USA > Virginia > City of Alexandria > City of Alexandria > A brief history of Alexandria County, Virginia > Part 1
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F 232 A 4A4
1800
Class F232
Book
A4A4
LCCN 0110 1925 319
ALEXANDRIA COUNTY VIRGINIA
Potomac R
Formerly a part of
DISTRICT
OF
COLUMBIA
56
Arlington, the Home of General Robert E. Lee
A BRIEF HISTORY
OF
ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
VIRGINIA
ITS WEALTH AND RESOURCES, GREAT AND GROWING INDUSTRIES EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL ADVANTAGES FUTURE OUTLOOK PROMISING
Alexandria Co. VI. 11
Published under authority of the COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS by G. G. BOTELER CRANDAL MACKEY, M. E. CHURCH W. S. HOGE, Jr., C. B. HALLER Committee.
THE NEWELL PRINTING CO. FALLS CHURCH, VA.
232
Gift C. F. Nelson. 253 07
Alexandria County Officials
HON. LOUIS C. BARLEY
Commonwealth's Attorney CRANDAL MACKEY
Clerk of the Court GEORGE H. RUCKER
Sheriff WM. H. PALMER
Treasurer WM. C. WIBERT
Superintendent of Schools JAMES E. CLEMENTS
Commissioner of the Revenue C. B. GRAHAM
Board of Superutsors DR. D. N. RUST, Alexandria City W. W. DOUGLAS, Ballston W. N. FEBREY, East Falls Church
14 N 1907 W. 0/ud,
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
[BY CRANDAL MACKEY]
Vistoriral
Ceded to the United States
A LEXANDRIA COUNTY, the smallest and most densely populated county in Virginia, was once a part of the county of Fairfax. On December 3, 1789, the State of Virginia, by an act of the legislature and in pursu- ance of the United States Constitution, ceded to the United States that part of the territory subsequently known as the county of Alexandria. Congress passed an act accepting the cession. Maryland ceded to the United States part of her territory known as the county of Washington, and the two counties consti- tuted a territory, ten miles square, which Congress set apart for the seat of government, and organized it under the name of the District of Columbia. The county of Washington comprised all the land in the District of Columbia north of the Potomac River and the county of Alexandria all the land in said District south of the Potomac.
A circuit court was established by Congress for the county of Washington and another for the county of Alexandria, and the cir- cuit judge for Alexandria County was required by law to reside therein.
The county of Alexandria, by reason of its accessibility, soon became an asylum for fugitive slaves, where they could seek the protection of United States courts and the sympathy and aid of
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
Residence of Mr. A. M. Lothrop
the early abolitionists residing in the District of Columbia. The slavery question becoming each year more acute the question of ceding back the county of Alexandria to Virginia became a political issue of that day, the representatives in Congress from Virginia and other pro-slavery states urging the retrocession of that part of the District of Columbia known as Alexandria County to the State of Virginia.
Retrocession to Virginia
On the 9th day of July, 1846. the Congress of the United States passed an act authorizing a vote to be taken by the people of Alexandria County to determine whether the county should be retroceded to the State of Virginia, and declaring that in case a majority of the votes should be cast in favor of retrocession the county should be retroceded, and right and jurisdiction forever relin-
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
quished in full and absolute. An election was held and a majority of the votes cast were for retrocession. Without any further action by Congress the State of Virginia passed an act declaring that the county of Alexandria was re-annexed. Since 1846 the State of Virginia has exercised full jurisdiction and control over said county.
Legality of Retrocession
At the time of the passage of the act of Congress, ceding the county of Alexandria to Virginia, some of the ablest lawyers in Congress condemned the act and declared it to be in violation of the Constitution of the United States.
Among those who declared that the act of retrocession was unconstitutional was John Quincy Adams, who was one of the ablest constitutional lawyers of his day. He had been President of the United States and was a member of Congress from Massa- chusetts at the time the act was passed. To the wayfaring man
The Home of Hon. John B. Henderson, Jr.
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
it would seem that if the county of Alexandria could be ceded back to Virginia, then the county of Washington could be ceded back to Maryland and the District of Columbia and the Capital and seat of government abolished by an act of Congress.
