginia, and that part of it which lies within the District was heard, in any of the political concerns of the country. The Circuit Court of the United States, for the District of Columbia, sits in Alexandria twice a year, and its expenses are defrayed by the General Government. From ceded to the General Government in the decision of the Court, there are appeals to the Supreme Court of the United States.

1801. The laws of Virginia, enacted previous to that time, still remain in force in the town and county of Alex- Alexandria is very handsomely situated. The streets are laid out on the plan of Philadelphia, crossing andria, except those which have been repealed by Congress. The muni- cipal government consists of a Coun- each other at right angles, and are" cil of 16 representatives and a Mayor. generally well paved. It is consider-

of Washington, " Assistant, 2,500

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مصاري

478

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,

ed remarkably healthy, and the view| The river opposite to the town is a from the City is very fine. The town mile in breadth, and varies from 34 is situated in the bottom of a valley to 52 feet in depth, in the ship chan- which to the eye of an observer is nel, which here washes the shore, -- terminated in every direction by lofty of course the harbor is naturally very and verdant hills. To the north he fine. and it has been much improved sees the City of Washington,-the by the erection of large and commo- Capitol with its beautiful columns, dious wharves.

white walls and towering dome, form-

COMMERCE .- Alexandria carries ing a most conspicuous object; to the on an extensive trade in flour, tobac- south, the broad translucent expanse co, sumach, fish, lumber and other of the Potomac opens upon him, with articles, with the Southern states, Fort Washington, lying like a white West Indies and Europe. line on its distant margin, opposite to Mount Vernon.

Barrels.

Half Barrels,

The inspection of flour in 1829, was

178,874, and 5,789

.. = 1830, “ 166,386,

6,385

1831, " 206,294, 6,001

Besides an extensive trade with the eastern ports of the United States, the exports to foreign countries for the last 3 years, were in amount as follows :.

1831, 1829, 1830,

$687,259

628,142

864,484

On the 31st of December 1831 the clear revenue from the town of Alex- tonnage belonging to the town was andria, during the period above men- 8,230 tons, and it is still increasing. tioned, to upwards of four millions of There are 3 Banks in Alexandria dollars.

with an aggregate capital of one mil- lion, seven hundred thousand dollars. and 3 incorporated insurance compa- . RELIGIOUS AND MORAL ASSOCIA- TIONS, MANUFACTORIES, &c .- There are in this town 9 houses of nies. The amount of real estate is public worship, 2 Episcopalian, 2 assessed at two millions seven hundred Presbyterian, 1 Friends', 2 Metho- thousand dollars; and according to authentic information from the treasu- is also a philosophical society, and

dist, 1 Catholic and 1 Baptist. There ry department of the United States, an incorporated Library, containing the town paid into the treasury from about 4,000 volumes, a Library insti- the 31st of December 1791 to the 31st tuted by an association of apprentices" December 1829 inclusive, on account and other minors, a savings fund in- of customs, three millions, seven hun- stitution, an orphan asylum, a poor, dred and thirty seven thousand, one hundred and sixty one dollars and house and dispensary, a bible, mis -. sionary and temperance society, a' twenty seven cents,-on account of the colonization society, a benevolent so- post office, one hundred and seventy ciety for improving the condition of three thousand, seventy three dollars the people of color, a society for fur- and thirty four cents,-for direct tax nishing employment to the indus- trious, indigent, and several for sup- in the years 1815-16, cleven thou- sand, one hundred and fifty dollars plying food, clothing and fuel to the and seventy cents. The amount of poor in winter. There are several internal revenue which cannot be ac- baking establishments, where ship curately ascertained would swell the bread and crackers are made equal to .

