USA > Washington > Standard history of the city of Washington from a study of the original sources > Part 8
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"Mount Vernon, April 3rd, 1791.
"Gentlemen : As the Instrut. which was subscribed at George Town by the Landholders in the vicinity of that place and Carrollsburg, was not given to me, I presume it has been deposited with you. It is of the greatest moment to close this business with the proprietors of the land on which the Federal City is to be that consequent arrange- ments may be made without more delay than can be avoided.
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"To accomplish this matter so as that the Sales of the lots, the public buildings &c. may commence with as much facility as the nature of the case will admit, would be I conceive advisable under any circumstances-perhaps the friends of the measures may think it materially so, from the following extract of a letter from Mr. Jefferson to me, dated the 27th ulto. 'A bill was yesterday ordered to be brought into the House of Representatives here for grant- ing a sum of money for building a Federal hall, house for the President, &c.' This, (though I do not want any sentiment of mine promulgated with respect to it) marks unequivocally in my mind the designs of that State and the necessity of exertion to carry the Residence Law into effect agreeably thereto.
"With great and sincere esteem and regard, I am gentle- men, your most obedt. and Hbl. Servt.,
George Washington.
Thos. Johnson
David Stuart
Esqrs."
Danl. Carroll
On April 4th, the President wrote to Major L'Enfant enclosing Mr. Jefferson's and another sketch of the proposed town, saying :
"Mount Vernon, April 4th, 1791.
"Sir: Although I do not conceive that you will derive any material advantage from an examination of the enclosed papers, yet, as they have been drawn under differ- ent circumstances, and by different persons, they may be compared with your own ideas of a proper plan for the Fed- eral City under the prospect which now presents itself. For this purpose I commit them to your private inspection until my return from the tour I am about to make. The rough sketch by Mr. Jefferson was done under an idea that no offer, worthy of consideration, would come from the Landholders in the vicinity of Carrollsburg; form y. backwness. wch. appd. in them; and therefore was accommodated to the grounds about George Town. The other is taken up upon a larger scale, without reference to any described spot.
"It will be of great importance to the public interest to comprehend as much ground (to be ceded by individ- uals) as there is any tolerable prospect of obtaining from them. Although it may not be immediately wanting, it will
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nevertheless increase the Revenue; and of course be beneficial hereafter not only to the public but to the Indiv. also, inasmuch as the plan will be enlarged, and thereby freed from those blotches which otherwise might result from not comprehending all the lands that appear well adapted to the general design and which in my opinion, are those between Rock Creek, Potomac River and the Eastern Branch, and as far up the latter as the turn of the Channel above Evans' Point; these including the flat, back of Jenkins' Heights; thence to the road leading from Georgetown to Blandensburg as far Easterly along the same as to include the branch which runs across it, some- where near the exterior of the Georgetown Session-thence in a proper direction to Rock Creek at, or above the ford, according to the situation of ground. Within these limits there may be lands belonging to persons incapacitated though willing to convey on the terms proposed; but such had better be included than others excluded the proprietors of which are not only willing but in circumstances to sub- scribe. I am, Sir,
Yr. most obdt. Servt.,
G. Washington. To Majr. L'Enfant."
This letter is of importance because the instructions therein given to Major L'Enfant relative to the extent of territory to be included in the city were the basis of the controversy which soon afterwards arose over the execution of the formal convey- ances by the proprietors.
On the same day that President Washington wrote the foregoing letter to Major L'Enfant the Major wrote to Mr. Jefferson, who, he probably had been informed, had collected the plans of a number of European cities during the period, from 1784 to 1789, of his sojourn there as the American Minister Plenipotentiary to arrange treaties of Commerce. The letter reads :
"George Town, April 4th, 1791.