In 1875 Mr. Robert A. Phillips, a large property owner in the county of Alexandria, brought suit to determine the validity of the act of retrocession. He alleged in his suit that an assessment had been made upon his property by officers of the State of Virginia, that he had paid his taxes under protest to prevent the sale of his property by the State, and that the county of Alexandria was not within the State of Virginia but within the District of Columbia. He alleged that the act of Congress ceding back the county of Alexandria was illegal and void because in violation of the Con-
The Old Glebe Estate, Formerly the Residence of Secretary Caleb Cushing
Residence of Judge A. B. Grunwell
-
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
Residence of Mr. George G. Crossman, East Falls Church
stitution. He attempted by his suit against Mr. Charles W. Payne, the collector of taxes of Washington Township, Alexandria County, to recover the sum of $165 illegally collected. On April 17, 1876, the Supreme Court of the United States decided the case by most adroitly and artfully dodging the real question involved. It held in substance that Mr. Phillips was estopped from raising the question he sought to have decided, that the case was one involving the action of the political department of the Government, and that the judiciary would feel bound by such action unless the political department of the Government should later decide otherwise. Since this decision the question of ceding back the county of Alexandria to the United States has been agitated in public meetings in the county, and frequently in Congress. About five years ago Senator Hoar of Massachusetts, a great constitutional lawyer and chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate, introduced
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
Residence of Captain A. P. Eastman, East Falls Church
a bill authorizing the Attorney General of the United States to bring a suit to test the constitutionality of the act of retrocession, but the matter died in committee.
In 1905 the writer caused the arrest of persons who were running a pool room for race track gambling at Jackson City, in said county. Through their attorneys they procured writs of habeas corpus from the United States Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging in their petition for the writs that the county of Alexandria was part of the District of Columbia and officials of Virginia could not lawfully arrest them or try them. Upon hearing at Richmond the petitions were dismissed by Judge Waddell upon the motion of the writer upon the ground that an individual could not raise the question of the validity of the act of retrocession, and upon the further ground that, if the averments of the petitioners were true, they should have applied to the Supreme Court of the District of
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
Columbia for their writs of habeas corpus. No vote has been taken in recent years to test the feeling of the people of Alexandria County on the question of retrocession, but because of the fact that the tax rate is not high in Alexandria County and the assessment of property is very low it is probable that a majority of her people would vote against retrocession. In the District of Columbia the tax rate is low but the assessments very high, in many cases more than the actual value of the property.
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
dreds of children attend the public free schools of the District of Co- lumbia including the high schools, the business high schools, the technical schools, and normal schools maintained by Congress. A person living in Alexandria County enjoys, free of cost, all the Government institutions of Washington City, its libraries, its col- leges, schools, museums, art galleries, and public buildings and at the same time enjoys the health of country life and escapes all the discomforts of a crowded city. Schools are open in Alexandria County nine months in every year, in striking contrast with some other counties in the State, and her school-houses are modern build- ings, many of them of brick and heated by hot water or steam.
Good Roads
The county has more than seventy miles of public roads and the roads are better kept than elsewhere, many of them being covered
Residence of Mr. George O. Wonder
1
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
with stone their entire length. The county owns road machinery of the most costly and modern type, including a portable stone crusher and traction engine. The county also owns a valuable stone quarry where stone is broken for road purposes. The county is free from debt, its modern court house and commodious up-to-date jail having been paid for and the bonds issued for their construction canceled. Pauperism is unknown here and the county poor house has not had an occupant for five years. There are no saloons in the county. The number of prisoners in jail averages about ten and they are required to work on the county roads. The expense of boarding prisoners is not paid by the county, but by the State, to which all fines are paid. The scheme of county government origi- nated in Virginia and can scarcely be improved upon.