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ALEXANDRIA.

any manufactured in the United States fries of lectures on astronomy, chemis- or elsewhere, 2 ship yards, an exten- try; &c. in which the principles of the sciences treated of are illustrated by experiments with suitable apparatus: There are also boarding schools for young ladies, conducted by ladies, in which are taught all the branches of polite and fashionable education, and a boarding school for young ladies under the charge of Four Sisters of Charity from Emmittsburg, in the state of Maryland. This institution, though but lately established, and not yet completed, is in a flourishing con- dition. When finished it will have connected with it an orphan asylum. There are also in Alexandria, free schools for children of both sexes, and sive brewery, and several tanneries, a foundry upon a large scale, with a manufactory of steam engines and va- rious machinery for cotton factories, &c. and several manufactories of se- gars, on an extensive scale. Alexan- dria contains a handsome market house, at which a market is held eve- ry morning. It is generally well supplied with meats, fish, fruits and vegetables in their season. In the latter part of the spring, wild straw- berries abound in the adjacent coun- try, and are brought in great quanti- ties to market. Over the market house is the Court-house, clerk's of- fice, council chamber, town hall and about 30 other schools, exclusive of library; and in the upper story of the same building an extensive and well arranged Museum. Over the centre of this building is a steeple in which an excellent clock tells the hours on extensive and delightful view of the a bell, that weighs fifteen hundred pounds.

Sunday schools. In the vicinity of Alexandria is established a Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary on' an elevated situation, commanding an'

There is a boarding school for young men, in which the languages, mathematics, philosophy, and every useful branch of education is taught. the erection of a centre structure. A part of the course consists of a se-

Population of Alexandria at different periods.

Population 1810-

Free white males,

2,525 **

Do. Females,

2,378

Total white population 1810, 4,903

All persons except Indians not taxed, Slaves,

836

-1,4884

'Total population in 1820, 7,227

- In 1820-

Free white males, .

2,667 .

Do. Females,

2,948 .

Foreigners not naturalized,

153 :

Total white population 1820, 5,768

479

District of Columbia, the river Poto- mac and the surrounding country. This institution at present occupies two large four story buildings, hav- ing space enough between them for

of rmo

480

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,

Amount forward.

Free colored males,

461

Do. Females,

707

Slaves, male,

606

Do. Female,

820

Total population in 1820, 8,371

, In 1830-

Males ..

Females.

Total.

Whites,

2,712

2,969

5,681

Colored, free,

565

816

1,38İ

, Slaves,

462

739

1,2013,-8,263 .

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS .- A may appear almost incredible. The canal is now in progress, which will number of shad frequently obtained at ; probably bring a great accession of a haul is 4,000 and upwards, and of herrings from 1 to 300,000. In the spring of 1832, there were taken in one seine at one draught, a few more than 950,000 accurately counted .- - The prosecution of the numerous fish- eries gives employment to a large number of laborers, and affords an op- portunity to the poor to lay in at very reduced prices, food enough to last their families during the whole year. The shad and herrings of the Poto-, mac are transported by land, to all .. parts of the country, to which there is a convenient access from the river; and they are also shipped to various business to this town. This canal is designed to continue the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal to Alexandria, and will be connected with that great work by a magnificent aqueduct thrown across the river Potomac, im- mediately above Georgetown. The perpendicular descent from the sur- face of the river, above the Little Falls to tide water. is about 36 feet, and as the canal will be brought on a level from the head of the Falls to Alexandria; it is obvious that at the latter place, it will afford water power for manufactories to a very great ex- tent. Towards the construction of ports in the United States and West the Alexandria canal, the government of the United States have appropriat- ed $100,000. This city is connected Indies. The lowest prices at which these fish sell when just taken, are 25 cents per thousand for herrings, and $1 50 per hundred for shad, but. they generally bring higher prices, with the interior of the state of Vir- ginia by several turnpike roads,- down which the principal part of the often $1 50 per thousand for the form- flour is brought that comes to market; and there are 8 steamboats that regu- larly ply between this and other ports, several of which arrive and depart daily. .

er, and from $3 to 4 per hundred for the latter,-in the height of the sea- son a single shad weighing from 6 to 8 pounds, is sold in the market of the District for 6 cents. Herrings, how- ever, are sometimes taken so plenti- fully, that they are given away, or hauled on the land as manure for want of purchasers. . Some idea may

. FISHERIES .- As Alexandria is the shipping port of the District of Co- lumbia, and one of the principal marts for the immense fisheries of the Poto. mac, it may be well to mention, that be formed of the importance of these in the spring of the year quantities of fisheries from the following state- shad and herrings are taken, which ment :-

Number of fisheries on the Potomac, about

of laborers required at the Landing, -

. 150 6,500

-1

-. ALEXANDRIA:

Number of vessels employed,

450

of men to navigate these vessels, 1,350

.. of shad taken in good season, which lasts only

. about 6 weeks, .