"Sir: I would have reproached myself for not having written to you as regularly as you had desired. I should were it not circumstances to which you will I doubt not attribute this seeming neglect in approving of the consid- erations which made me give the whole of my time to
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forward as much as possibly could be the business I had to perform. Great as were my endeavors to that end, it still remained unfinished at the moment of the President's arrival at this place where I could present him no more but a rough drawing in pencil of the several surveys which I had been able to run-nevertheless the President's Indulgent disposition making him account for the difficul- ties encountered, I had the satisfaction to see the little I had done agreeable to his wishes-and the confidence with which he has been pleased since to Honor me in ordering the Survey to be continued and the delineation of a grand plan for the local distribution of the city to be done on principles conformable to the ideas which I took the liberty to hold before him as proper for the estab- lishment being so highly flattering to my ambition to fail exerting the best of my ability. It shall be from this moment my endeavor to answer the President's expecta- tion in preparing those plans and having them ready for the time of his return from the Southern tour.
"I shall in the meanwhile, Sir, beg for every information respecting all what may in your judgment appear of most immediate importance to attend to as well as relating to every desirable establishment which it will be well to fore- see although delaying or perhaps leaving the execution thereof to a natural succession of time to effect.
"The number and nature of the public buildings with the necessary appendix I should be glad to have a state- ment of as speedily as possible-and I would be very much obliged to you in the meantime if you could procure for me whatever may fall within your reach-of any of the different grand cities now existing such as for example- as London-Madry-Paris-Amsterdam-Naples-Venice -Genoa-Florence together with particular maps of any such sea-ports or dock-yards and arsenals as you may know to be the most complete in their improvement for notwith- standing I would reprobate the idea of limiting and that contrary having this intention it is my wish and shall be my endeavor to delineate on a new and original way the plan the contrivance of which the President has left to me without any restriction soever-yet the contemplation of what exists of well improved situation, given the parallel of these with ineffective ones, may serve to suggest a variety of new ideas and is necessary to refine and strength- en the judgment particularly in the present instance when
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having to unite the useful with the commodious and agree- able viewing these will by offering means for comparing enable me the better to determine with a certainty the propriety of a local which offer an extensive field for com- binations.
"I have the honor to be, with great respect,
Your most humble and most obedient servant, P. C. L'Enfant. Mr. Jefferson, Secretary of State."
The suggestion has been advanced that Mr. Jefferson may have been piqued at not being accorded greater recognition in the laying out of the city. Whatever of force there may be in this suggestion it is not borne out either in his reply to the President's letter informing him of the signing of the agree- ments by the proprietors nor in his response to Major L'Enfant's request, though the letter to Major L'Enfant gives evidence that some of Mr. Jefferson's ideas had failed to meet with the President's approval. Both letters testify to his love for and familiarity with the study of architecture.
The letter to the President, so far as it relates to the Federal City, reads :
"The acquisition of ground at Georgetown is really noble. Considering that only £25 an acre is to be paid for any grounds taken for the public, and the streets not to be counted, which will in fact reduce it to about £19 an acre, I think very liberal reserves should be made for the public. Your proclamation came to hand the night of the 5th. Dunlap's & Bache's papers for the morning of the 6th being already filled, I could only get it into Brown's evening paper of the 6th. On the 7th the bill for the Federal buildings passed the representatives here by 42 to 10, but it was rejected yesterday by 9 to 6 in the Senate, or, to speak more exactly, it was postponed till the next session. In the meantime spirited proceed- ings at Georgetown will probably, under the continuance of your patronage, prevent the revival of the bill. I received last night from Major L'Enfant a request to furnish him any plans of town I could for his examina- tion. I accordingly send him, by his post, plans of Frank- fort-on-the-Mayne, Carlsruhe, Amsterdam, Strasburg, Paris, Orleans, Bordeaux, Lyons, Montpelier, Marseilles, Turin,
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and Milan, on large and accurate scales, which I procured while in those towns respectively. They are none of them however comparable to the old Babylon, revived in Phila- delphia, and exemplified. While in Europe I selected about a dozen or two of the handsomest fronts of private build- ings of which I have the plates. Perhaps it might decide the taste of the new town were these to be engraved here and distributed gratis among the inhabitants of Georgetown. The expense would be trifling."