Residence of Mr. George G. Boteler
Old Wonder Place, Purchased by the Livingstone Heights Company
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
Residence of Mr. G. W. Poole, East Falls Church
County Government
The county is divided for purposes of government into three parts or divisions. Each division is called a Magisterial District. The east end of the county is Jefferson District, the central part, Arlington District and the west end is called Washington District. Each district elects a supervisor for the county and the three super- visors constitute the Board of Supervisors, which by law is a body corporate. The board elects one of its members chairman and it sits the first Saturday in every month. It levies taxes for the sup- port of the county and state government, and fixes the rate of taxa- tion for county purposes as well as for support of the public schools, has control of all county property and the expenditure of all public money in the county. The Board of Supervisors also has the ap- pointment of overseers of the poor and road overseers and, within
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
certain limitations, fixes the salaries of all county officers. In the matter of the establishment or alteration of roads the Board of Super- visors exercises the functions of a court and issues process, appoints viewers, summons witnesses and has all the powers formerly exer- cised by the county court. Each of the three magisterial districts in the county elects three justices of the peace and one constable as well as a member of the Board of Supervisors, and voters of the county elect a representative in the legislature, an attorney for the commonwealth, a clerk of the court, a sheriff, and a county treasurer. The coroner is appointed by the circuit court as is the commissioner of revenue, an officer who assess personal property and collects ex- cise taxes. Property is assessed once every five years by a citizen of the county selected by the circuit court. All county officers hold their positions for four years, except the clerk of the court who is elected for six years. The circuit judge presides over three counties
Residence of Dr. T. M. Talbott
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
and is elected by the legislature for eight years. These three counties, Alexandria, Fairfax, and Prince William, have one representative in the State Senate. The county has a Superintendent of Schools, who is appointed by the State Board of Education, at Richmond, from among the citizens of the county. Each of the three magiste- rial districts in the county has three school trustees and the nine trustees, sitting with the Superintendent of Schools, constitute the county School Board, which board holds title to all school property and prepares each year, for presentation to the Board of Super- visors, the estimates of school expenses. School trustees are ap- pointed by a board consisting of the Superintendent of Schools, the Attorney for the Commonwealth and one citizen designated by the circuit court. This board meets in May of each year. Judges of elections are named by the county electoral board consisting of three
Residence of Mr. C. A. Stewart, East Falls Church
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
H R
Southern Railway and Electric Car Stations, East Falls Church
persons designated by the circuit court. On election day three judges of election and two clerks sit in each of the three voting dis- tricts of the county, the clerks being named by the judges of elec- tion. The law provides that judges of election shall be persons known to belong to different politcal parties. There are about eight hundred registered voters in the county of whom about one hundred are colored. There is one official called a registrar for each of the three magisterial districts and in order to register a person must apply to the registrar in his own handwriting and answer such ques- tions in writing relating to his qualifications as are prescribed by statute and as the registrar may propound. After a person is regis- tered he must, six months before the election, pay his poll taxes for three years next preceding the election at which he offers to vote. In order to vote in November, each voter must pay his taxes in May preceding. The strictness of the election laws has improved the
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
Residence of Mr. John N. Gibson
quality and character of the voter and has enabled the people of the county to establish and maintain decent, honest, and economical government, and to select as officers of the county a better set of men at each election. The county abounds in villages and subdivi- sions each having its association of citizens who exercise a decided influence upon county affairs.
Villages and Subdivisions
The following subdivisions, in the nature of villages are prosper- ous settlements :
West Ballston, Ballston, Glencarlyn, East Falls Church, Falls Church Park, Highland Park, Lyonhurst, Livingstone Heights, North Arlington Heights, Cherrydale, Hall's Hill, Dominion Heights, Bon Air, Farlee, Clarendon, Lyon's Addition to Clarendon, Moore's Addi- tion to Clarendon, Woodmont, Clifton, Ingleside, Aurora Heights, Colonial Heights, Ft. Myer Heights, Rosslyn, Corbett, Arlington,
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
Nauck, Addison Heights, Waterloo, St. Elmo, Del Ray, Braddock Heights, Cottage Park, Spring Park.
