 |
|
|
| |
| 1740s |
| |
Scottish
merchants, including John Carlyle, John Dalton and William Ramsay,
settle in what is now Alexandria, calling it Belhaven in 1749.
|
| 1749 |
| |
Alexandria established on May 11 by an Act of the Virginia General Assembly; named after the Alexanders, who own the land. Boundaries extended from Oronoco to Duke Street and Royal Street to the Waterfront. A part of Fairfax County from 1749 to 1801. Governed by a board of trustees including George Mason, Lawrence Washington, his brother George Washington and headed by Lord Thomas Fairfax.
John West, Jr., assistant surveyor for Fairfax County, lays out the town; 60 acres divided into 84 half-acre lots, offered for public sale on July 13-14.
|
| 1752 |
| |
Scottish merchants’ petition to rename Alexandria “Belhaven” is denied.
|
| 1753 |
| |
Market
Square occupies entire site of today’s City Hall; George Washington
drills his militia troops on the square.
|
| 1755 |
| |
During
the French and Indian War, General Edward Braddock and several
thousand British soldiers camp in and around Alexandria. Five
Royal Governors meet at John Carlyle’s house to discuss war
strategy. |
| 1762 |
| |
In
November, the Virginia House of Burgesses authorizes Alexandria’s
expansion; population reaches 1,214. |
| 1774 |
| |
Upset
over British taxation and the Boston Port Act, Alexandrians
approve the Fairfax Resolves calling for an end to trade with
England. |
| 1775 |
| |
Alexandrians
volunteer for the siege of Boston and fight the British in battles
at Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine and Monmouth. |
| 1779 |
| |
General
Assembly passes the Act of Incorporation, giving Alexandria
town status and instituting a system of self government, including
an elected Common Council and a Board of Aldermen. The Mayor
was chosen by the Common Council until 1843, when voters elected
the Mayor. |
| 1784 |
| |
The
Virginia Journal and Alexandria Advertiser, the City’s first
newspaper, would later become The Alexandria Gazette. |
| 1785 |
| |
Alexandria
Academy established as one of the first free schools in Northern
Virginia; trustees include George Washington.
|
| 1789 |
| |
In New York,
George Washington inaugurated as first President of the U.S.
1789 Maryland and Virginia donate land for a new federal city,
eventually to be named Washington, D.C. Alexandria included
in the federal district, which in 1791 is marked by boundary
stones.
 |
| 1792 |
| |
Edward Stabler established his Apothecary Shop. The family-owned business operated for 141 years, closing in 1933. Patrons included the George Washington family, James Monroe and Robert E. Lee. An active Quaker, Stabler was an acknowledged community leader and avowed abolitionist.
Collection of William Francis Smith,
Perkins Library, Duke University |
| 1794 |
| |
Alexandria
Library Company established. Edward Stabler was Alexandria's first librarian. |
| |
| 1799 |
| |
George
Washington dies at Mount Vernon.
|
| |
|
