Alexandria, Virginia is a city with a long and illustrious history. Founded in 1749 by Scottish merchants and named after John Alexander, it was the adopted city of the first president of the United States, George Washington. As a teenager, Washington surveyed the city and later owned a house in the old town. Nowadays, visitors can see a replica of the house on Cameron Street.
He also worshiped at the Church of Christ and frequented the Gadsby Tavern. Fairfax County planters saw the potential of establishing a nearby market center. In 1748, Lawrence Washington submitted a petition to the House of Burgesses for the creation of a city on sixty acres of land around Belhaven, on Hunting Creek, on the Potomac River, not far from his home in Mount Vernon. The following year, Lawrence's younger brother, George Washington, assisted the county surveyor in organizing the city into eighty-four lots along ten streets around a central market square. The settlement was renamed Alexandria in honor of the Alexander family, who owned most of the land where the new city was to be built. Alexandria is one of the oldest cities in America and is renowned for its stunning waterfront homes along the Potomac River.
Located just a few miles from Washington, DC, it is also home to some of the most sought-after suburban real estate in the country. It's an exciting place to live, work and play. In 1669, Robert Howson received the land where Alexandria is currently located, but Howson changed it to a man named John Alexander for three tons of tobacco. In 1801, much of Alexandria passed to the new District of Columbia; it was damaged along with much of the rest of the capital during the War of 1812. In 1846, Alexandria was returned to Virginia, along with the rest of the District's territory on the western side of the Potomac River. In 1754, George Washington left Alexandria in his first military campaign of the French and Indian War. In 1755, General Edward Braddock organized his fatal expedition against Fort Duquesne at Carlyle House in Alexandria.
Near Mount Vernon it may have been George Washington's estate, but Alexandria was his main battleground in its day. In March 1785, Virginia and Maryland commissioners met in Alexandria to discuss commercial relations between their two states and ended their affairs at Mount Vernon. From 1828 to 1836, Alexandria was home to Franklin slave market, one of the largest slave trading companies in America. Washington also owned a bank at Church of Christ in Alexandria and in 1795 he helped build first permanent Catholic church in Virginia. However there are three crevice houses that fill alleys of old Alexandria that visitors can see from outside. If you're looking for your next residence in Alexandria contact your At Home team at (70 286-1333) to begin finding your ideal home today.