Transportation Facilities
Every portion of the county is reached by electric car lines from Washington City. The Great Falls and Old Dominion Electric Railway, the Washington, Arlington and Falls Church Electric Rail- way and the Washington, Alexandria and Mt. Vernon Electric Rail- way cover every portion of Alexandria County with their main lines and branches. All the electric railways named are in prosperous condition, the smallest having carried twelve hundred thousand pas- sengers last year. In addition to the above named electric railways the following railroads deliver freight and have freight and passen- ger stations in the county, viz .: Pennsylvania Railroad; Southern
Residence of Mr. Nathan Banks, East Falls Church
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
Railroad ; Washington Southern; Atlantic Coast Line ; Seaboard Air Line ; Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad; Chesa- peake and Ohio; Baltimore and Ohio; Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad. These roads have established vast freight Yards in Alexandria County, known in railroad circles as Potomac Yards, connecting the great trunk lines of the north and south, and said to be the most extensive transfer grounds in the United States if not in the world. This gigantic enterprise, together with the extensive railroad shops there located, give employment to an army of busy workers, and also pays a large proportion of the county taxes. In this county is also located Luna Park, the largest and most attractive pleasure resort in the vicinity of Washington, offer- ing a place of recreation and innocent amusement to thousands daily. It also employs a large number of citizens of the county and pays a large amount of taxes.
Residence of Mr. John S. Garrison, East Falls Church
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
"Eastover," Residence of Mr. Pickering Dodge
Industries
The county manufactures more brick than any county in the United States, being the home of the New Washington Brick Co .; the Hydraulic Press Brick Co .; Walker and Sons Brick Co .; West Bros. Brick Co .; the Potomac Brick Co .; the Virginia Brick Co .; the Rosslyn Brick Co., and the Jackson-Phillips Brick Co.
The county contains numerous factories and excellent stores con- venient to every settlement. It has the Arlington National Bank, an institution gotten up by citizens of the county and is in a flourish- ing condition. It has the Arlington Brewery and Bottling Works, the most modern of all the breweries in or near Washington City. It has the Rosslyn Packing Co., the most prosperous establishment for the manufacture of pork products and provisions east of Chicago. In the county and within the corporate limits of Alexandria City are shoe factories and factories for the making of glassware, bottles,
I
Bellalist
Residence of Admiral Weaver
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
Residence of Mr. H. A. Fellows
boxes, overalls, and wooden ware; knitting mills, canning factories, fertilizer factories, and many other large industries. The county con- tains numerous churches, all reached by the electric cars. There is not a trade, calling or profession that is not creditably represented by citizens of Alexandria County. No county in Virginia is so rich in numbers of skilled mechanics, representing the very highest skill in their respective trades. We have here in large numbers, and all employed, machinists, bricklayers, carpenters, plasterers, iron work- ers, floor planers, plumbers, steamfitters, glassworkers, electricians, and woodworkers, men of character and intelligence in every branch of mechanics. In medicine we have doctors of high reputation, some like Admiral P. M. Rixey, Surgeon-General of the Navy, and Dr. Joseph Taber Johnson, the distinguished gynecologist, being known the world over. Several of the dentists of Alexandria County are lecturers at the dental colleges in Washington City. Modesty for-
Former Home of Mr. George N. Saegmuller, Recently Purchased For a Young Ladies' Seminary
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
Railroad Scene, East Falls Church
bids me to say more of the lawyers than that they are all TRUTH- FUL AND HONEST and enjoying exceptional prosperity. The county is the home of many prosperous merchants of Washington City, and no community in Virginia has more beautiful homes or as little pov- erty. No community anywhere is so inviting to manufacturers as Alexandria County. Manufacturing property is not assessed one- fourth its value; there are no smoke laws to annoy and oppress, such as they have in the District of Columbia and enforce with such severity. The railroad facilities are better than in the District of Columbia and the best in Virginia. Railroad and water transporta_
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
Residence of Mr. W. W. Kinsley
tion facilities cannot be surpassed. There is ample police protection and all along the water front the fire department of Washington City responds to alarms of fire. Insurance rates are low. There is an excellent telephone system in the county which gives an unlim- ited service for $24 per year.
Farming Advantages
There is no place in the world where truck farming and the nursery business pays better than in Alexandria County. Every nurseryman in the county sells all the flowers and plants, and hot- house vegetables that he can produce to the markets and hotels in Washington City at the highest prices. All over Alexandria County are men who have grown prosperous at truck farming. Along the south bank of the Potomac in this county are miles of splendid quarries, giving employment to hundreds of men and supplying
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
nearly all the stone used in the District of Columbia and upon Gov- ernment work in that vicinity.