The letter to Major L'Enfant after mentioning the sending of the plans asked for, proceeds :
"I will beg your care of them and to return them when no longer useful to you, leaving you absolutely free to keep them as long as useful. I am happy that the President has left the planning of the town in such good hands, and have no doubt it will be done to general satisfaction. Consider- ing that the grounds to be reserved for the public are to be paid for by the acre, I think very liberal reservations should be made for them, and if these be about the Tyber and on the back of the town it will be of no injury to the commerce of the place, which will undoubtedly establish itself on the deep waters towards the Eastern Branch and mouth of Rock Creek; the waters about the mouth of the Tyber not being of any depth. Those connected with the government will prefer fixing themselves near the public grounds in the center, which will also be convenient to be resorted to as walks from the lower and upper town. Hav- ing indicated to the President before he went away, such general ideas on the subject of the town, as occurred to me, I make no doubt that, in explaining himself to you on the subject, he has interwoven with his own ideas, such of mine as he approved: for fear of repeating therefore what he did not approve, and having more confidence in the unbiased state of his mind, than in my own, I avoid interfering with what he may have expressed to you. Whenever it is possible to prepare plans for the Capitol, I should prefer the adoption of some one of the models of antiquity which have had the approbation of thousands of years; and for the President's house, I should prefer the celebrated fronts of modern buildings which have already received the approbation of all good judges. Such are the Galerie du Louvre, the Gardes meubles, and two fronts of the Hotel de Salon."
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On April 12, 1791, the first meeting of the full Board of Commissioners was held, the record thereof reciting the fact that :
"The form of the conveyance to Trustees, to be executed by the proprietors of the Lands between the Eastern Branch and Rock Creek, prepared agreeably to the direc- tions of the President of the United States, and pursuant to the tenor of the agreement signed by the proprietors, was presented by Mr. Johnson, and agreed to by the Com- missioners-but there was this difference between the deed - from Mr. Young and the deed from the other proprietors, as then agreed upon, that the word 'Garden' should be inserted after the word 'Building' in two places in the deed from Mr. Young."
Meanwhile arrangements for the survey of the boundaries of the Federal Territory were going forward. On March 31, the day following President Washington's departure from Georgetown, the Commissioners addressed a communication to Major Ellicott requesting him to supply himself with tents, provisions and other articles necessary to expedite the running of the lines of the ten miles square. Major Ellicott at once proceeded with the preliminary work of this survey with the result that two weeks later the following entry was made on the records of the proceedings of the Commissioners :
"At a meeting of the Commissioners, at Alexandria, in the State of Virginia, on Friday the 15th day of April, 1791.
"Present, David Stuart and Daniel Carroll. The Sur- veyor, Mr. Andrew Ellicott, having before this time under the directions of the Commissioners run a line from the court house in Alexandria due southwest half a mile, and thence southeast course to Hunting Creek, to find the beginning of the four lines of experiment, agreeably to the President's proclamation of the 24th of January last, the Commissioners attended by the surveyor, and a large concourse of spectators, proceeded to Jones' Point on the uppermost Cape of Hunting Creek, and fixed a stone at the same place, it being the beginning of the four lines of experiment."
On April 13, the President wrote to the Commissioners from Richmond where he had arrived in the course of his journey through the South, again urging them to hasten the
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securing of the conveyances from the landowners. He men- tioned that it had been intimated to him that the proprietors of Georgetown were desirous of being comprehended within the limits of the Federal City and suggested that if the measure was seriously contemplated the present was the fit moment for carrying it into effect in order that it might be included in Major L'Enfant's plan.
In the meantime trouble was brewing which was to delay for nearly three months the execution of the conveyances from the proprietors which the President was so anxious to obtain and which eventually was to require the personal attendance of the President before the execution of the conveyances could be effected.