22,500,000

of herrings under similar circumstances, 750,000,000

Quantity of salt required to cure the fish,-Bushels,

995,000

Number of barrels to contain the fish,

595,000

The herring is not eaten at the best tables when fresh, but cured, they are admired by all, keep remarkably well, and are most highly flavored when they have been for 2 years in salt. The Potomac river cau boast of the largest shad fisheries in the United States. The advantages of the her- ring fisheries, she divides with some other rivers of the south, but it is equalled by none, unless it be the Susquehanna.

Should the Chesapeake and Ohio canal be continued to the Ohio river, it is obvious that the fisheries of the Potomac will be of great advantage to the country west of the Alleghany mountains, in supplying in great abundance a delicious and valuable article of food of which its waters are entirely destitute. Taken into view the vast number of fish annu- ally caught, and the probable in- crease in the demand, one might be led to fear that the supply will at length be exhausted,-however ample at the present time, but when we re- flect that the spawn from an exceed- ing small number will generate into myriads and myriads of fish, such a fear is at once done away; the quan. tity is now very great and increas- ing,-it is admitted that next to the small and delicate Nova Scotia her- ring, that of the Potomac is by far more nutricious than any found elsewhere in the waters of North America During the summer, the fall, and winter months, the variety of good fish is small, consisting principally of the large white perch and rock fish of moderate size, taken with the line, and of carp and winter shad ; but at certain seasons of the year the

supply is abundant indeed. . In the latter part of the winter and early in spring. great numbers of large rock fish, weighing from 25 to 120 lbs, are taken in seines, just above the salts and brought to the markets in the District of Columbia. About 8 years since there were taken at one of the fisheries on the Virginia side of the river, about 3 miles below Washington,* at one draught of the seine, four hundred and fifty rock fish averaging sixty pounds each, as is well attested, and was recorded in the newspapers of the day. . Sturgeon also abounds in the Potomac, and are of enormous size weighing from 75 to 150 pounds, in some places they are considered a great delicacy, as in the James, the Potomac, and the Hud- son rivers,-while on the Delaware they are considered worthless and scarcely eaten. The sturgeon comes up the Potomac twice a year, which is in the months of May and August, -- presses up to the very foot of the first falls, and is taken in the great, est quantity within the District, in times of freshets in the strong water between Georgetown and those falls. They are taken either in floating nets, with large meshes, or by an inge- niously contrived hook, not baited, but by a curious device, prepared to' pierce him on the body so certainly and so deeply, as to hold him and bring him in, notwithstanding his great size and strength; this latter mode of taking the sturgeon is be- lieved to be peculiar to the Potomac. t.

*The noted fishery called the SYCAMORE' LANDING, belonging to Gen. Mason. +" 'The hook is made of stout, well-tem-, pered iron, keenly pointed and barbed

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482

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

... WATER FOWL .- The celebrity of necessary. In the following account the water fowl of the Potomac, and we have availed ourselves largely of the information contained under the "Water Fowl," in a useful little the scarcity of information upon the subject, render an article upon them