Future Outlook
But a few years and Alexandria County will be one large and prosperous city. Her many villages are already pressing their borders upon each other and are tied together by a common interest and a common purpose. Her frontage on the river is a scene of diversified industry and the demand for her property for business purposes is constant and pressing. Opportunities for profitable investment were never more abundant and those who have pur- chased acreage property have in every instance reaped profits beyond expectation, in some instances more than ten-fold. Those who buy real estate in Alexandria County now can not fail of successful invest- ment and those who purchase manufacturing sites will, in addition
Christ Church, Alexandria City
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
to the many advantages heretofore enumerated, witness a rapid and constant increase in the value of their holdings. The pressure of population upon area and upon subsistence in the District of Columbia is forcing her people into Alexandria County, and her meagre railroad facilities and drastic laws have an increasing ten- dency to force her business men and manufacturers across the Potomac into Alexandria County. The past has been bright, the present is reaping its profits and in the future prosperity mounts and beckons, and a star that rises in the east is leading on to untold wealth.
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
VIRGINIA REALTY TITLE CORP
MACHENS MONCURE ATTY5 AT - LAW.
THE VIRGINIA REALTY TITLE CORPORATION
is the successor of the Virginia Title Company. It was granted a charter by the State Corporation Commission of Virginia, and was duly organized on the 2d day of April, 1906. The capital stock of this Corporation is $25,000, five thousand of which is non-assessible treasury stock.
The Corporation was chartered to do a general title business, including the insurance of titles, throughout the State of Virginia, and more especi- ally in Alexandria City and County. The land and other records, includ- ing surveys and plats, have been carefully prepared, in the City and County, by experienced attorneys, abstractors and civil engineers, and the Corporation is now doing a successful business, more especially in the County of Alexandria, which is a thriving, growing, suburban community. The above cut shows the home office of the Corporation, located at Alexandria County Court House on the hill just above Rosslyn, Va.
The Corporation has branch offices in the Columbian Building, Wash- ington, D. C., and in the office of Mr. Howard W. Smith, Alexandria, Va. The officers of this Corporation are David J. Howell, President, Civil Engineer, whose business address is 605 12th Street N. W., Washington, D. C., and who resides in Alexandria, Va .; E. Hilton Jackson, Vice- President, Attorney at Law, whose business address is Columbian Build- ing, Washington, D. C .; George H. Rucker, Treasurer, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Alexandria County, Virginia, whose business address is Rosslyn, Va., and R. C. L. Moncure, Secretary, Attorney at Law, whose business address is Rosslyn, Va. Mr. Moncure is the General Manager of the Corporation in Alexandria County, Mr. Smith is the General Man- ager of the Corporation in Alexandria City, Va., and Mr. Jackson is the General Manager of the Corporation in Washington, D. C.
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
JOHN F. JERMAN REAL ESTATE AGENT
Notary Public. FAIRFAX, VA.
Bonding and Insurance. (Phone Connection)
Loans Negotiated. VIENNA, VA.
JOYCE lo, ENIi.CO.
My Motto: "Honesty and Fair Dealing."
Headquarters for Grain, Dairy, Fruit, Poultry and Blue Grass Farms, City and Suburban Property near Steam and Electric R. R. and near Washington D. C. Send for list.
Alexandria County Court House
.
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
Suburban and Country Homes.
IN SIGHT OF THE MONUMENT
FIRE
LIFE
AND
ACCIDENT
INSURANCE
BARBOr, WILLIAMS & CO. Falls Church, VA.
NEWELL PTG.
Send for this Booklet for full information about Real Estate in Alexandria and Fairfax Counties
BARBOR, WILLIAMS & COMPANY Real Estate and Insurance
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ALEXANDRIA COUNTY
BALLSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL
Ballston School
JAMES S. HAYS IS NOW LOCATED AT 3426 M Street, Corner of 35th
We shall endeavor to keep our stock of Crockery, Glassware and Housefurnishings complete as possible.
We especially call attention to our Lamps and Chimneys, especially "Macbeth." Also Wicks for oil stoves and all lamps. Our Coffee and Tea Department will receive our especial attention as in the past; nothing being sold but the best and purest foods. We buy nothing but Green Coffees and have them roasted, consequently always fresh.
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