It will have been noted that at the time he brought about the signing of the preliminary agreements by the proprietors he omitted to include therein a specific statement of the boun- daries of the city, though his views on this point were probably conveyed to the Commissioners. When the proprietors were shown the draft of the deeds prepared by Mr. Johnson, a num- ber of the proprietors refused to sign deeds conveying the extensive area provided for in the description set forth in the form of deed which Mr. Johnson had prepared. The halt in the proceedings and its cause are thus set forth in the record of the proceedings of the meeting of the Commissioners on April 14:
"The Commissioners having met on Tuesday last, in consequence of the President's letter, for the purpose of preparing and receiving conveyances : proceeded as far as to prepare the draft of a conveyance, which they com- municated to several of the subscribers, and which in the frame of it appeared generally agreeable; but in fixing the extent to the Northeastward, several of the subscribers were willing only to insert a line drawn from Evan's point to the road half a mile from Rock Creek, a little above the ford. The Commissioners seeing the writing, in the terms of it, subjects 'the whole of the respective subscribers' lands, which the President might think proper to include in the lines of the Federal City for the purposes and on the conditions therein expressed,' and being of opinion
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from several circumstances, happening since the entering into that engagement, that the President has an idea to extend the city further, on that side: think themselves not at Liberty to accept conveyances, containing that description, and therefore resolve to forbear taking convey- ances for the present, as they conceive it their duty not to do any act which may tend to narrow or restrain the President's views in the plan or extent of the city. A letter was received from Robert Peter and others, of this date, also one from George Walker, and others; which were inclosed with a copy of the above resolution in a letter from the Commissioners to the President. There was inclosed in their letter also, a plat of the lands between Rock Creek and the Eastern Branch with several different back lines and a copy of the agreement entered into by the proprietors of the said lands and the President."
The letter from Robert Peter and others reads :
"Georgetown, April 14th, 1791.
"Gentlemen : When the President communicated his ideas to the proprietors of land within both the offers, of the insufficiency of either; and the necessity of an union of interests, he was requested to explain his views with respect to the form and extent of territory he would wish for the Federal City-and his reply was, to the best of our recollection-that he would desire to begin at Evans' Point on the Eastern Branch and run from there over Goose Creek some distance above the fording place, to intersect the road leading from Georgetown to Bladens- burg about half a mile from Rock Creek-thence to Rock Creek, and with the Creek, River, and Branch to the begin- ning-supposing that about 3500 acres would be compre- hended-but, upon some explanations by some of the proprietors it seemed to be understood that more would be included and probably 4000 acres or upwards.
"In compliance with the views of the President, an agree- ment was prepared, in which the lines as mentioned by him, were omitted to be inserted, in the fullest confidence that tho' not mentioned in the agreement, they would be adhered to-or at least if they were varied, it would not be to include any considerably greater quantity of land, which we conceive; besides taking land we never had it in con- templation would be required, would only tend to lessen the value of the rest, without any real benefit to the public
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-as the price of lots would diminish in proportion as the number for sale increased.
"The deed which you now present for signing goes far beyond our idea of what was the spirit of the agreement,- we would therefore wish to decline singing it-and hope it will answer every purpose of the President to confine the lines of the city agreeably to his explanation on the height of the union of interests, when there will be no difficulty on our part to making the proper conveyances.
"We have the honor to be with high respect,
Gent'l. Yr. Most Obed. Servts., Robt. Peter, Notley Young, Jas. M. Lingan, Forrest & Stoddert."
The letter from George Walker and others reads: "Georgetown, April 14th, 1791.
"Gentlemen: We are extremely sorry to find you are at this time prevented from taking deeds and conveyances of the lands granted to the President of the United States, by the respective proprietors, who signed and sealed the agreement made with him on the 30th day of March last; owing to some of these gentlemen now alledging that they had conceived the President should be confined to certain bounds and limits, as well as extent of territory, in laying out the Federal City.
"We however conceiving that, according to the before mentioned agreement, the President has a right to lay out the city upon our lands, where and in what manner he pleases, are ready and willing on our part fully to confirm by deed and conveyance what we have already ratified by our hands and seals: And we confide that you will not accede to any system, that may mutilate, disfigure or ren- der inconvenient the great Metropolis of America.