with steel, is about thirty inches in length, bent at the lower end, and much in the way with ordinary fish-hooks, in propor- tionately larger dimensions, and so as to place the barb on, the inside of the curva- ture; but the stem, or that part to which the line is attached, and which is about twenty-four inches long, instead of being straight, is bent nearly as the segment of a circle, the diameter of which would be equal to the length of the hook-to this circular part is attached an iron weight cylindriacally, formed of three or four pounds weight by a stiff loop, but roomy enough to allow the weight to slide up or down the stem, to which the hook is the line touching the fish, consequently that part of the stem of the hook attached to the line reaches the fish, with the barb part turned from it, and as the back of the stem is drawn on, being circular, only a small part of it at a time is in contact with the fish ; but at a certain point of this con- tact, near the middle of the entrance of. the curve, the weight, from its position below, and the facility with which the stem plays in the open loop, so operates as to cause a sudden turn in the hook and to reverse the position of the barbed end, and threw it directly under the fish, with so smart a tug, that it at once designates to the practised hand of the wary fisher- thrown into the water, this weight not on- man, the critical instant at which he is to ly answers the end of the common sinker make his last effort; and he succeeds the more readily in the thrust, because from the position of the barb, it is brought up directly against the belly of the fish, which is of soft skin, unprotected by the bony shields dispersed over the back and sides. So soon as the sturgeon is hung, he makes off' with great strength and swiftness, the line is plaid out to give him play, and the to keep the line stretched at the depth re- quired, but by its superior gravity, so soon as it has reached the point prescribed by the length of the line given out, it draws the hook down in a perpendicular position in the direction of the line, and by its power of sliding on the stem of the hook, adjusts itself just at the bottom of this, and where the curvature in the opposite little boat, if before stationary, is cast direction, that forms the hook proper, be- loose, so that when the line is out, the boat, to which one end was secured, is for a time darted so rapidly through the wa- ter that her bows are brought almost under; his speed however presently slackens, his strength exhausted, and he yields himself up to be drawn in and hoisted on board. gins, by the instrumentality of this weight so placed, and operating on the peculiar form of the hook-while suspended by a tight line, the hook remains, with the back of the circular stem turned towards the hand of the fisherman that holds the other end of the line, and of course with the An instance occurred near the Little Falls barbed end turned from him, whether held some years ago, of the strength and power still, or kept in motion.

of this fish. A noted fisherman, whose name is well known, had incautiously made fast one end of the line to his leg, and having hung a sturgeon, was dragged over board and drawn off by it, to a con- siderable distance in the river, sometimes above and sometimes under water, but from his intrepidity and skill in swim- ming, he was enabled to get through this

Thus prepared the fisherman, some- times drags, as it is termed, for the stur- geon; that is, he rows his light little boat slowly backwards and forwards, with his line suspended from the stem at a given depth; or, sometimes at anchor he lays in wait, his line stretched perpendicularly under him, with the hook near the bottom -when the fish strikes against any part perilous conflict safely, and to conquer . of the line, it is so stirred by its great the sturgeon and tow him on shore, with- out the aid of his boat. . It remains to ac- count, as to this interesting fishing, by which the amateurs for sport, as well as the more humble, for gain, are much at- tracted, how it happens that the stugeon would seem to seek, rather than avoid the line put out for his destruction, when there weight as to be sensibly felt by the fisher- man, who then hauls rapidly but steadily up, until he feels that the hook has come in contact, and has turned suddenly in- ward, the barbed part towards the fish; when by an instantaneous and strong jerk, he buries the barb in its body Here is the development of the contrivance of is no bait about it to invite him.

this hook, and here too is exerted all the Sportsmen and fishermen, to be good in their way, as is known, must be well ac- quainted with the habits of the animal tact of the fisherman-the hook is drawn| up as before described with the convex part of the stem towards the fisherman, they would circumvent and bring within

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483

ALEXANDRIA.

work upon the District of Columbia, Jare denominated drift fowl, from the by Jonathan Elliot, Esq.

The summer duck ( Anas. Sponsa of Wilson,) is the only species of the numerous water fowl which frequent the Potomac, which breed upon its borders; the others are migratory.

The whole tribe has been sensibly diminished of late years, by the new method of taking them which will be presently described, and the in- creased avidity with which they are sought by persons to supply the mar- kets. They are still, however, nu- merous,-and consist of various spe- cies,-The swan, the wild goose, and a great variety of ducks, as the canvass back, the red head shoveler, the black duck too differs from all the others head shoveler, the duc-a-malard, the in the time and period of his visits black duck, the blue wing teal, the green wing teal, and the widgeon.

"Of these, the five species first mentioned are what are called river fowl, frequenting only the fresh river; and the last five kinds are known by the name of marsh fowl, feeding principally in the marshes bordering on the river. Again, of the river fowl-the canvass back, the red head shoveler, and the black head shoveler

their toils; the simple solution, in this case, is said to be, that it is the habit of the sturgeon to rub itself against any thing stationary that it meets with in the narrow waters.

