A manual on the origin and development of Washington

by H. Paul Caemmerer

GEORGETOWN

Georgetown was laid out pursuant to an act of the Province of Maryland dated June 8, 1751, passed in response to a petition of a number of inhabitants, who stated that “there was a convenient place for a town on the Potomac River above the mouth of Rock Creek,” and recommended that 60 acres be there laid out for a town. The town was never incorporated as a city, but was commonly called the city of Georgetown as a consequence of the casual reference to it by that title in numerous acts of Congress.

The general supposition is that Georgetown was so named in honor of George II, then the reigning sovereign of Great Britain, but it is also contended that it was named as a compliment to George Gordon and George Beall, the owners of the 60-acre tract, and from whom the site was obtained. The town was subsequently surveyed and divided into 80 lots. On December 25, 1789, the town was incorporated by an act of the General Assembly of Maryland, with a mayor, recorder, aldermen, and common council. The first mayor was appointed for a term of one year, to commence January 1, 1790.

The streets in the part of Georgetown laid out under the act of June 8, 1751, were acquired by the public in practically the same manner in which the title to the original streets of the city of Washington was derived.

Georgetown was enlarged by numerous additions, until, as calculated by the surveyor of the District of Columbia, it embraced about 543 acres. Its charter was revoked by the act of Congress of February 21, 1871, by which its name was retained as a topographical designation until its consolidation with Washington by the act of February 11, 1895, which stated it “shall be known as and shall constitute a part of the city of Washington.” By this act the Commissioners of the District of Columbia were authorized to change the names of the streets and avenues of Georgetown to conform to those of Washington as far as practicable. At the time of the consolidation the population of Georgetown was about 15,000.

OLD AQUEDUCT BRIDGE

FRANCIS SCOTT KEY BRIDGE

Soon after its establishment Georgetown became a prominent port, and one of the interesting places there to-day is the old customhouse. A number of mills, the ruins of which can still be seen, were there. It is said that flour shipped in colonial times from Georgetown to Europe was so good that consignees did not think it necessary to open the barrels for inspection. Tobacco and corn were the two other chief exports. Georgetown University was established in 1789, the year George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the Republic. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 182 miles long, commenced in 1828, had its beginning in Georgetown. It cost $13,000,000. Georgetown’s exports in 1792 amounted to $348,539. Much coal was also shipped to Alexandria for towns on the Atlantic coast.

Georgetown also became noted for the many fine houses which were built there, such as Tudor Place, Woodley, the Oaks, Montrose, the Bowie Mansion, and Bellevue, later known as the Rittenhouse Mansion. In the early days, while houses in the new Federal City were being built, many Members of Congress preferred to travel the dusty road from the Capitol to Georgetown because of the suitable residences there in which they could live.

Among the mansions near Georgetown, to be mentioned here, is Arlington Mansion (described fully on [page 309]), built in 1802 by George Washington Parke Custis, the adopted son of President Washington. The original Arlington estate comprised 6,000 acres. The design of the portico of the house resembles that of the Temple of Theseus at Athens, which stands to-day one of the best-preserved buildings of antiquity. Mr. Custis lived there till his death in 1857. He entertained Lafayette at Arlington during his visit to the United States in 1824.