"Whatever might drop from the President in course of conversation, concerning the lands to be occupied by the city, we do not consider conclusive, as it could not then be expected he could with precision determine, what might be proper to include within its limits; the great object in view, being the founding an elegant, convenient, and agree- able Capital for the Union. Indeed it was our expectation, that after the different interests of Georgetown and Car- rollsburgh were happily reconciled, that no further cause
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of discontent would arise; neither did we expect, that it was ever imagined, the President should be excluded from accepting of such grants as should be made him, for the purposes of erecting the public buildings.
"We hope, therefore, that nothing will be done to frus- trate the views of the President, in accomplishing the important object of establishing the residence of Congress upon the Potomac-and are respectfully, gentlemen,
Your Mo. Ob. Servants, (Signed) Chas. Beatty,
George Walker now proprietor of the lands lately belonging to Overton Carr, and Thos. Beall of Geo. Saml. Davidson now proprietor of the land lately belonging to Edwd. Pierce.
The Commissioner."
Supporting this letter Thomas Beall wrote the following day :
"Georgetown, April 15th, 1791.
"Messrs. Johnson, Stuart and Carroll :
"Gentlemen: When I signed the agreement with the President of the United States by which I ceded half of the land I might possess within the limits of the Federal City it was then my opinion as well as now that the Pres- ident should run the line where he might see proper and include as much land as he might think necessary.
"I am respectfully, Your Mo. Obt. Sr.,
(Signed) Thos. Beall, of Geo.
P. S .- My excepting against the land I sold Mr. Abraham Young will prove the above assertion.
(Signed) Thos. Beall of Geo."
It was these three letters which the Commissioners enclosed with one from themselves to the President explaining the situation.
Evans' Point on the Eastern Branch was at about the present eastern end of Massachusetts Avenue. A point on the Georgetown and Bladensburg Road (Florida Avenue) half a mile from Rock Creek would be a short distance above the inter- section of Massachusetts Avenue with that stream. The dis- pute, therefore involved the question of the inclusion or exclu- sion of practically the entire portion of the original area of the city north of Massachusetts Avenue. President Washing-
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ton was anxious to include this territory and had so indicated in his letter to Major L'Enfant of April 4th. The contention of the protesting land holders amounted almost to an accusa- tion that he had taken an unfair advantage of them by induc- ing them to sign the preliminary agreement of March 30, under the representation that the limits of the city would stop short of this territory, and he replied with considerable spirit as follows :
"Charleston, May 7th, 1791.
"Gentlemen: I have received your letter of the 14th of last month.
"It is an unfortunate circumstance in the present stage of the business, relative to the Federal City, that difficul- ties unforeseen and unexpected should arise to darken, perhaps to destroy, the fair prospect which it presented when I left Georgetown-and which the instrument, then signed by the combined interest (as it was termed) of Georgetown and Carrollsburg, so plainly describes. The pain which this occurrence occasions me is the more forcibly felt, as I had taken pleasure during my journey through the several states to relate the agreement, and to speak of it on every proper occasion, in terms which applauded the conduct of the parties, as being alike conducive to the public welfare, and to the interest of individuals, which last it was generally thought would be most benefited by the amazing increase of the property reserved to the land holders.
"The words cited by Messrs. Young, Peter, Lingan and Forrest and Stoddard may be nearly what I expressed; but will these gentlemen say this was given as the precise boundary, or will they, by detaching these words, take them in a sense unconnected with the general explanation of my ideas and views upon that occasion or without the qualifications, which unless I am much mistaken, were added of running about so and so-for I had no map before me for direction. Will they not recollect my observation that Philadelphia stood upon an area of three by two miles and that, if the Metropolis of one State occupied so much ground, what ought that of the United States to occupy ? Did I not moreover observe that before the city could be laid out and the spot for the public buildings be precisely
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