We can't dismiss this subject without mentioning another singular habit belong- ing peculiarly to this fish, that of occa- sionally throwing itself to a considerable distance above water, to the height of at least eight or ten feet, so that in the pause between the ascent and descent, the whole fish is seen suspended in a horizontal po- sition for a moment, in the air. They have sometimes fallen in this way, very much to the risque of those on board, in the boats plying at the Ferry in George- town, in this District: and an unfortunate occurrence took place during the revolu- tionary war, productive of a most serious accident, on the North river. A sturgeon came down from one of these leaps into a ferry-boat while crossing that river, on the lap of an American officer, who was a. passenger and sitting in the sturn, with such violence as to break his thigh and occasiion his death."

circumstance of their collecting in vast bodies, when at rest, in the mid- dle of the river, or feeding in deep water, obtaining their food by diving to the bottom. The bald face and the sprig tail, although they avoid the marshes, feed on the margin of the river in shallow water, as do the marsh fowl, by dipping their heads and necks under only ; and all these described as marsh fowl, are found feeding on the shores of the rivers occasionally, except the blue winged teal, which frequents the marshes ex- clusively, and only such as produce the wild oat, his favorite food. This

to this quarter of the country ; they. are earlier made and of shorter du- ration : he comes about the first of. September, and goes about the first of November; all the other kinds of duck arrive with us, as the swan and geese, from the middle of Octo- ber to the middle of November ; and depart from about the first to the middle of March. As to the quali- ties for the table, of these fowl, the. young swan is considered a great delicacy-while the old one is always, hard, and without agreeable flavor. The wild goose is deemed much su perior to - the tame goose. The can- vass back, it is known, stands unri- valled in the taste of the epicure, as the most delicious bird in this or any other country. The red head sho- veler, and the blue winged teal are but little inferior to it, in the estima- tion of connoisseurs, in that way; and of all the other kinds of these ducks, there is not one, when in good con- dition, that is not fine game. Most of them are found in abundance dur- ing the season from the immediate vi- cinity of the city of Washington, down . the salts, and some of them are seen in both the salt and fresh water ha- bitually or occasionally.

THE SWAN is not found nearer

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· 484

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA'

than about 30 miles below Washing- a few weeks before their departure ton : at the mouth of Occoquan, on about the first of March, they gradu- the right bank of the river is his

ally become thinner in flesh, and in highest feeding ground, which'is the the latter part of their sojourn here, lowest spawning place of the white are found so poor and light, that when shot, the 'gunner gets nothing fit for use but the feathers: whether this circumstance be owing to their having exhausted the means of sub- sistence at their feeding places, or that they are taught by him who rules the universe, in small as well as great things, thus by abstaining, to' prepare themselves for the long ærial voyage they are about to undertake, we pretend not to determine with cer- tainty, there is nothing more won- derful in this, than in the fact, which is notorious, that they by exercise, regularly and assiduously fit them- selves for this continuous effort, to shad. Here, and for some 30 or 40 miles below, this noble bird is seen floating near the shores, in flocks of some two or three hundred, white as the driven snow, and from time to time, emitting fine sonorous, and oc- casionally melodious songs, so loud that they may be heard on a still eve- ning two or three miles; there are two kinds, so called from their res- pective notes-the one the trumpeter, and the other the slooper; the trum- peter is the largest-and when at full size, will measure from five to six feet from the bill to the point of the toe, and from seven to eight feet from the tip of one wing to the tip of bear themselves through the air . to the distance of perhaps a thousand miles or leagues; large flocks are seen every day rising from the river and taking a high position, flying again returning at or near the same place, during the last two or three weeks of their stay .*

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A new and comprehensive gazetteer of Virginia, and the District of Columbia, Part 64

Author: Martin, Joseph. ed. cn; Brockenbrough, William Henry Publication date: 1835 Publisher: Charlottesville, J. Martin Number of Pages: 1278

Author: Martin, Joseph. ed. cn; Brockenbrough, William Henry
Publication date: 1835
Publisher: Charlottesville, J. Martin
Number of Pages: 1278